Act I The old woman hit the stone pavement hard enough to silence the whole plaza. One moment, she had been standing outside the boutique windows, clutching the strap of her small canvas…

Act I The sun was sinking behind the trees when the little girl came out of the forest carrying the boy. At first, Elsie Ward thought she was seeing a shadow. The field…

Act I The only thing standing between the axe and the child was a white dog. He was huge, soaked with night mist, his thick fur glowing under the woman’s headlamp like a…

Act I The carnival was too bright for anyone to believe something terrible could happen there. Red-and-yellow food stalls lined the fairground. Children ran past game booths with stuffed prizes hanging overhead. A…

Act I The dog did not go for the man’s throat. It did not go for his legs, his face, or the towel draped over his shoulder. It went for the keys. In…

Act I The man in the gray suit came running across the grass like the whole world belonged to him. His jacket flapped behind him. His polished shoes tore through the manicured lawn….

Act I The first kick sent the little dog skidding across the gravel. She yelped once, then curled herself into the dirt beside the dumpster, tan-and-white body trembling, ears flat, eyes locked on…

Act I The dog appeared just before the vows. At first, everyone thought he was part of the charm. A medium-sized brown dog with a black muzzle wandered onto the stone aisle beneath…

Act I Buddy sat exactly where he had been told. The rain began as a mist, soft enough to disappear on the concrete, then slowly became a steady gray curtain over the hospital…