Wishing for Momma to accept me had been a wasted effort. Boy would she be surprised to see me now—Rose Gardner, business owner.

The sun began to rapidly sink toward the earth, casting shadows, and I realized I was close to the park where I’d spent time the night of Momma’s murder. Instead of going home to her, I’d sat on a bench to write my wish list. If things had gone differently, Momma might not have been killed.

More wasted thoughts.

I turned Muffy around, and we took the same path I had taken that fateful night. Truth be told, I was sorry Momma got murdered, but my life had changed a lot since that night in May, and I wasn’t sorry about that. Why hadn’t I tried to change things before I thought I was going to be killed?

A half a block away, I hesitated at the street corner, staring at the house where I’d lived since I was a baby. Tonight was so similar to the night Momma had been killed—same time of day, same path, no porch light on—I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

Muffy stood next to me, looking up in confusion. Why was I standing still when we were so close to home?

I was being paranoid. I made myself put one foot in front of the other and crossed the street, chiding myself for acting so silly. I’d had a busy day, and the elderly women’s deaths had me on edge, not to mention all the weirdness about Joe and Mason. All I needed was a good night’s sleep.

But Muffy had other ideas. She bolted, jerking the leash from my hand, and tore across the street toward Miss Dorothy’s house.

“Muffy!”

She ignored me, running between the deceased woman’s house and Thomas’s on the corner.

I took off, chasing after her. “Muffy! Come back here right now!” But Muffy had her own plan and stopping wasn’t part of it. She sped around the corner and into the backyard. I stood at the edge of the property, letting my eyes adjust. The sun had almost set and the house was completely dark. It didn’t help that Miss Dorothy had sheets hanging on a clothesline in the back, obstructing my view of the yard.

“Muffy!”

I heard her low growl over by the house, and my breath came in short bursts. My little dog only growled when there was danger. I considered turning and running for my house, but I couldn’t leave her there, and I felt like a coward for even considering it. Muffy would never leave me.

“Muffy!” I whispered, but my voice was drowned out by a sudden chorus of locusts. I pushed between two sheets on the laundry line, finding a row of house dresses. Just when I was about to push through those, Muffy growled louder, and a figure burst through two of the dresses, plowing into me. I screamed and fell backward into the sheet hanging behind me. The man fell with me, landing on my stomach and knocking the air out of me.

Muffy jumped on the man, snarling as her teeth sank into the attacker’s upper right arm. He shoved her away, cursing under his breath, and then jumped up and ran off before I could gather my wits enough to react. I worried Muffy would run after him, but she came over to me whimpering instead.

Her cries got me moving. I sat up and ran my hands over her body, fearing that she may have been injured when the attacker threw her. But I couldn’t find anything wrong with her, and she stopping whining when I got to my feet.

Muffy had been whimpering because she was worried about me.

My butt was sore from the fall, but I was more frightened than hurt. I was on autopilot as I walked home, flipping on the kitchen light before I stepped inside, already planning to run to Heidi Joy’s house if it didn’t turn on. But the room flooded with light. No one was waiting in the dark to finish me off. I breathed a sigh of relief.

After locking the door, I grabbed my cell phone out of my purse, calling the first number that came to mind. He answered on the second ring.

“Rose, is everything all right?” Mason’s worried voice filled my ear.

“I don’t know. Someone just attacked me behind Miss Dorothy’s house.” My voice was strangely calm.

“Have you called the police?”

“No. I called you.”

“Where are you now?”

“In my house.”

“Lock the doors and don’t open them until I get there, okay?”

“Okay.” I nodded, only realizing as I did it that he couldn’t see me.

“Are you hurt?” His voice sounded tight.

“Not really. More scared.”

“I’ll be right there.”

I sank into a kitchen chair as my legs turned to limp spaghetti. I felt lightheaded, so I laid my head on the table as Muffy drank massive amounts of water from her bowl. A new fear filled me. “Muffy, you shouldn’t have run off like that. You could have been killed.”

She looked up at me like I’d just said the most ridiculous thing in the world.

“I mean it, Muffy. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” My voice broke when I thought about what could have happened to her. Muffy lifted her paws onto my knee, and I rubbed her head. “Good girl. I love you too.”

Sirens filled the night air, coming closer and clinching my stomach. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to the sound of sirens. Especially when I knew they were coming because of me. Instinctively, I had known Mason would call the police, but their presence still made me nervous.

Pounding on the front door made me jump, but Mason’s voice followed. “Rose! It’s me!”

I stood, waiting a second to be sure my legs would hold my weight, chiding myself for being such a baby. I’d been in worse fixes than this.