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with red and blue lights flashing in his face.  He tried to block it out with the memory of Christy’s hair dancing in the kitchen lights at midnight.  He sat and enjoyed the French Roast.  Gregory never slept much anyway.

Chapter 10
    Christy had never been to a dog show before. Carpeting and waist high curtains for as far as the eye could see. All AKC royal blue.  Diana was right.  It felt just like a three-ring circus with all the animals barking and adults jostling for position at the registration tables or in the stands.  Well that and the vendors.  It looked like a state fair where the only requirement is that you sold something with dog somewhere in the product name.  It was an ocean of products for dogs. Leashes, seats.  You name it and someone had it for your dog.  There were people selling pet insurance. Kennels that specialized in dogs with anxiety.  Therapy dog services for humans.  It was astounding.  It was definitely a circus.
    Except in a circus all the animals stayed in a cage back with the rest of the performers.  There were just dogs barking everywhere!  She didn’t know where to even begin.  Gregory said they had to get a confession out of Nori and at first they were stumped at how to snoop around without raising suspicion. Then Christy remembered that J.W. told Hailey to arrange for the VIP passes to be kept at the judges table.  She figured that she could talk her way into letting Gregory have a pass.  She just didn’t know where the judge’s tables were. Gregory was scanning the area for any sign of Nori.
    “Do you always where a navy blue polo?” Christy asked.
    “Nope.  Just most of the time.  I have eighteen in my closet,” he answered, still scanning the room.
    “What do you do on day nineteen?”
    “I wear my olive green one so that when people like you ask the question I can say I wear a different color once and a while.”
    “Seems kind of boring.  You see any signs of Nori?”
    “You mean the old lady holding a dog?  Yea, she really stands out in this crowd. Why couldn’t we have tried to sneak up on her at a cat show?” Gregory said.
    “Just keep, oof-” Christy was looking backwards at Gregory and not quite where she was going.  She bumped a blonde woman taking a small drink from her water bottle.  Water splashed all down the front of her as she spun around, scowling at whoever bumped into her.  It was Hailey.
    Recognizing Christy, she snapped, “What are you doing here?” shaking her hands free of the water and trying to wipe down her own V.I.P. pass and clipboard.
    “Jeez, why are you always biting her head off?  Half the town is here.  What’s the big deal?”  Gregory said.
    Christy put her hands up in surrender. “No, I understand.  Hailey is busy and I bumped her in the arm.  I hope I didn’t mess up your clipboard.  Are you a judge now?”
    Hailey took a moment to consider them both, weighing something in her mind.  Christy understood grief but this look was different.  More calculated. Hailey was tapping her pencil on the clipboard out of nerves, and after glancing around and shooting a look to the ceiling, she finally eased up.  “I might be crazy, but J.W. would have wanted me to do the right thing.  J.W. invited you, Christy and I’m going to honor that.  You might as well come along too.”  She waved at Gregory and started down a narrow hallway with less traffic.  She gestured in their direction to follow her.  A safe distance from being heard Christy whispered to Gregory, “If we get caught with box seats or something we won’t be able to snoop around and try and catch Nori.”
    “We just have to roll with it and hope for the best,” Gregory mumbled, as they caught up to Hailey.  A room opened up to a reception area far away from the crowd.  A table was set up with light refreshments on one end and toward the middle was a man in a hunter green coat and conservative necktie who held a clipboard next to a stack of