The Power of the Dog

by Leone Ciporin

About the Author: Leone Ciporin's short stories have appeared in Black Cat Mystery Magazine, Flash Bang Mysteries, Woman's World and numerous anthologies. She's a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. When she's not writing mysteries, Leone works as a manager in an insurance company law department, which is more interesting than it sounds. Leone lives in Charlottesville, Va.

Excerpt

If Rufus hadn’t licked my cheek, I wouldn’t be standing onstage in a dog suit with sweat trickling down my neck. The pants aren’t bad, but the black and white top is heavy and the head only lets in air through mesh eyes. The tail keeps swishing, so I grip it, feeling like the Cowardly Lion. At least I don’t have to smile. Chester the Shelter Dog comes with a plastic grin.

 “Ladies and gentlemen.” The mayor’s smile blossoms his ruddy cheeks, making him look more like a chipmunk than usual. “Welcome to the Mansfield County Animal Shelter’s first annual Furry Friends Festival.” With each f, he rat-a-tats globules of spit into the crowd. 

Two women in the front row wipe their foreheads. Behind them, teens whisper, kids slurp and at the very back, a skinny man in a faded red shirt elbows an elderly lady. I try to spot my brother Brendan, who’s watching Rufus. I catch a glimpse of Brendan’s strawberry blond hair.

The county park, a rare flat space in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is overrun by funnel cake trucks, cotton candy stands and pet product booths, surrounded by trees waving green leaves alongside orange and gold specks.

Behind the crowd, vendors shout, dogs bark and groups laugh, making it hard to hear the mayor as he repeats, “Ladies and gentlemen.”

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