It was after ten, dark outside. “You hear that?”Andrew nodded. “It wasn’t the wind.”“Nope.” Harl rolled the bat in his big, callused palm. “I know a scream when I hear one. You want to call 911?”That had been Andrew’s first impulse, but he shook his head. “We don’t know enough. I’ll check next door. You stay here with Dolly. She’s asleep.”“Watch yourself.”“Our new neighbor probably just tripped in the dark. Let me see what’s up.”The bloody-murder scream had drawn him to the back porch, where he’d already flipped a light. He had his flashlight from the kitchen, debated taking some sort of weapon. He dismissed the idea. That was Harl-thinking.“I’ll stay out here,” Harl said. He wasn’t giving up his baseball bat. “You need help, yell.”“Under no circumstances are you to leave Dolly here alone.”Harl nodded. “Understood.”Andrew set out across the lawn, the grass soft under his feet. He didn’t need his flashlight until he was at the lilac hedge at the far side of the yard.
