He wouldn’t mind the challenge of it all, he realized. Kids. A wife and permanent home. In fact, he thought he might be good at it.

He drove up the hill and parked in a quiet place where he had a good view of the neighborhood. As the night grew later and darker, the little kids with parental supervision were giving it up and the slightly older kids were coming out. It was around eight-thirty and he noticed the costume change as the kids were bigger—now there were hatchets through heads, bloody knives protruding from chests, ghouls and headless monsters. He remembered that, too—the evolution of costumes. He remembered when his brothers had graduated to bloody beasts and killers while he was still dressed as a pirate. He couldn’t wait until he could paint his face white, with blood dripping from his mouth like the undead instead of some lame pirate or cowboy.

A couple of kids walked down the street—a mummy and a karate black belt wearing his white gi. He figured them for about eleven. Maybe small twelve-year-olds. He could imagine how big a fight they had to put up to get permission to go out without Mom and Dad. It was always a bit of a worry, but Mac had confirmed if there was any real Halloween trouble, it was more likely to come from the bar or maybe a house party. The kids were pretty safe here. They sent out all the standard safety pleas to the community—stay in groups, don’t eat unwrapped candy, don’t get in any car except your parents’ and don’t go inside any houses.

A couple of ninjas approached the mummy and karate kid from behind. Could be nothing, of course. But Seth exited his car, locking it, and stood in the shadows. The trick-or-treaters were about fifteen feet away from him when one of the black-clad ninjas sprinted forward, grabbed the bags of candy and kept going.

Seth crossed the street at a jog just in time to grab the fleeing ninja by the collar. He gave him a shake and he dropped the bags of candy. Seth looked around in time to see the other ninja take off, cut through the yards and disappear behind the houses while other trick-or-treaters stood rooted to the spot.

Seth gave his captive a shake. “I saw that,” he said.

“Lemme go! I didn’t do nothin’!”

“Nice try,” Seth said, dragging him away from the spilled bags of candy. “Hey, you boys,” he yelled to the victims. “You want your candy?”

They stepped forward hesitantly. Seth had to hang on to the squirming ninja for a long moment. He pulled him back so the smaller kids would have plenty of space to retrieve their candy. He could see they were very nervous. They just scooped spilled candy into the bags without investigating it closely.

“Do you know this kid?” he asked the victims. He ripped the stocking cap off the ninja’s head. The kids, a year or two younger, just shook their heads. “You know what it means when someone rips off your Halloween candy on a dark street?” Again they shook their heads. “It means it’s time to go home. It means the party is over. Want me to follow you home, make sure no more ninjas are waiting for you?” Still silent, they continued to shake their heads. “Then go,” he said. “Fast.”

They ran like greased lightning.

Seth dragged his ninja to his patrol car and stood him up against it. “Here’s what I need from you,” he said. “Your full name, your address, the name of your accomplice and his address.”

His culprit, a freckle-faced kid of about twelve, just a big kid, stared at Seth in sheer terror for a second. And then he lunged and made to run. Seth took a couple of long-legged steps and grabbed his collar again. “Sorry, pal. That’s not going to work. Do I need cuffs?”

The kid shook his head. Then he started to cry.

That’s better, Seth thought. “Your name?”

“Robert,” he said. “Bobby.”

“Last name?”

“Delaney,” he said. He sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

I’m cursed, Seth thought. He sighed. “Your parents home?”

“Just my mom.”

Crap, he thought. Just what I need. “All righty then, let’s go see your mom. I’ll need an address, if you please.”

“Aw, man...”

Seth put him in the passenger seat and told him not to touch anything if he wanted to keep that arm.

Charlie Adams had come on duty at five and was going to be in town, doing the same thing Seth had been doing until trick-or-treating was over for the evening. He called his cell rather than using the radio. “I’m going to be out for a few minutes, delivering a juvenile to his parents.”

“It’s not one of my juveniles, is it?” Charlie asked, in reference to his own teenagers.

“I haven’t had any problems with Adams teenagers tonight. This is a Delaney. I don’t think it’ll take him long to explain to his mother that he’s been assaulting little kids and stealing their candy.”

Bobby Delaney groaned and slid down in his seat.

“May the force be with you,” Charlie said.

Seth drove eight or ten blocks to the house. It wasn’t a very big house. Two-story with a porch. He’d heard it was Sue and her three kids plus Sue’s sister, brother-in-law and their two kids living there. Eight people would be a crowd in that space. The place looked pretty quiet. There was a light on in the living room but it was otherwise dark.

Bobby preceded him across the porch and opened the front door. He heard Sassy’s voice shout, “Who’s home?”

“Ma?” Bobby called.

Sassy walked into the living room from downstairs. She was all made up though she wore two fat curlers in her white-blond hair with the pink tips. She wore skintight black pants with high-heeled knee-high boots over them, a silky low-cut top that flattered her cle**age and a shiny vest. She frowned when she saw Bobby and Seth standing just inside the door. “Seth?” she asked.

“Tell your mother why I brought you home,” Seth said.

“I boosted some kid’s candy,” he said quietly.

She took another step closer. “You stole it?” she asked. “You stole some little kid’s candy?”

“He wasn’t that little,” Bobby said defensively.

“Two kids,” Seth said. “Both smaller than Bobby. He came on them from behind and then was going to run, but guess who was right there to chase him? The law.”

Sassy glared at her son. “Go to your room.” Then she looked at Seth. “What do I have to do now? Pay a fine? What?”