Chapter 7

“Felicity is almost here!” Ashlynn yelled from downstairs.

“Game time. Are you ready?” Jake inquired, standing up in Danica’s bedroom.

“I’m so ready for this part of my life to be over,” the beautiful brunette responded. Danica wore a confident expression that belied her nervousness. “I just hope the creep takes the bait.”

“With what Ashlynn has planned? He won’t be able to ignore it,” Jake declared, already feeling jealous over what he’ll miss while upstairs. “Anything new from Brett?”

“No. While he put in a request for the property manager to save the lobby’s security footage, we probably can’t look at it until Monday,” Danica explained.

The teen detective thought he saw a small camera the other day. His crush confirmed condo owners used it to buzz in guests or deliveries when they rang up the unit. While the intruder might have picked a couple of locks, Jake felt he might have had a key, like he clearly did to this house. Danica confirmed that she occasionally had Brett's spare, which she kept in her top desk drawer. An additional duplicate wouldn't take long to make.

After watching his crush head downstairs, the junior sleuth slid across the darkening hallway. Checking the air vent to his side, Jake hoped the Peeping Tom wouldn’t notice all his cameras had been disabled. Phinn assured him that even if he could access them from nearby, the creep might assume a weak signal to be the problem. Trying to keep out of sight, Jake dropped to his knees and crawled across Felicity’s bedroom. As one of two bedrooms facing the southern front of the house, the teen peeked out a window with almost perfect timing.

With the sun lowering in the sky, an old minivan slowly approached with its turn signal blinking. Crawling away from the window, Jake stood up again to hurriedly exit the bedroom into the upstairs hallway. The American Craftsman-style home had a gambrelled roof, leaving only second-story windows in the front and back. So Jake slid down the stairs to peer out a window around their halfway point.

As day turned into dusk, the plan Jake had formulated with Phinn and the girls kicked into operation. Anyone watching would see Felicity returning from Poppa’s Pies with four pizzas for her housemates and their guests. The Horny Poltergeist wouldn’t see the small teenager crouching on the front passenger’s side floor.

The first deviation from the girls’ routines occurred when Felicity opened the garage door to pull into the east side of the building. Usually, she parked her mom’s hand-me-down minivan in the driveway. The often-absent housemate altered the usual parking arrangements for two reasons. First, Danica’s car sat outside on the cracked cement as an enticement for the girls’ stalker. Second, and most importantly, the large minivan in the garage would block the east side window’s view into the garage.

This morning, a debate occurred over that concerning window. Danica had suggested covering it with a blanket or towel. However, Jake and Phinn agreed that everything needed to appear as close to normal as possible. Aware of the minivan’s tight squeeze in the garage, Ashlynn had come up with a solution.

As an SUV slowed down on the side street, Jake watched Ashlynn rush outside to help her housemate. If the girls followed the script, Danica would be waiting openly in the house’s back door to hold it open for her friends. On cue, Jake heard a shout and watched as Ashlynn and Felicity turned from the open rear of the minivan. The two young women waved at their returning neighbors while informing them that the food had arrived. Jake knew without looking that they yelled over to Priscilla and Summer. The whole interaction was in place to further entice the creeping pervert if he was already nearby.

Phinn had warned his partner to stay on target during the planning when the stocky athlete learned which neighbors the girls planned to invite over. Dubbed the “Hot Girl House” during his stakeout, Jake had been thrilled to hear that a trio of the coeds from across the street and two houses over would be coming over to help sell the fashion show tonight.

With the buxom ginger carrying the four pizza boxes, Felicity followed Ashlynn, stopping momentarily to open the garage's regular door on the front west side, to lean in and hit the main door's button. Jake knew that as the large garage door descended, Kody O'Keefe would slip out of the minivan to take up his stakeout location from within the garage. The football team's kicker/punter ended up with this role primarily due to his small size.

Returning upstairs to the front bedroom, Jake spied the SUV parked along the curb directly in front of this home’s porch. Belonging to Priscilla, one of the gorgeous coeds from across the street, the vehicle’s offer and selection had proven fortunate. After spending several days parked on the street, Jake’s old sedan would likely be recognized by the Horny Poltergeist, especially if his identity matched Jake’s guess. A minor discussion about using Danica or Ashlynn’s car had been discarded as they were both relatively small and more likely to draw the stalker’s attention. Hidden inside the uninteresting SUV sat the other member of Jake’s stakeout crew, Wallace Weaver.

Since Luke and Andre continued to be grounded from the events of the Phantom Diver case, Jake had to call in his B-team of friends. Always **** for money, Kody had immediately accepted the job before fretting about its danger. More interested in breaking his current boredom, Wally had accepted Jake’s offer as he figured he might get a fun story out of the night. Promising them thirty bucks each after also buying the props the other night meant Jake had already spent more than the eighty-dollar retainer he’d landed.

The two teens had met Felicity, Priscilla, and Summer in the parking lot of Poppa’s Pies, far out of sight from any watcher. Transferring over to the two vehicles eliminated any needless risk around this neighborhood.

"This is Puffer Leader. All squad members check in," Jake said, nearly forgetting to add the word over at the end. It had been some time since he and Phinn had used their old Busybody walkie-talkies.

“Puffer Three ready. I’m comfortable and out of sight,” Wally reported, sprawled in the back of the SUV.

“Puffer Two reporting in,” Kody radioed, his voice revealing his worried state of mind. “Are we sure this guy won’t spot us?”

"You'll be fine as long as you don't put your face against the window," Jake assured. All three teens were also equipped with earpieces for incoming communications so that they wouldn't be overheard.

The garage consisted of two parking spots, two side windows, and a small workshop area on the structure's west side. Above the half-century-old wooden workbench sat the west side window that looked directly into the rental home’s small backyard. The window also provided a perfect vantage point to watch the house’s back door. While limited, those two locations felt important to Jake and his plan.

Situated across the street, Wally’s responsibilities included watching the driveway, sidewalks, and front porch. Having been on stakeout in the same spot, Jake had given the jokester an idea of what he could and couldn’t see.

The most significant issue for the stakeout and trap lay with the home’s west side. It had the majority of the property’s large magnolia trees and overgrown bushes. In a perfect setup, Jake would've been responsible for this danger zone, with Luke and Andre helping the two teen detectives. Additionally, Phinn would’ve been upstairs, overseeing the whole operation. Instead, they had to make do with what they had. Jake predicted the living room windows would draw the Horny Poltergeist in the most. Every single blind and shade in the house had been raised, including the usually covered window on the first floor’s back hallway near the bedrooms.

Also, since the old home didn’t have central air conditioning, the lower-level windows all sat open, with only their screens stopping the pervert from waltzing inside. Several old window air conditioning units had been turned off upstairs, leading fans to be Jake and Cheddar’s only relief, as he needed to listen for outside noises. The orange tabby cat had taken to following the investigator for now. Eventually, the girls predicted his curiosity would shift once their guests arrived.

Almost on cue, Cheddar ran to the top of the stairs as a loud knock sounded on the front door. The knocker didn’t wait for one of the housemates to answer the door as they entered on their own. Jake heard the high-pitched greetings as the neighborhood trio sold the excitement over their girls’ night.

A few minutes later, Danica dropped off several slices and a soda for Jake. The teen detective heard how Kody had been given the same while driving to the house, leaving Wally as the only unfed member of the crew. Although he complained, it made sense as the class clown’s location made it the most difficult to relieve himself if needed. Priscilla hadn’t responded well to the suggestion that Wally could pee inside a bottle while in her SUV. An emergency plan had been concocted as one of the trio’s other roommates planned to take advantage of the quiet house to have over a guy she’d recently started dating. If Wally needed to get out of the SUV for any reason, this coed would move the vehicle into their driveway, garage, or around the block so the teen could exit.

After the girls finished their late dinner, they visited Jake to say hello or ask questions. As Jake learned earlier in the day, the neighbors were all a year younger than Danica, Ashlynn, and Felicity. Priscilla, the apparent leader, had an arrogant, rich-girl air about her. A gorgeous, immaculately dressed brunette with piercing green eyes and large breasts, she seemed amused by Jake. In her world, detectives weren’t football-playing teens.

It appeared that Wally’s humorous mouth had made a quick impression on Summer during the drive over. A dark-skinned twenty-one-year-old, she had the slim, sleek figure of a dancer with long legs, a toned ass, and medium-sized breasts. Chuckling over Jake’s two unlikely helpers, Summer vowed to be the first to catch the Horny Poltergeist once he showed. Jake didn’t doubt she could cover ground rapidly with those long legs.

“Report in,” Jake directed after Summer’s remark reminded him why they were there.

“All clear.”

“I can’t see shit,” Kody complained.

"Use those binoculars I gave you," Jake suggested about his mini-binoculars. Kody and Wally had been given his and Phinn's small ones, while Jake borrowed his dad's full-sized pair.

“That doesn’t help. It’s too dark,” Kody pointed out.

“Wait, isn’t the back porch light on?” Jake inquired, the hair on the back of his neck standing up.

After confirming it wasn’t, Jake rolled one of Cheddar’s balls with a bell inside down the stairs. This was the sign that he needed to talk to one of the housemates.

“Sally–I mean, Officer Jasso said it was unscrewed the other night,” Danica recounted. “Her partner screwed it back in, and it went on.”

“It was on last night. I know it!” Felicity added after joining them. “Mandy said so.”

“That means he came back sometime today to unscrew it,” Jake realized.

“Does that mean he’s planning to watch tonight?” Danica asked.

“I think so, and I suspect I’m on the right track. He must have heard about your plans last night at the bar,” Jake said.

As the girls went to inform the others, Jake updated Kody and Wally through the walkie-talkies and Phinn through a phone message.

The final guest had been the most enlightening for Jake. A golden blonde with blue eyes and medium-to-large breasts, Tiffany turned out to be quite the chatterbox. In a matter of five minutes, Jake learned that Tiff and Ashlynn paid their way through college with the money they made on SpicyDevotees. Neither coed went as far as straight-up fucking on the subscription service, but they did pretty much everything else. Provocative pictures and videos often descended into shows of masturbation, oral sex, and even girl-on-girl fun. Already alone in a house with six sexy women, Jake struggled to control his rising hormone level.

Besides confirming Elexis’s tease about someone he knew being on the racy website, Jake learned that another of Ashlynn’s roommates had made several appearances with her. Across the street, Summer seemed on the fence about filming material with Tiffany. However, Priscilla’s proper lady act hides a secret slutty side, as she’d filmed content with Tiff and a guy on several occasions without showing a clear shot of her face.

Even more startling and erection-inducing came the revelation that Ashlynn’s fashion show tonight was about getting opinions from her friends over the new lingerie and outfits she planned to use on SpicyDevotees. And when Tiff revealed that she’d brought over several outfits for the same purpose, Jake couldn’t stifle his groan. With the blonde giggling, she left the room with a promise for pictures and maybe even an in-person appearance from the fashion show downstairs.

“Holy shit! I knew that uppity girl was hiding something,” Wally commented on Priscilla. “How much do their accounts cost?”

“I don’t know,” Jake admitted over the walkie-talkie.

“Fuck it. What are the redhead and blonde’s account names?” Wally questioned, leading Jake to warn him about getting distracted while on the stakeout.

“Shouldn’t we get a free trial or something if we catch this pervert?” Kody asked, always the penny-pincher.

“Me? You’re the lucky one in that house with those vixens,” Wally responded to Jake’s earlier warning. “You'd better forward those pictures our way. This might be a long night.”

Over the next hour, Jake learned why Nancy, the goody-goodie nursing student and different neighbor he’d met, didn’t come over tonight. Outside of Danica and Felicity, the other coeds put on a clinic for sexy, teasing modeling.

Although they knew the Horny Poltergeist might be watching and listening, the girls often found excuses to venture upstairs. The pretense of using Danica and Felicity’s bedrooms was the most-used cover story. Without Phinn around, Jake repeatedly reminded himself to keep focus on the investigation.

Ashlynn kicked off Jake's private show by appearing in a tasteful emerald green camisole, which went perfectly with her red hair and alabaster skin. Promising a slow ratcheting up of the sexy sluttiness, the ginger chuckled when she learned about Tiff spilling the beans.

“Oh well. I’d planned to let you in on the secret anyway.”

The aforementioned blonde appeared three times during the first hour. First, Tiffany wore a tiny baby blue satin robe over a matching underwear set. Next, a mostly transparent pink baby doll revealed the fullness of her sneakily large breasts. Finally, a white bridal babydoll sent Jake squirming in his seat. The blatant sluttiness of the wedding night lingerie had Wally cracking jokes in awe after Jake sent the pictures to his phone.

“Is there such a thing as a slutty virgin bride?” Wally asked.

Twice, the seasons changed, with Summertime ushered in by a click-clack of high heels on the hardwood stairs and hallway floor. The lithe, dark-skinned dancer kept it simple with a bra and panties. A pale yellow push-up bra and boyshorts panties turned into a crimson red strapless bra and thong. Jake nearly slapped his forehead when Kody pointed out the obvious: Summer and Farrah looked quite similar in skin tone and figure. Visions of the ex-cheerleader and current hostess at Smashburgers wearing the same outfits had Jake typing a note to himself on his phone.

Priscilla’s lone appearance showed that quality often mattered more than quantity. Although skimpy, the brunette’s family wealth appeared in the expensive-looking black demi-bra and lace panties. The lace-satin shelf-bra left her D-cup on mouthwatering display while her garter belt and black thigh-high stockings screamed lady in the streets, freak between the sheets.

Of course, Ashlynn stole the spotlight by outdoing all her friends. The redhead showed that experience counted as displayed over her subsequent two appearances, which started with tiny robes covering her lingerie. After a classy camisole, Ashlynn proved her assets could even overcome a plain brown teddy. Jake admired how the simple article of clothing could hold such promise and suggestion merely by the curves underneath. Then, the SpicyDevotees model flaunted her moneymakers by dropping the robe to reveal a scarlet red and black corset.

Visibly gulping at the sight, Jake's fingers danced at his sides. They wanted to reach up and pull those black ties to reveal the coed model's Double Ds. Gawd…damn! I wonder how they stack up against Lexi’s. Holy fuck! Imagine Elexis and Ashlynn side-by-side on SpicyDevotees.

An ultra-realistic daydream of Jake and the six young women in the middle of an orgy took over his brain. He pictured a daisy-chain spread out around the living room, where Jake took turns pounding each coed from behind as she ate out one of her friends.

“This is Puffer Three. We have an incoming suspect near the car in the driveway. I repeat, incoming suspect. He’s moving toward the garage,” Wally revealed, breaking the stakeout silence.

“What? Where?” Kody questioned from inside the garage. He picked up the baseball bat he’d smuggled in without Jake’s knowledge.

Snapping out his admiration of Ashlynn’s potential as a Hellfire Club cosplayer, Jake grabbed his walkie-talkie. “Stay out of sight, Puffer Two.”

“Oh, crap! The guys headed straight for the garage door,” Wally reported, watching as the crouching man dropped the stealth act to hurry toward the door.

"The lock doesn't always work," Ashlynn revealed once Jake explained the situation.

“Hide, Kody, hide!” Jake directed.

“He’s going inside,” Wally added as Kody went silent.

“We might have him,” Jake told the ginger, who hurried downstairs to whisper the development.

Less than two minutes later, Danica rushed into the bedroom. Jake held up a finger as he told Wally not to move after the class clown offered to check on the situation. Another minute later, Jake received a message from Kody on his phone.

“The guy is watching out the west window,” Jake relayed to Danica.

“That means he’s trapped. I’m going out there to confront him,” the angry brunette announced.

“That’s too risky.”

“I’m sick of living in fear for days after this creep appears,” Danica shot back. “I’m ending it now.”

“Wait, we don’t know if it’s him.”

“Seriously? Who else is going to be hiding in our garage?” Danica challenged, wearing a dubious expression.

“An actual burglar. Or it could be a neighbor who heard about or saw a bunch of hot women wearing lingerie,” Jake speculated, although he agreed it was likely the Horny Poltergeist.

“Fine. I’ll take Fliss with me as she’s still dressed. We won’t go rushing out there.”

Once alone again in the bedroom, Jake revealed Danica's intentions to his friends. Wally wondered if he should help them, but Jake turned it down with the same explanation he gave Danica. In Jake's opinion, just past ten o'clock seemed too early for the Horny Poltergeist to take a risk yet. Too many people were still wide awake in this neighborhood filled with college students. With Kody unable to speak, he listened as Jake asked him to find a weapon in case the confrontation turned violent.

“A bat? You brought a bat with you?” Jake asked into the walkie-talkie after reading the message. “Fine. But don’t hit one of the girls.”

Crouching between Ashlynn’s compact car and Felicity’s minivan, Kody peered over the smaller car’s hood. He watched as the spying man’s body jerked in surprise. Ducking down, Kody heard the man mumbling to himself as he frantically searched for a place to hide. Thankfully for the teen, the strange observer chose to hide in the garage’s corner behind a metal shelf next to the workshop rather than Kody’s spot.

When the regular door swung open, Kody heard a clunk as the man sought to make himself smaller. The teen risked a peek around the passenger side mirror as the overhead light switched on. He could tell the man’s attempt to avoid discovery wouldn’t last long.

“Alright, we know you’re in here, pervert. You might as well come out,” Danica announced in the silent garage.

“The cops are on the way, sicko,” Felicity lied, causing the man to sigh loudly.

“There is no need for the police. It’s just me, Dani,” Brett Utley said, taking two steps to reveal himself. Suddenly, he cried, “Oomph!” as Kody dashed around the front of Ashlynn’s car to jab the baseball bat into the attorney’s side.

“Brett!” Danica hissed, although she knew better than to scream.

Inside one of the rear second-story bedrooms, Jake struggled to see through the garage window. When Kody reported, "It's some guy named Brett," the junior sleuth froze in shock.

Could Brett have been the Horny Poltergeist all along? He and Dani only started dating a year ago, so that it couldn’t be a possessive boyfriend act. Based on his past investigations, it couldn’t be ruled out. Just as Elexis briefly suspected Rand Dolan’s involvement, a current boyfriend might be as likely to watch his girlfriend as her ex. The watcher started two years ago, and based on Brett’s profile, he began at his law firm precisely two summers ago. Hell, he could’ve even been an intern the summer before that in Edgewater. Is this a case of an obsessed man worming his way into the life of the woman he’s stalking? Did he steal Ashlynn’s lingerie to plant in his bedroom to eliminate himself as a suspect?

Telling Kody to stay out of sight, Jake called Danica’s phone. As expected, she didn’t suspect her boyfriend at all.

“He’s sorry if he blew up our trap. He knew we had something planned, but not its exact details. Brett only wanted to ensure my safety,” the trusting brunette explained.

Jake frowned as he pondered what Phinn might do in this situation. If Brett was innocent, then the girls couldn’t be in that garage for much longer. That **** him to come up with his own idea rather than confer with his partner.

“Quick, find something to bring into the house. Maybe a bag or–Kody’s backpack! Grab that, and have a loud conversation while walking from the garage to the back door about how you almost didn’t find it,” Jake directed. “Also, Brett needs to hide. He can’t be seen inside there.”

Not in the mood to argue if Brett tried to go into the house with his girlfriend, the teen detective ended the call. Next, he hit the talk button on the walkie-talkie.

“Kody, listen up. Brett is probably not our guy, but we don’t have enough evidence to clear him. So keep an eye on him and watch what you say. This could all be a trick on his part.”

Keeping to his worrywart personality, Kody sent back a message asking if Jake was insane. Hiding in the garage with the potential creep is how people die in horror films.

“This isn’t Midkill, O’Keefe. At worst, Utley’s a creepy Peeping Tom. He’s not going to slit your throat.”

“No, he’s only a cannibal,” Wally joked, feeling left out of the action.

“Cut the chatter,” Jake ordered before typing a message to tell Danica to hurry. He added that they should stay downstairs for now. The house needed to settle down to lure the peeper in.

“What’s happening?” Phinn answered his phone with the question.

“I’m not sure,” Jake admitted before launching into an account of what just occurred.

“As our last case showed, you can’t take anyone at their word. Have Kody continue to monitor the backyard and Utley. It shouldn't be too difficult.”

“You know he’s a bit of a worrywart.”

“He’s far more than a bit, but he can handle it. If Kody starts freaking out, offer him another ten dollars,” Phinn suggested. Then, he switched topics. “Hmm, Ashlynn’s career might factor into this situation more than you expect. Perhaps she’s the true subject.”

“But Lexi and Danica are the ones connected,” Jake pointed out.

“Yet, Elexis and Ashlynn are also connected through Danica. The same goes for this Tiffany and her friends. We have to consider that the ghost could be one of the girls’ subscribers or an acquaintance who learned of their work. Even if the others aren’t on SpicyDevotees, they have pictures and videos on other social media sites,” Phinn said, analyzing the facts and scenario. “Perhaps your dad’s bar has nothing to do with their Horny Poltergeist and Peeping Tom.”

“No. It does. I know it,” Jake insisted. “Call it a gut feeling. The back porch light was unscrewed again after the girls discussed their plans last night.”

"We have to hope he shows up. Each additional night of this trap will lead to more potential mix-ups, such as Brett's appearance. Make sure everybody understands that," Phinn reminded. "Also, get your fantasy-filled mind out of the gutter. You're not getting a threesome or orgy tonight. Because if you did, you'd blow your chance to solve this new case."

“Yeah, yeah,” Jake said before hearing the walkie-talkie crackle to life. “I gotta go. Wally’s reporting in.”

“Car approaching from the east,” Puffer Three reported.

Rushing over to Felicity’s bedroom, Jake dropped to his knees for the last several feet. Peering out of the window, his eyebrows raised before shaking his head. Nah, it couldn’t be.

“Whoa! Check out the smokeshow,” Wally announced, his binoculars laser-focused on the pair of killer legs that swung out of the car first. “Holy tits!”

“It is,” Jake said aloud as he watched Lexi reach back inside to grab a bag before walking up the front porch. He quickly filled in his two friends about the new arrival’s identity.

Well aware that Elexis was scheduled to work until closing time because that had originally been Danica’s shift, Jake wondered how she got off so early. Straining to listen from the top of the stairs, Jake merely heard squeals of welcome and introductions around. The curious investigator waited several minutes before sending Cheddar’s ball back down the stairs.

“Funny way of summoning me,” the ash blonde said, greeting her newest lover. She turned the light on and plopped her bag down on Danica’s bed. Then, looking down at the teen hiding on the floor, she added, “Yeah, Ashlynn messaged me the cat’s toys are your code.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

"Funny story. It seems the owner's son begged off his shift, so his sister had to come in to waitress. Do you know how pissed Libby is with you?"

“Oh, I know. I’ve been ignoring her string of threats,” Jake admitted, shaking his phone in the air. “She hasn’t helped at Magnum’s in at least a year. She can handle one night.”

“It’s your parents who can’t handle it. Your mom finally showed up to scold her for all the messages she got,” the bartender revealed.

“What’s that got to do with your being here?”

“As Marvin claimed ignorance over your whereabouts, Justine interrogated me.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Oh, shit is right,” Lexi chuckled. “First off, your mother isn’t pleased that you're working on another investigation so quickly after getting in trouble for that pirate thing. Second, she hopes you'll help us by catching my Peeping Tom.”

Jake shook his head over the stern discussion his mom had already promised. Yet, his concern vanished as the busty bartender rapidly pulled off her top and shorts. While left in only a black bra and panties, Elexis dug into her bag.

“As to how I got off early, Justine decided to let me witness the possible bust by saying she could handle a few hours of bartending on a Saturday night like the old days. She told your dad I wasn’t feeling well, and he panicked,” Elexis recounted. “I’ll make a miraculous recovery tomorrow to keep him from worrying too much about the flu spreading further.”

All Jake heard was flu, Mom, and bartending as Lexi stripped down to nothing. With firm, recent memories of how delicious those tits and pussy tasted, Jake used all his willpower not to latch onto one of those naughty parts. Then, holding up a few different items to her body, she selected a red wine and a champagne-colored lingerie set.

“About your other request, I noticed a few missing regulars. Nagle and Keon hadn’t shown up before I left. That cocky asshole, Easton Ingle, came in again with friends, but not the one you asked to keep an eye on.”

“Cameron Pine,” Jake mumbled, his eyes staring as Elexis bent over to strap on a pair of stripper heels.

“Right. Well, have fun in the dark.”

Thirty minutes passed as Jake and Cheddar moved from window to window. The orange tabby cat appeared curious about what the big guy did with the strange object he placed in front of his eyes every few minutes. Neither Wally nor Kody reported any signs of movement, which caused Jake to curse the house’s design. If only he had some windows on the west side to look through.

Thoughts of Brett’s appearance scaring off the peeper bounced around the junior investigator’s head, as did additional speculation about Brett possibly being the Horny Poltergeist.

Just as Jake typed an update to Phinn, the walkie-talkie crackled.

“Puffer Two here. I might have possible movement near the northwest corner,” Kody radioed.

Hmm, that corner is Ashlynn’s bedroom, where I saw the glowing light the other night.

Jake told him to keep an eye on it and warn Brett about committing any heroic act too early. Once he received confirmation, Cheddar pounced down the stairs in pursuit of the two balls that Jake rolled over the top. Danica and Cheddar returned, leading Jake to fill her in on the potential development. Nodding, she took the cat downstairs with her.

A few minutes later, Elexis returned for an outfit change. Removing her bra and panties, the sex kitten stretched her nude body in front of the window before reaching down to grab Jake's head. Planting a deep, soul-searching kiss, the bottle blonde pulled away with a giggle before pulling out another piece of gossamer from her bag.

“Like that taste? It’s Ashlynn.”

“What? Jesus, Lexi,” Jake moaned as his tongue swirled in his mouth.

“Ah, you’re a pussy connoisseur now?”

“How the hell did…Were others involved?”

"Nope. I just joined Ash when she went to change in her room. I couldn't resist taking a long lick."

“Fuck!” Jake groaned. “Wait, this was a few minutes ago?”

“Maybe a couple more than that. Why?”

Jake explained the movement near Ashlynn’s window that Kody thought he saw. Although she laughed off the possibility of being watched, Lexi’s shudder gave away her true feelings before returning to the living room.

Over the next fifteen minutes, a flurry of pictures burned up Jake’s phone. With Brett in the garage with him, Kody kept his mouth shut, but Wally oohed and ahhed over the hard-on creators. Considering the number of photos and the way the girls touched each other in them, Jake started to wonder if they were getting drunk.

Finally, Felicity entered her bedroom while carrying Cheddar. Turning the light on, she closed the door to a crack to keep the cat inside.

“We think something is going on,” she whispered. “Cheddar is acting oddly around the two living room windows. It’s strange enough that we think someone is outside in the bushes. We’ve all been taking pictures to try to capture an image of the person.”

Jake nodded as that explained the wave of messages. As he did so, Felicity’s phone buzzed. After reading the screen, she handed her phone to Jake. Summer believed she might have snapped a picture of a tiny red dot. Only a sliver of red light, it led Jake to wonder if the Horny Poltergeist used a camcorder rather than his phone to record the sights.

If it’s one of those with a movable display screen, the peeper could record while off to the side and watching the screen. It would be better than standing while holding out your phone.

“We’re certain he’s out there,” Lexi said, returning. She raised an eyebrow at the closed door before moving her gaze back and forth between the two.

“Get your mind out of the gutter,” Felicity said.

“Alright, get back down there while I tell the others,” Jake directed before pressing the talk button. “This is Puffer Leader. We may have a confirmed sighting by the west side living room windows. It’s time to move in slowly.”

Kody and Wally acknowledged the order to stop at the house’s corners.

With the living room windows facing the stairs, this might be the worst-case scenario for Jake. Seeking an alternate, he glanced over at the front window before shrugging. Lifting the windowscreen, Jake slowly climbed out and onto the sloped roof. Bracing one hand against the house, Jake gingerly walked toward the west side.

“Come out with your hands up!”

Jake cursed as he recognized Brett’s voice. Moving to sit on the roof’s edge, Jake pushed himself off. Landing in one of the smaller bushes, the stocky detective quickly found Wally lending him a hand to pull him up.

A loud cry followed a thud as Jake got to his feet.

“The guy just hit Utley, and he’s on the move,” Kody reported.

“There!” Wally pointed as a hooded man ran from between the two buildings in their direction.

Never breaking his stride, the masked man’s head jerked in their direction as he raced around the front of the neighbor’s house. As if shot out of a cannon, Jake followed at high speed. The two men weaved in and out of front and back yards, jumping over or around rocks, bushes, garden ornaments, and even a pair of hoses.

Scaling a wooden fence sent them to the next street over.

Despite being in the best shape of his life, Jake slowly fell behind as the lanky man’s long legs allowed him to add an inch of distance every minute or two. Realizing he might not catch the Horny Poltergeist on his own, Jake broadcast their whereabouts on the walkie-talkie after every turn.

Now, two blocks behind Danica's house, Jake caught a break as the fleeing man tripped over a lawn gnome. With Jake gaining and a home's front porch to his right, the nightcreeper shot to his left and down a driveway.

“He’s doubling back!” Jake informed his friends.

And the **** man did double back. He crossed another street and a pair of houses before emerging from the back of a home on the girls’ street. With Jake shouting each turn and Wally and Kody repeating them loudly, people started to trickle out of their houses to check on the commotion.

Falling behind again because of the straight sprint, Jake nearly shouted in victory as a body slid out of nowhere to tackle the peeper. The masked man started to stand up until the person’s long leg lashed out with a sharp kick, then a second one.

Hurdling a flower pot, Jake took five more steps before launching himself into the air to tackle the Horny Poltergeist. The two men rolled around in the grass, wrestling for the upper hand until Jake’s superior strength won out.

“I told you I’d catch him first,” Summer reminded, kicking the pervert in the groin.

“Nice sliding leg tackle. Soccer?” Jake asked, forcing both the masked man’s arms behind his back.

“Never played it in my life,” Summer admitted.

Wally reached them first, huffing and puffing from the effort. Danica, Brett, and Felicity arrived next, as the latter gave their location to a person on the other end of the phone.

“You caught him!” Jake’s crush cheered.

“Who is he?” Elexis asked, without a care in the world, as she walked over while wearing her lingerie. At least Ashlynn threw on a coat to cover up her second corset.

As Phinn or Dusty always handled the grand unveiling, Jake suddenly couldn't think of a great way to reveal the culprit's identity. Instead, he yanked down the jacket hood before pulling off the ski mask and announcing, "It's Steve!"

“Steve!” Danica gasped in shock.

“I should’ve known,” Elexis remarked, lining a sharp kick into his side.

Steve Saunders, the assistant manager at Magnum’s, flailed on the ground while he turned his head to snarl at the teen kneeling on his back.

“I should’ve never gone along with that jealous bitch!” the ex-wide receiver snarled before lashing out repeatedly to kick his legs up and behind him into Jake’s back.

“Steve, stop!” Danica shrieked as a patrol car pulled up.

“Fucking dumb bitch went and hired a kid detect–OWW!”

“Oh, damn, that had to hurt,” Summer commented.

"He is our school's kicker," Wally deadpanned before bursting into laughter.

After getting lost in the maze of backyards, Kody arrived last. Sprinting toward the commotion, he never slowed down as he saw the thrashing man attempt to knock Jake off him. So his kick to Steve's balls landed hard.

“I don’t understand. What’s he talking about?” Danica asked, turning to face Jake in confusion as Officer Jasso and her partner hauled Steve up.

---

“We'd better start a new scrapbook for the hero,” Phinn commented, rolling his eyes as the photographer for the Edgewater Dispatch took Jake’s picture.

“You’re just upset you missed out,” Kennedy Eaton teased. The local reporter had just finished interviewing Jake and several of the eyewitnesses.

“Sitting on a stakeout with a bunch of half-naked women before running through people’s yards? I’ll pass,” Phinn stated.

This time, Kennedy rolled her eyes. She knew most men would kill to be in that scenario, but Phinn found it boring. He'd rather tase or shoot someone while a fake ghost lurched around a graveyard.

Pamela had only allowed her grounded son to leave the house as Justine drove him to the gathering Sunday afternoon at Magnum’s. Besides Kody, Wally, and the women from the house, they’d been joined by almost two dozen current or graduated college students, who’d long been aware of the Horny Poltergeist bothering their neighbors.

A distraught Marvin had skipped the quickly assembled party in his son’s honor. He’d never particularly liked Steve, but Belinda’s actions broke his heart. Having known her since she was a young kid, Marvin hated having to fire her. Despite not committing a crime, he could never let Belinda stay, as she had attempted to undermine a coworker’s relationship while using his son to do so. Her scheme horrified every employee at Magnums, along with most of the regulars. Despite her rocky history of boyfriends, they couldn’t believe she’d stoop to such a level to steal Brett away from Danica.

Belinda had been shocked herself to learn that she’d aligned herself with a Peeping Tom who had posed as a ghost. In the backpack that Steve dropped, they’d found a tablet, a mini air pump, a balloon, and a bedsheet with eye holes cut in it and special glowing paint covering it. After the finds, Jake insisted to anyone who would listen that he’d known Steve shoved him with that 2x4 during their first confrontation.

“I always knew that Saunders kid wasn’t right,” Nagle declared.

“Bullshit! You always went on and on about how he should replace Rita as manager,” Hank responded.

“Did he now?” Rita repeated, glaring at the barfly.

During Jake’s interview with Kennedy, Justine had informed a small group about what the police had learned about Steve’s past. While he’d been reprimanded for several stalking and intimidation incidents with female students, his college had brushed the first few under the rug due to his status as a valued football player. Eventually, Steve’s escalating behavior resulted in his expulsion, but the college still protected their image by discouraging the victims from pressing charges.

“Marvin’s quite upset that he didn’t know about these things,” Justine had told Phinn on the drive over. “He’s always been protective of the girls who work for him.”

Phinn shook his head as he watched Jake take a picture with Danica, Ashlynn, and Felicity. Nor did the brainy detective miss all the pieces of paper slyly placed in Jake’s palm over the last forty minutes.

“You'd better take it easy with those numbers. We’ll have cases again soon, once I’m free,” Phinn reminded.

“Huh? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure, you don’t,” Phinn replied, before whispering, “And don’t knock any of them up.”

“Who me?”

"Yes, you. And you can drop the shit-eating grin over lining up all those dates."

“Phinn, I’m not grinning over that…well, I am too, but I’m freaking out over what Brett gave me,” Jake explained. “Five hundred dollars for catching his girlfriend’s stalker!”

“Ah, good. We need to refill our reserve fund. Don’t blow it,” Phinn ordered.

“Hey, I had to give an extra fifty bucks each to Kody and Wally. Plus, college women are more expensive dates compared to high school–”

“Just don’t blow it all before I’m ungrounded,” Phinn interrupted.

“Don’t worry. I’m cool if you wanna take the next cheating case.” Jake nearly choked on his drink at his partner’s reaction. “No, no, no, it’s only fair. I insist that you take it.”

“If you do, then you’ll end up as the next Horny Poltergeist.”