The streetlamp’s glow barely reached the far edge of the yard, and the snow blurred everything into a shapeless white mass. He scanned the ground near the fence, but the wind kept shifting the drifts, making it hard to tell whether there was truly something there—or if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
A sharp gust rattled the windowpane, and a deeper unease settled in his chest. If it was a living creature, it should have moved by now. But if it was dead, wouldn’t scavengers have already taken notice? Foxes, coyotes, even owls—predators lurked in the wilderness beyond town, especially in winter when food was scarce.