TREATOSAURUS REX

It was a big deal to get into my apartment. However, I'd rigged it so Murphy wouldn't get fried if she tried it.

It was a cool day outside and Murphy was wearing clothes suitable for mid-Fall. It was pretty much the same outfit I saw her in yesterday - except for her ball-cap.

"Hey, Harry, did I leave my hat here?" Murphy asked.

"Yep," I said. Murphy's ball-cap was on the couch. In fact, right next to where I was sitting.

Then I grinned, stood up, and picked up the hat with a grand flourish that was worthy of the son of Malcolm Dresden.

Where the hat had been sitting, there was now a bone-shaped dog treat.

Mouse lunged up from where he was resting and pounced on the treat with all the grace of a bulldozer - shoving the couch backwards a good yard. The treat vanished, but in its place there was a huge, slobbery wet spot on the couch's cushion.

From his perch on top of one of my bookshelves, Mister flicked his tail and watched with his characteristic disdain. And maybe a touch of jealousy. Yeah, yeah, he'd get a treat or two later on.

Murphy gave me a skeptical look and shook her head. "Big deal, Harry. You just put the treat under the hat before I showed up. That wasn't magic."

Then she held out a hand for her hat.

Instead, I put the hat on the arm of a nearby easy-chair. And lifted it again. Another treat appeared.

Murphy laughed out loud as Mouse almost knocked the chair over in his enthusiasm to get at the treat.

But she was still skeptical. "It could still be sleight-of-hand," she insisted.

After crunching down the treat, Mouse looked at me eagerly, with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging. He liked this game.

"How long are you going to toy with him like that?" Murphy asked as she looked distastefully at the drool that was now smeared over the arm of the chair.

I shrugged. "One more time."

Standing next to her, I put the hat on Murphy's head.

Murphy's eyes became very, very wide.

As she vanished under a pile of muscular fur, I picked up my Coke and took a sip. Yeah, I was in trouble, but sometimes it was worth it.