I tapped my left thumbnail against my knuckles as I scanned the figures in the margin of the top page.

A heavy thud shook the outside wall right behind my chair.

The desk lamp wobbled, and the glass in the window frame shivered twice, followed by three fast, deliberate blows against the siding.

Emily dropped her red marker on the wooden desk.

“What was that?” she asked, her eyes going wide.

I got up and went to the double window that looked out over the south side of our lot.

Outside, Trent Caldwell was standing three inches from our wooden corner fence post in gray athletic shorts and no shirt.