Chapter 7

Megan looked over her shoulder for the third time as she walked home. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she told herself she was imagining things. It didn’t help that she was alone and already on edge. Walking faster, she urged her pounding heart to calm itself. Why would somebody be following you in a place like Fair Haven? she asked herself. This town was safety incarnate. Crime rarely happened, and Megan walked home by herself all the time.

Then again, robberies were once uncommon, until recently.

She walked faster. When she heard a rustle in a nearby shrub, she almost jumped out of her skin before seeing a skinny cat dart across the street. She inhaled a deep breath.

But the feeling that someone was following her only continued as she walked home. When she heard footsteps behind her, she whirled around, but nobody was there. She peered into a nearby yard, but she could only see the usual types of things in anybody’s front yard: pots for gardening, children’s to