Whack The Mole (Lucy McGuffin, Psychic Amateur Detective 2)

I hunker down low and take a look through the binoculars. Just like the other day, there are no cars in front of the safe house and the garage door is closed.

A movement near the street catches my attention. A minivan drives through slowly like they’re checking out each house. I adjust the binoculars to see if I can get a better look at the driver.

It’s a man. And…

Rats. There’s a woman next to him and two kids in the back. Probably a family scoping out the neighborhood for potential homes.

Nothing else happens for the next thirty minutes. I reach into my sweatshirt pocket and pull out another treat. I have eight left, so we should be good for a couple more hours, but by then it will be full on dark. Note to Lucy: Bring a flashlight the next time you do recon.

I twist around to offer Paco the treat, but instead of taking it, he leaps out from our hiding place like he’s possessed. He takes off running down the street, his leash trailing behind him.

What?

I have no choice. I run after him. I try my best to snatch the end of the leash, but he’s too fast. The only time Paco acts like this is when…

Oh please no. Not again.

I just don’t think I can deal with two dead bodies on the same day.

I follow the sound of his crazy barking to the edge of a lot where a big water oak stands on the corner. Paco barks and jumps in the air like he’s trying to climb after something and that’s when I see what’s caused all the commotion.

A squirrel.

Ugh. I almost wish it had been a dead body because squirrels are the vilest animals alive. They’re Satan’s minions doing his evil bidding here on earth.

“Paco!” I grab the end of his leash and try to pull him away, but it’s no use. He’s determined to get that squirrel although what he’d do with it is beyond me. Probably lick it to death.

Paco’s barking becomes more violent. That’s when I see that there’s not just one squirrel, there’s three. All snarling with their big rodent teeth plotting how they’ll attack.

On an intellectual level, I know my fear of squirrels is irrational but knowing that doesn’t do me any good when my heart is beating out of my chest and my palms are going all sweaty.

I have to get out of here.

“Lucy!” A familiar voice makes me spin around.

It’s Sally. She’s wearing jogging clothes. Her hair is green today. She still looks cute, but I liked her pink hair better.

“Are you okay?” She asks, reading the panic on my face.

I nod woodenly.

She quickly takes control of the situation. Gripping hold of Paco’s leash, she uses a firm, but slightly scolding voice. “That’s enough.”

Miraculously, he obeys her. He continues to growl at the squirrels while Sally pulls him from his spot at the bottom of the tree, but at least he’s allowing himself to be led. When we get far enough away that the squirrels aren’t an issue, she hands me back the leash.

“Thanks, I suffer from—”

“Sciurophobia?” she asks.

“You know about that? Most people laugh when I tell them. They think I’m making it up.”

“My brother had it too.”

“Had? He’s not…”

“Dead? Oh, no! He went to a therapist who helped him get over it.”

“Whew! I thought you were going to tell me he was killed by a squirrel, in which case I would have never left the house again.”