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shoulders were unsteady; it was natural to dig in to make sure you kept your balance. But she tried not to do that unless Theodore was wearing a jacket, to give him extra padding. Generally, when she decided to grace him with her presence, she leapt down to the bartop. It was a longer leap, but an easier landing. But tonight, she was content to sit, and watch.
    And, watching, she could tell that Theodore was worried. Humans worried about so many things, all the time; one of the reasons she enjoyed his company was that he didn’t do that, didn’ t have the wound-up energy that made other humans difficult to sit near. Except when they were actively sniffing something out, of course. But that was different. Hunting was different. But he wasn’t sniffing anything out now—was he? He didn’t do that without Georgie’ s human, Ginny, and neither Georgie nor Ginny had been in today. Or yesterday.
    Penny’s whiskers twitched as she tried to remember the last time she’d seen Georgie. It had been not-long-ago , but not-recent, and her whiskers twitched again, even as her ears flattened slightly. Georgie liked to think she was rough-and-tumble, but the dog needed Penny to explain things to her, keep her focused. What was she doing, without Penny?
    And why was the new woman who had come to work at the Busy Place doing that? She tracked the woman’s hands for a moment, puzzled, then was distracted by the conversation below her.
    “She ’s out of town on a job. That’s all I know.” Theodore’s voice was smooth, but she could hear it cut through the clatter as he spoke to the humans who approached the bar, his hands moving quickly, surely, as he passed bottles and mixed drinks. “Two Dead Guy ales and a Holy Spirit, check. You going to run a tab?”
    The people laughed; he had said something amusing, although she didn’ t understand what. Those were people who were often with Ginny; had Ginny come in with them? No, she hadn’t, and no Georgie, either. Was that the she he’d mentioned? Out of town where? Why hadn’ t Georgie told her they were leaving?
    Her tail lashed once, before she got it under control. She needed more information. But Theodore was busy serving other people now, his hands moving surely, without speaking. Stacy? No, the other human was too far away to hear, even if she’d been saying anything of interest.
    It had gotten more crowded in the bar since she had last looked around. Humans were so noisy . Penny much preferred the afternoons, when only a few people were here, talking in low voices. When Theodore moved more slowly, and looked up when he spoke to her, and Georgie was sprawled on the floor, making a perfect cat bed. But it was night and busy, and even if Georgie were here, they wouldn’t be allowed on the floor, she would have to be in the back room, or outside if the weather was good, and then Penny wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on everything.
    Penny settled back down on the cabinet, feeling the urge to sulk. Her humans were too busy to pay attention to her. And Georgie wasn’t here, and neither was her human. Penny’s tail twitched again, and her whiskers quivered. Why weren’t they here? Where were they? Why hadn’t Georgie told her, if they were going away?
    Penny was a creature of order. She did not like it when things weren’t in the right place, people where she could see them.
    She didn’t trust them not to get in trouble without her.

4
    I f she had to get stiffed by a client, Ginny thought, then this was the way to deal with it: dinner with an old friend, and no worries. The restaurant Ron had suggested was nice—some sort of gastropub where they’d actually considered acoustics, so they could hear each other talk, but not also have to listen in to the conversations happening at the tables around them. She dug into her cheeseburger—locally sourced, the menu informed her—with a ferocity that made her companion laugh.
    “Shut up,” she said. “I haven’t eaten