I didn’t recognize the young woman working the Guesser, at the front of the midway. We watched while she guessed a little girl’s weight and was off by four pounds. “You must have hollow bones, honey. Pick yourself a bear.”

The child happily chose a green one, which her dad clipped to the belt loop on her jeans; then she scampered away toward the Ferris wheel.

“Guess your age, guess your weight,” the woman began when I approached her.

“Sorry,” I said. “I’m looking for Tally Ames. Do you know if she’s working this evening?”

“At the Dozer,” she answered, already losing interest in me and gazing past my shoulder to catch the eyes of the people entering behind us.

Almost immediately, we ran into the carnival’s patch, Dennis Koffer. He didn’t recognize me from Friday night, but he had a smile for Dwight. “How’s it going, Major? You here tonight on business or pleasure?”

“Some of both.” He shook hands and turned to me. “Have you met Judge Knott?”

“Judge, it’s a pleasure,” Koffer said, offering his hand.

Nothing changed in his manner that I could pinpoint, yet when he heard my name, I sensed that he recognized it and knew my relationship with Tally.

“Anything you can tell me about your investigation?” he asked Dwight, relighting the cigar that seemed permanently attached to the corner of his mouth. “I mean, anything besides what Arnie told me about the kid that punched Braz out?”

“Nothing yet,” Dwight said. “I may need your help tomorrow. We’re going to come back and interview everybody again. See if anyone’s remembered something useful.”

“Sure. You’ve got my pager number. Just give me a buzz.” At that moment, almost on cue, the pager went off. After glancing at the number displayed, he said, “Y’all enjoy yourselves tonight,” and hurried back the way he’d come, trailing a cloud of fragrant cigar smoke.

I noticed Dwight noticing Koffer’s sturdy leather shoes as the man walked away and I punched his arm hard. “I thought you were off duty.”

“I am.” All the same, he looked closely at the place where Koffer had stood. The ground had been trampled into dust and we saw that his shoes had left little triangles across the instep and heel.

We walked on down the busy midway, occasionally bumping into people we knew, though most were strangers. Invitations came thick and fast from the colorfully lit game stands to come on over and try our luck, test our skills, step right up and have a little fun.

“You gonna win me a stuffed animal to guard my bedroom door?” I teased.

He shot me a sidelong glance and his lips twitched. “Never noticed that you needed one,” he said dryly.

That was so like the old Dwight that I laughed in relief and linked my arm through his.

“What?” he said.

“I really was afraid things might change between us,” I confessed. “But you were right. They haven’t, have they?”

“Well, one thing’s changed,” he drawled. “Or weren’t you paying attention last night?”