Not likely."Hey,you'rethe one with the toilet paper."
She made a sound of annoyance. "Andyoushould stay away from Gwen."
I stiffened. "Why's that?"
"Becauseshe'sreally nice, but you're all…" She dropped her hands and blurted out, "You know what?Allmen are trouble." She gestured vaguely toward the neighbor's front door. "Especiallyhim. And you. And some other guy whoyoudon't even know. You're all monsters, and I don't care if it's the vampire kind." With her free hand, she made a little shooing motion. "Now, go away."
"Gladly," I said. "But first I've got a question." I hitched a thumb over my shoulder. "Were you skulking aroundthe yard?"
She glanced toward her aunt's place. "You mean where I'm living? Why doyoucare?"
I cared because someone I loved was inside that house.I hadn't said so but that didn't make it any less true. "Just tell me. Was it you?"
"Why should I tell you anything?" Harper said. "I'mthe one living there."
"Yeah, and so's your cousin," I reminded her. "So if you made a noise outside her window, I need to know."
Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"
It felt like one question too many. "So I can tell her."
"Why shouldyouget to tell her?I'llsee her way beforeyoudo."
She was wrong.I crossed my arms and waited. "If you want me to leave, that's the price."
She sighed. "Alright, fine. Yes. It was me. I dropped a flashlight maybe ten minutes ago. There, you happy?"
I'd seen no sign of a flashlight, but the answer was pretty much what I'd expected. Plus, it meshed with what I'd already seen. With a shrug, I said, "Eh, I'm happy enough."
"Well, goodie for you," Harper said. "Now, go be happy somewhere else."
She didn't have to askmetwice. With a grin, I turned away, heading back the same way I'd come. Sure, Harper was a nutjob, but it was good to know that nobody else had been lurking outside Gwen's window.
When I rapped lightly on the back patio door, I was still smiling at the ridiculousness of it all. But when the door opened, and I saw Gwen's agitated face, my smile turned into a frown. "What's wrong?"
She stepped aside to let me in. "I saw you talking to Harper."
"Yeah, so?" I shut the door behind me and locked it for good measure.
Gwen asked, "So, what'd you tell her?"
"Forgetthat," I said with a laugh. "You should hear what she toldme."
But Gwen wasn't laughing. With a worried look, she turned and hustled toward the front of the house. I followed behind her as she padded on bare feet into the darkened living room, where a wide row of windows overlooked the front yard.
The blinds were open, giving us a clear view outside. Gwen stopped near the sofa and pointed to the house across the street. "Look."
I looked. Sure enough, Harper was making good on her promise to toilet-paper the neighbor's wreath.
Immature or not, I thought it was funny as hell.
But in the shadows, Gwen looked more upset than anything. "She was supposed to be gone for the night."
"Yeah, so?"
"So I don't even know how she got here. I mean, her car's not in the garage. I just double-checked."
I saw no sign of the pets. I glanced around. "Hey, where's Cash?"
