Slow News Day

by Robert Lopresti

About the Author: Robert Lopresti's 100+ short stories have won the Derringer and Black Orchid Novella Awards and been included in the Best American Mystery Stories series. He blogs at SleuthSayers and Little Big Crimes. roblopresti.com

Excerpt

Scott Preslow.

I’ve always loved dogs. Must have had a dozen over the years when I was growing up. We lived in a small town in Utah so there was plenty of room for them.

I was incredibly lucky to get a job as a dog handler for the Drug Enforcement Agency. These animals are fantastic. I signed up three years ago, back in 2005, and after my training I was paired with a German shepherd named Scout.

And when I say paired, I mean partners 24/7. I trained him, played with him, fed him, and he slept at the foot of my bed.

Just incredible animal. He could sniff out half a dozen kinds of illegal drugs. Didn’t matter how tightly wrapped or what else you stuck in a package to try to fool him.

We were working in Phoenix that summer and one day I took him to the warehouse for Logistre, one of the big package shippers. We walked up and down the aisles for an hour without a peep and suddenly Scout alerted. That means he ran down the aisle, with me hanging onto the leash. He sat in front of this big cardboard carton, just shaking with excitement.

Well, the first thing you do after he alerts is pull out his towel. That’s his reward: we play tug of war with his towel. He knows when he finds something he gets to play his favorite game. Amazing dog.

Then I contacted my supervisor, Agent Davies.

Jessica Davies.

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