Kurt was big and dark like a bodyguard. ‘No, she can’t. She has to keep working.’

Miki gave a sad smile and said sorry. Then she glanced past him and pointed. ‘There she is.’

Max spun to see a grey shape slinking along the footpath. He raced outside calling, ‘Bonnie.’ The dog paused, but her eyes were wild and frightened, and she didn’t stop—she was too scared.

Max heard running footsteps and turned to see Leon pounding down the footpath. ‘Hey,’ Leon called out. ‘Someone try to catch that dog.’

People stared at him, but nobody moved. It was like they were frozen.

A car was driving up the street, and suddenly Bonnie flashed across the tarmac and there was a thud and she tumbled under the wheels.

Leon’s yell was raw. He sprinted past Max and waved frantically at the driver, who’d already stopped the car.

Max saw Bonnie lying on the road. She was all stiff with straight legs and she was breathing hard with clamped teeth, and she didn’t seem to know where she was.

A lady driver got out, someone from out of town. She was talking high and fast. ‘Oh my God! What happened? Have I hit a dog? Is it dead?’ She started crying, and then Max was crying too. He was sobbing, his body shaking.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and Miki was standing beside him. She was calm and quiet, even though her face was twisted with worry.

Max saw Leon bending over and gently lifting the dog. He had Bonnie in his arms, and she was huffing loudly. Her eyes had gone all quivery and weird.

‘Is she dead?’ the driver wailed.

‘No. She’s still breathing.’

‘Maybe she’s brain-damaged,’ the lady said.

Leon was soft with the dog, like a mother. Max liked the way he was caring for her. Max was scared, but Leon’s hands on the dog made him feel better.

‘I have to get her to the vet,’ Leon said, glancing around wildly. ‘Damn! I’ll have to run home for my car.’

Max wished he had a car so he could take Leon and Bonnie to the vet. He would drive fast like an ambulance. He would break all the speed limits, and he wouldn’t care if the cops caught him and gave him a fine. He would tell them he was saving Bonnie.

Max heard Kurt order Miki to get back in the shop. He felt her hand fall from his shoulder, but he couldn’t turn around because he was watching the dog. Who would take Bonnie to the vet?

Then Max heard a gruff voice. ‘I’ll take you.’

It was Toby. His F250 ute was just behind the crazy lady’s car, and he was leaning out of the window, beckoning to Leon.