Chapter 4: Trick-or-Treat

It was half-an-hour later when the police arrived. Bandit had known that Michael had hid in his car, but he hadn't known that Michael had done anything before going after Wendy. He was still pacing in the living room downstairs when a German Shepherd rang the bell out front.

Bandit walked over to the door and opened it. "Hello?" He said, propping the door open.

"Are you Bandit Heeler?" He showed his badge, "My name is Officer McKinley with the Brisbane Police. I was wondering if we could talk for a minute?"

"Yes. Is this about earlier?" Bandit asked, "I gave my statement about what happened at the museum."

The officer cleared his throat, "Um, sir, would you mind if I come in? There's a delicate manner I need to discuss with you…"

"Course, come in." Bandit motioned for the dog to enter. He nodded appreciatively and removed his hat upon entry.

"Mr. Heeler, we spoke with your friend Sam Loomis about what he believes happened, and upon finishing our conversation with him we did a check of the neighborhood to make sure everyone was alright." The officer paused.

"Wendy's okay, right? It was scary, don't get me wrong, but we scared the bastard off. She's just got a nick."

"Yes, she's fine." He nodded. "But, unfortunately not everyone else was."

Bandit's blood ran cold. Christ, who'd he attack? Please don't let it be Doreen… Or God, what if he went after one of the kids on the next block over?! Bandit got his nerve after a moment, "What happened?"

"Your neighbors, the Retrievers, were attacked and killed earlier today. If we are to believe what your friend said it is likely that Mr. Myers was the perpetrator. We have teams sweeping the area hunting for him."

"Wait… Pat and Janelle…" Bandit was numb as he thought of his former best friend.

"I'm sorry for your loss Mr. Heeler, but there is an additional reason why I'm here at the moment."

"Um, yes, of course." Bandit nodded.

"You were listed as the guardian in case of emergency or death for the Retrievers, but some relatives-Pat's father and mother-have stepped forward and volunteered to raise the boys. Now they are on the other side of the country, but if you consent the boys would be released to their care for the time being. I understand this is a lot all at once, but in order to make sure they're properly handled we need to know soon."

"Can I talk it over with my wife a moment before I decide?"

"Of course, we need an answer soon, not immediately. Take a few minutes to discuss. I'll be out here when you're ready."

***HW***

Lucky and Chucky were loaded into the back of the social worker's van along with a handful of their belongings. Bandit felt awful, but he didn't want to keep the boys so close to a reminder of their parent's deaths. Chilli agreed. So they were being sent to live with their grandparents on a sorghum farm. It was a fright for the peaceful neighborhood to have its first ever violent crime, let alone one so heinous.

That evening, after the girls had been put to bed with minimal explanation of the day's events (they're too young to hear about it, maybe when they're older we can explain) Bandit and Chilli were huddled together watching the news on the downstairs couch.

"Which brings us to our crime update. A local man has been taken into custody after fleeing the scene of a double homicide earlier today. Police managed the capture after he was spotted by a local business owner. Details to follow." The anchordog said.

"Oh thank God, they got him." Bandit breathed a sigh of relief.

"See, I told you they would. No need for some vigilante mob, the police did their job." Chilli held Bandit tight.

"Yeah, I'm just glad that bastard is going to be locked away to rot for a long time."

"Me too."

***HW***

"I still can't believe we didn't celebrate this when I was a kid. Costumes, free candy, messing with the neighbors… God, I would've loved this." Rad remarked as he helped hang some black and orange streamers from the ceiling.

"My parents sort of did, but never like this. It's really taken off in recent years." Frisky said as she held the ladder for him.

"Well, either way, you two were lucky growing up in town. Chilli and I wouldn't've been able to do this even if it was a thing. Maynard's the only dog for miles out there." Brandy chuckled.

"And while he was good for a chocolate cross at Easter I doubt he would've stocked candy for just two trick-or-treaters." Chilli concluded.

"Either way, thanks again for helping with the decorations for the party tonight. After the girls hit the neighborhood we're having over a bunch of the neighborhood kids to celebrate." Bandit said.

"No problem, we don't exactly have much to decorate at our place." Rad commented. His and Frisky's new house was nice and all, but it wasn't exactly huge-certainly not big enough to host a party of this size.

"I'm the same way, my apartment's not even doing anything, so it gives me an excuse to get out and do something here." Brandy added.

"Plus it gives us a chance to help out our favorite nieces with their costumes!" Frisky grinned.

"Don't let Muffin or Socks hear that." Rad warned jokingly.

"Oh, you know they're all my favorites…" Frisky rolled her eyes.

"I wonder how it's going over there anyhow? Stripe's having over some friends from work to watch some horror movies and Trixie's supposed to bring the girls in a bit…"

"Muffin Cupcake Heeler!" Trixie shouted, standing by the pantry holding a large plastic bag full of empty candy wrappers.

"Uh-oh." Muffin quickly scampered out of the living room and dashed upstairs, hiding under her bed. She shoved aside the ukulele and a few coloring books and tucked herself under the bed. Maybe I can hide here until Christmas… she heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall and contemplated running for it. Last time it hadn't gone brilliantly, she'd been ambushed by her parents and had ended up in big trouble for breaking her father's phone in the process. Before she could do anything a pair of hands grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her out from under the bed.

It was her father. "Muffin, your mother and I bought a bag of candy for tonight that was supposed to be for all the kids in our neighborhood. We found the bag, but it's empty except for wrappers." He paused.

"So?" Muffin played dumb.

"So, we know your sister can't reach that high in the pantry, and can't push a chair to get at it." Stripe put her down on her bed. "Muffy, tell the truth. Did you eat the candy?"

Muffin looked down at her feet, "Well, I…" She glanced up at her father, a slightly look of disappointment on his face. She sighed, "Yeah."

Stripe sighed, "Well, thank you for being honest." He stood up. "I'm going to get some replacement sweets with your sister; your mum wants to have a word with you in the kitchen when you're ready."

Muffin walked into the kitchen, her ears flat across her head. "Hi mum."

"Muffin, you knew that candy was for tonight. Now your father has to go and get replacements before his friends come over for their movie night. We're due to go to Bluey and Bingo's in a little bit and I have a hundred things to still do." She pointed to a chair at the dining room table. "For now you're sitting right there so I can make sure you don't get into anything else before we leave."

Muffin sniffled, "I'm sorry."

Trixie sighed, "I know you are, but that doesn't excuse what you did. Any candy you get tonight is going to your sister, got it? You've had more than enough sugar for a lifetime, let alone one evening."

Muffin wiped her eyes, "It looked tasty… I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't've, but I did share some with Socks…"

Trixie uncrossed her arms, softening slightly. "Here, you're not getting any more sweets, but how about you work on carving this pumpkin? Your dad already hollowed it out." She handed Muffin a plastic knife. "I'm going to finish up some things in the kitchen."

Muffin sat quietly as she stared at the empty gourd, trying to figure out what to do. She'd seen Jack-O-Lanterns on television, but she'd never made one. She wasn't sure what to do to begin. As she tried using the knife to peel the pumpkin she heard a clattering noise, like the sliding door in the kitchen opening up. She shrugged and continued trying to figure out how to carve her pumpkin before she heard a scuffle.

Muffin looked up from the pumpkin as she heard a shrill scream from the next room. "Mum?" She quickly got off the chair, carrying the small plastic knife she'd been using to carve her pumpkin. She rounded the corner from the dining room to the kitchen and saw an unfamiliar dog towering over her prone mother holding a large knife, ready to strike.

It was at that moment that something snapped in Muffin. While she wasn't old enough to know any proper profanities, she lunged at the would-be attacker and started shoving the plastic knife as best she could into his leg. As she was screaming the closest thing she knew to obscenities she clung on. Small stab wounds were appearing, as bits of blood began dribbling out from where the pre-schooler had successfully shivved the monster's leg. The sudden attack had surprised Michael enough to drop his knife, causing Trixie to quickly grab it to defend herself.

"Get away from my mum you dirty mean jerk! You're a big bully and you have a dumb face and you… YOU SUCK!"

With this Michael shook loose the tot and slammed her against the kitchen cabinet behind him. He breathed heavily and loomed toward the girl. Muffin's eyes widened as he reached out a golden paw and grabbed her by the scruff of her chest. He picked her up and held her at eye level a moment before tossing her into her mother. He reached into a knife block on the counter and extracted a large knife, the one Trixie used for chopping vegetables for salads. He drug it across the counter, a screeching noise emanating as the metal scored the granite. Trixie grabbed her daughter and shakily held the knife out.

With a final glare Michael left.

***HW***

Stripe returned to find a blood-spattered Muffin standing protectively in front of her mother, Trixie still shivering and holding the knife the same way.

***HW***

"He was just at my brother's house. He almost killed my sister-in-law!" Bandit shouted over the phone as the 4x4 sped down the street lined with houses giving out candy to costumed children.

"What?! He's out still? I thought that they caught him!" Loomis spat out his tea over the carpet in his study.

"Apparently not." Bandit growled, honking at a group of crossing children. "There must've been some other asshole who killed two people on the same day as Michael."

"We have to get him. Now!" Loomis stood up and quickly went to get his gun.

"Agreed." Bandit's eyes narrowed. "I made a few calls. Meet me at Stripe's. We have a monster to kill."