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park. He’d stashed his car there and followed one of the trails to the dog park. The Watcher originally planned a quick dash to her car to plant the doll, then back into the woods where he could see her reaction to the little offering. Once he got there, he realized there was a chance a loose dog in the parking lot would smell him in the woods and expose him. So he sat in his car to see where she was going. Probably home, since she had Julia with her.
    The Watcher felt a gaping hole in his chest as her car pulled further and further away from him, a plunge from the heady excitement of leaving his offering on her car.
    He’d taken a huge risk this time. Anyone at the park could have seen him, had they chosen to look down at the lot from the ridge where dogs and their owners gathered. His heart pounded in his ears when a meandering Schnauzer yipped at him from behind the fence. Now the capricious organ dropped into his stomach, resuming the familiar dull ache that kept him listless and depressed unless she was around. He could barely eat and was losing weight.
    His only relief came when he reviewed his surveillance videos, or when he broke into her apartment to swap out SD cards. He found himself spending more and more time at her place during these excursions. He knew it was dangerous, but it was such pleasure being where she spent her nights, touching the towels she dried her creamy skin with, inhaling the essence of her lingering on the sheets.
    Desiree was an indifferent housekeeper and left her bed unmade. This made it easy for him to lay on her bed, share her pillow. He liked to close his eyes and imagine her lying next to him.
    The blinking dot stopped moving, pulling him out of his revery. She wasn’t home. The dot was miles away, in the parking lot behind Ludlow Avenue. What would she be doing there? It occurred to him that patrons often took dogs into Om Cafe, the metaphysical restaurant above the lot. If he hurried, he could bump into her there. He could do that, couldn’t he? It would be an accident. At least, she would think it was.

    â€œ I ’m worried about Desiree ,” Lia told Peter.
    They sat in her kitchen, sharing an Edgar Allen Poe pizza from Dewey’s while the dogs watched and drooled. Peter ripped a crust into three pieces and tossed them to the dogs. Honey snatched hers out of the air, Chewy snapped at his and missed, then snuffled around the floor looking for it, and Viola sat with a look of disbelief on her face that he would assault her with flying food.
    Peter picked up the offending bit of crust and offered it to Viola on his open palm. “Here you go, your highness.” Viola sniffed at the crust, then delicately nibbled it out of his palm. She laid it on the floor and licked it twice, then ate it in one gulp.
    Lia shook her head. “When are you going to stop trying to get her to act like a regular dog? It’s beneath her.”
    â€œI keep hoping. Why are you worried about Desiree?”
    â€œSomeone’s been leaving her these little dolls made out of foil, and she has no idea who’s doing it.”
    â€œHow do you make a doll out of foil?”
    â€œI’m not sure, but it looks like one piece of foil crunched up so that it holds its shape. I bet it’s easy if you figure out how. I thought it was cute at first. Now it’s getting creepy.”
    â€œWhat is it that’s disturbing you?”
    â€œThe dolls are cute and they look harmless. It’s just that one popped up while we were at the park today. Someone knew she was at the park or went to the trouble of following her there, and they chose to leave something on her car instead of saying something to her. Why doesn’t he just ask her out on a date?”
    â€œI seem to recall leaving plants outside your studio door,” Peter rubbed the back of his neck and gave Lia a wry twist of his mouth.
    â€œThat’s different. I knew it was you. And it was very sweet.