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eBook Category: Mystery/Crime Pushcart Prize Nominee
eBook Description: Our protagonist finds himself lost in a rundown neighborhood. He stops short, almost running over a small emaciated dachshund. The dog's tag contains only her name, "Sophie," and a phone number. Not finding the neighborhood inviting for knocking on doors, he takes the dog home and calls the number. Regrettably the dog's owner turns up. Our protagonist must try to rescue Sophie from the clutches of an unscrupulous puppy mill.

eBook Publisher: Fictionwise.com, Published: Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, 2003
Fictionwise Release Date: April 2005

8 Reader Ratings: Great Good OK Poor

Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [163 KB], eReader (PDB) [25 KB], Palm Doc (PDB) [11 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [11 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [73 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [82 KB], hiebook (KML) [34 KB], Sony Reader (LRF) [39 KB], iSilo (PDB) [9 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [11 KB], Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [39 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [19 KB]
Words: 3359
Reading time: 9-13 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED

Hemlock Street? Never heard of it. Somewhere in East Oakland. Yet I was driving down it as if I knew where I was going. I had taken a wrong turn while seeking a short cut from the Oakland Airport to my home in the hills above Montclair. I found myself surrounded by small cottages with ill-kept lawns, occasional boarded up deserted homes. Chain fences and bars on the windows of the better kept up houses suggested a high crime area. I passed two scrawny alley cats hissing and fighting. I had no intention of stopping to ask for directions in this neighborhood.

I spotted a black object in the middle of the street. Moving. I slammed on the brakes. I was going to stop here after all. I climbed out of the front seat to take a look. No one was outside. Not even a car passed me. I walked to the front of the car. The black object didn't move. As I approached I began to make out the shape of a very small dog.

A miniature dachshund sat in the middle of the street chewing away on a fragment of a very old bone. It seemed so thin, ribs showing through its shiny coat. Fur like a seal. A touch of brown above each delicate eyebrow. "Points," I believe they were called. Long snout with brown on the bottom. Floppy black ears. Could be a prize-winning pedigree if it had been given a little more to eat. It paid me no attention.