The World According to Vince - Jane Harvey-Berrick Page 0,82

your Canine Crusader suit.”

“Really?”

“Truly.”

“With the cape?”

“Yep.”

“And the tail?”

“Definitely.”

“And the floppy ears?”

“Heck, yeah!”

Then he swept me into his arms and we kissed passionately, happily, lovingly, while the dogs barked their approval.

Vince

“Are you completely crazy?!” shrieked Cady. “Are you certifiably nuts? Maybe the stress of the case has gotten to you at last. Or maybe alien bodysnatchers have taken over your mind!”

She grabbed Grace’s shoulders and shook her.

Grace laughed and turned to smile at me. “I think Vince looks wonderful.”

I stood tall, glowing with pride in my Canine Crusader costume of gold Lycra body suit with my logo on the chest, the long green and red cape that flowed behind me, and a furry tail that peeked out below the cape. I wasn’t wearing the hood right now, but I had a thing for those floppy dog ears. So did Gracie, just sayin’.

“Do you want him to go to jail?” Cady cried, her hands still clamped on Grace’s shoulders, still shaking her until Rick peeled her off.

“Of course not,” Grace snapped, her eyes flashing. “But so far the jury have only heard words, so much hot air from the witnesses, from me, and from Barclay—I need them to see Vince; they have to understand that he’s not like the rest of us,” and she swept her hand in front of me the way P.T. Barnum introduced a new elephant-on-a-bicycle act.

“Yeah, I’m unique,” I grinned. “They broke the mold when they made me.”

“I always wondered if the mold was broken before they made you,” Rick mumbled in the background.

“Oh, man! And what the freakin’ hell did you do to your hair?” Cady wailed.

I glanced in the mirror at the tufts of hair left on my bald head that showed two interlocking letter ‘C’s and a paw print, my Canine Crusader logo.

“Cool, innit?”

“I helped,” Gracie said proudly. “The paw print was the trickiest part.”

“But, why?” Cady groaned.

“I told him to be himself and he wanted to have his head shaved with the logo, so…” Grace shrugged.

“But, why are you listening to Vince?” Cady groaned even louder. “He’s a giant jerk! He’s a knob-head idiot! No offense.”

“None taken,” I laughed.

“Exactly,” Grace said calmly. “I’ve been trying to portray Vince as a sane and sober citizen when in fact he’s adorably nuts. So far, it’s just been another case for the judge and jury—they need to see who Vincent really is.”

Rick scratched his beard. “Could work.”

“Or Vince could end up going to jail!” Cady yelled.

“Aw, I didn’t know you cared,” I teased.

“Not that much, jerkoff,” she growled. “But Grace is my best friend and I care about her. She’ll be devastated if she loses.”

Grace took her hand. “Thank you for saying ‘if’; I love you too, hon. Now, we need a favor. Who’s sitting in for you on your radio show this week?”

“Dude named Ragin’ Rob. He’s pretty good.”

“Can you gatecrash his show for ten minutes before court this morning?”

Cady perked up. “I sure can,” she said, her eyes gleaming.

“Great! Talk up the case. I want as many Canine Crusader fans as possible outside the Supreme Court. Use your contacts to get TV and press there, too.”

Cady barely waited to hear the end of Grace’s sentence before she was ordering an Uber to take her to the radio station.

“Vince, get on social media and put a call out for your fans to come to the Supreme Court—banners and placards preferred. If they can’t be there in person, I want them tweeting and posting, using the hashtag #Justice4CanineCrusader.”

“On it!” I grinned, grabbing my phone and sending out an SOS to my 500,000 followers.

“Rick, you have some high profile gym members, would you send out an email to them asking for their support?”

Rick nodded and pulled out his phone, concentrating on typing.

“What have I forgotten?” Grace muttered to herself, peering at her notes.

“You forgot to kiss me,” I whispered in her ear, making her jump.

“Later!” she laughed.

“Now,” I insisted.

I won that argument. I knew there wouldn’t be many that I won with my sexy Counselor, but today was a good day, I could feel it in me water.

By the time we arrived at the Supreme Court, I knew that my fans had come through for me. Not only were they out in their thousands, but a large number had come wearing doggie-style onesies, and at least fifty were wearing their own Canine Crusader costumes (which I’d been retailing online for $74.29 including tail, ears, cape and delivery).

But that wasn’t the best part—many had brought their beautiful mutts with