So she kept her mouth shut and went about her daily chores around the kennel in a normal manner: walking and feeding the dogs, cleaning their cages, and bedding them down at night. Not hard work at all. Enjoyable, even. Especially when it was time to exercise the dogs and rendezvous with her customers…

Sally was about to begin another workday when her father called her into his office. She was a little impatient as she closed the door behind her and walked over to his desk. Whatever he wanted, she hoped it wouldn't take long. She had customers waiting, and she didn't want to be late.

Her father sat hunched over his desk. He had loosened his necktie and had opened the top two buttons of his shirt, though as far as Sally could tell, the room wasn't uncomfortably hot. In his hands were the company's records.

Shit! thought Sally. Those damned records again!

"Sally," he said, scratching his head. "I've been going over the records, and I find them quite puzzling."

"Is that so, Daddy?"

"Yes, and I thought I'd ask you about them."

"What do you want to know, Daddy?"

"Well, I could have sworn we had ten unpaid bills. But now I find that four of them have been paid off. I just can't figure it out. Do you know anything about this, Sally? I already asked your mother, and she doesn't know a thing."

"No, I sure don't, Daddy," she lied. "Perhaps you paid them yourself and just forgot about it. You've been working so hard lately, I'm not surprised that you're having trouble with your memory." Sally walked around her father's desk and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be silly. I'm not having trouble with my…"