He avoided the stuff strewn around the floor as he walked around the bed and to the two windows facing out on the street. He peeled back the curtain and peeked out to ensure the kids remained there.
From what he could see, they were all still there, except their attention had been caught by the ice cream truck coming down the road. Most of them jumped up and started running or riding their bikes toward it.
They would be occupied for a while.
Asher settled the curtain carefully into place and returned to the closet. As he studied the mess, he realized that if a kid saw the stone as a prize or treasure, they probably wouldn’t bury it here. They would put it somewhere safe.
Or at least, he thought they would. The life of human children was far different from that of hunter kids. Still, if he’d been a child who discovered a treasure, he would have put it somewhere safe.
With the toe of his sneakers, he pushed back the clothes that had fallen out and rose on his toes to examine the closet shelf. He discovered a dust coating that covered his palm when he pulled his hand away.
Wiping his hand on his pants, he pushed the clothes back in and closed the doors. If it came down to it, he’d go through the clothes later, but he went to examine under the bed next. He lifted the dust skirt and knelt to peer beneath.
The skirt wasn’t doing the best job of keeping the dust bunnies out; instead, they had happily multiplied beneath the bed. A few forgotten socks were the only other things under there.
Feeling like a creep, Asher shoved himself away from the bed to inspect the rest of the room. He’d prefer not to go through the dresser drawers. They needed the stone, but he didn’t like the idea of pawing through anyone’s things, never mind a kid’s.
He hated every single second of this.
Rising again, he circled the room and tried to think where a kid would hide something from their sister and parents. He stopped beside the terrarium and bent to peer in at the turtle.
Most people weren’t bothered by turtles, but maybe this kid’s mom and sister didn’t like the little reptile. Asher inspected the small cage for some sign of the stone, but there was nowhere something the size of an apple could hide in there.
Growing frustrated and impatient, and hoping he hadn’t chosen the wrong room to waste all this time in, he turned to search for another hiding spot for the stone. He was either going to have to tear this room apart or go to another room, and he’dreallyprefer not to tear apart the little girl’s room.
Maybe they should come back tonight and have Brie take control of the family. It would be easier for her to find the stone than him.
And now that they knew there wasn’t a security system, they wouldn’t have to be concerned about it. He hadn’t seen anything to indicate they had guns yet, but most people would call the cops if a stranger started knocking on their door in the middle of the night.
Or they could come back at dinnertime. They would be more likely to be seen by neighbors, but it was better than this.
However, he was already here, so he would have to try to find it. He circled the room until he found himself standing in front of a bookshelf. He studied the titles as he examined the shelves.
Didn’t kids have fake books they could shove stuff inside?
The shelf was mostly filled with comic books, but a couple of dozen paperbacks and hardbacks were crammed onto it. Most of them were fantasy stories, a couple were sci-fi, and there was an English textbook.
He removed the textbook first; it was the only one that didn’t fit in with the others. But as he examined it, he discovered it was exactly what it seemed. Then he looked more closely at the titles and binding of one of the sci-fi books,Octopus in Space.
It sounded like something he would get a kick out of reading, but the binding looked slightly different than the other hardbacks surrounding it and it was wider than the other books. It was either a really thick tome or…
Asher rested his fingers against it and was pleased to discover it felt different from a real book. He grinned as he twisted the metal box in his hand. It was areallygood replica of a book, and if he hadn’t been looking for it, he never would have noticed the difference between it and the others surrounding it.
The cover design was an octopus wearing a helmet as it floated through space. In the center of one of the planets surrounding it was a small, golden row of numbers that had to be turned to the right code for the metal box to open.
When he shook it, something inside rattled. The box was big enough to hold the stone Brie described. He wasn’t eager to destroy some kid’s property, but if this contained the stone, it was much better to destroy it than keep going through some kid’s room.
He started to lift the box over his head to smash it against the bed’s footboard, but noise from outside drew his attention before he could. Tires squealed, and children’s voices rose in excitement as their chatter filled the air.
Asher tucked the box under his arm and hurried over to the window. He leaned against the wall, pulled the curtain back a little, and peered outside again.
What he saw out there made his heart sink as three police cars skidded to a halt outside the house. At first, Asher didn’t understand what had happened. He knew they were coming for him, but he didn’t know what had alerted them.
Had it been Brie? Had she somehow set him up? But, no, that made no sense. She was after the stone, and while his interference in her life irritated her, she wouldn’t have turned him in without getting the stone first.
And he honestly didn’t see her turning him in. If she wanted him out of the picture, she could have thrown him out somewhere along the road or refused to let him come with her.
No, something else had alerted the police.
