Page 38 of Lawton

"I won't. But thanks." And then, he was gone.

I returned my attention to the treats. They all looked the same to me. Would they taste the same? I picked one up and gave it a sniff. Steak? It sure as hell didn't smell like it.

I tossed the thing back down. Screw it.

Two minutes later, I was striding through my back yard. The floodlights were off, and the yard was dark. Through the trees, I spotted the tall iron fence. Just beyond that fence was Chloe's house. I stopped at the fence and looked. Her back patio light was on, but the house was dark, and the blinds were shut.

The way it looked, no one was home.

A familiar male voice sounded behind me. "So you're actually gonna do it?"

With a muttered curse, I turned toward the sound. "No," I hissed. "And keep quiet, will ya?"

"Why? She's not home."

"How do you know?"

"Because I checked."

I froze. "Don't tell me you went in there."

"Alright."

I stepped closer and worked to keep my voice calm. "Did you?"

"No. I didn't have to." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a foil wrapper. "The way it looks, she buys 'em by the truck-load."

I stared at the thing. "You went through her trash?"

"Nah," he said. "The recycle bin."

I took the wrapper from his hand. It didn't look recyclable to me. Then again, I wasn't exactly an expert. Still, I gave Bishop a good, long look. "If you went inside…"

"I didn't."

Bishop did a lot of things, but lying wasn't one of them. I turned to gaze through the fence. Near Chloe's back patio, I spotted the familiar blue recycling bin next to her trash can.

"See?" Bishop said.

From here, it was hard to see anything. I turned back toward my own house. "I thought you were leaving."

"Yeah." As I walked, he fell in step beside me. "But I was betting you'd be out here."

"You bet yourself?" I said. "How much?"

"Does it matter?" He stopped walking. "I've got to ask you something."

Reluctantly, I stopped too. "What?"

"Were you really gonna hit the house?"

"No."

He was quiet a long moment. "Then what was your plan?"

"I was gonna hit the trash."

He shook his head. "Shit."