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right past Todd’s backyard. He was playing on the muddy bank, and when he saw me, he called out to me.
    â€œHey, Bailey. Here, Bailey.” He held out his hand.
    I eyed him with suspicion. There was just something inside Todd that I didn’t trust. And that something seemed to be stronger now that he was on his own, with no other humans nearby.

    â€œCome on, boy,” he said, slapping his hand against his leg. He turned and walked toward his house.
    What could I do? Come was one of the tricks Ethan had taught me. I knew that it meant I was supposed to follow the person who said it.
    I lowered my head and trailed after Todd into his house.

 
    7
    Todd let me in through the back door into a kitchen. He eased the door shut behind us without a sound. Curtains were pulled over the windows, and the room had a dark, gloomy feel and a stale, chilly smell. I usually love the way kitchens smell, but not this one.
    Todd whispered, “Come on, Bailey!” and I followed him out of the kitchen and down a hallway. About halfway along it we passed a doorway to a living room, where a woman was slumped on a couch, watching television. She didn’t move or even turn her head as we went past.
    But someone else moved. After we were past the door, Todd turned back. I paused, too. He scowled as a small figure came to the doorway that led into the living room, outlined against the grayish, flickering light of the TV.
    It was Linda, Todd’s sister. She saw me and her eyes grew wider. She came forward.
    â€œNo,” Todd hissed at her.
    I certainly knew that word. I cringed at the sharp tone of Todd’s voice. Linda put a finger in her mouth, chewing at the nail, but she didn’t back up. She held her other hand out to me. I licked it.
    Todd stepped forward to push Linda away. “Leave me alone,” he said sharply to her.
    Then he opened a door, grabbed my collar, and pulled me inside. He didn’t have to do that. I would have gone with him, even though I would rather have stayed with Linda. I knew what I was supposed to do to be a good dog.
    Todd shut the door and I heard the lock make a clicking sound. I sniffed at piles of smelly clothes on the floor and found a plate under an old T-shirt with half a piece of toast on it. I quickly ate it. Clean the Plate was always my job when a plate was on the floor.
    Then I checked on what Todd was doing. He was walking quickly around the room, his hands shoved into his pockets. “Okay,” he said. “Okay, now … now…”
    He sat at his desk and opened a drawer. I could smell firecrackers in there; the odor stung my nose. I didn’t like it. I backed up to the other side of the room, under a window.
    â€œI don’t know where Bailey is,” Todd muttered. “I haven’t seen Bailey.”
    I wagged at my name, then sighed and flopped onto a pile of sweatshirts. It had been a long day, and I was tired. I hoped I’d be going home to the boy soon.
    A tiny knock at the door made Todd jump up as though one of his firecrackers had gone off right under him. I jumped up, too, and came over to stand right behind Todd as he whispered angrily out his door at Linda.
    I could smell the girl more than I could see her in the dark hallway. Her dress needed washing, and she had been eating salty crackers, and she was both worried and scared. That made me worried, too. I backed away from Todd and started to pace. I didn’t feel like lying back down.
    Todd slammed the door and locked it again. I could feel a flash of pure rage from him, and it frightened me. I’d felt the boy get angry from time to time, Dad and Mom, too. But that was a mild feeling compared to what I could sense from Todd.
    Just then there was a drawn-out cry from outside the window. “Bay-leeeeee!”
    Ethan! My boy was calling me!
    I ran to the window and tried to jump up, putting both feet on the sill. But before I could see anything except that it was