Encouraged by Simone’s pep talk, I turned away from the door and moved back through the crowd. As I’d predicted, the karaoke section had taken a turn, and someone was cursing their way through a popular rap anthem from the nineties. Surprisingly, they weren’t doing all that bad of a job, considering.

Maybe that’s a sign. And even if it isn’t, thank goodness it’s not horrible…yet. But just like Harley said, the night is still young.

And where was Harley? It figured that he would disappear as soon as I was ready to take him up on his offer. It would be just my luck if he’d left the party…but no, I was going to think positively. He had to be here. Now that Simone had convinced me to stay, I was all in and ready to get into a little Halloween trouble.

A guy jumped in front of me with a tray full of bright green shots. “Belly shot for the beautiful bunny?”

I paused, bewildered. “Bunny? Really? You can’t be serious.”

I looked behind me just in case his bunny comment was meant for someone other than me, but the guy in the Tin Man costume and his friend in the neon green full-body sock looked even less like a bunny than I did, so I had to assume he just had no idea what a bunny looked like.

The guy looked dumbfounded and took a closer look. “What? You’re not a bunny?”

I ignored him and his tray of shots and continued my search for Harley. I’d assumed I’d run into him eventually, but he was nowhere to be found, and, unfortunately, he wasn’t the only werewolf in attendance.

Even bad werewolf costumes looked the same as Harley’s from the back, so I tapped more than a few furry wolves in subpar costumes on the shoulder before realizing my mistake. I didn’t know how Harley had done it, but everyone else had failed miserably at pulling off his authentic werewolf look. Some of the costumes weren’t even half bad, but they just weren’t as good as Harley’s.

I’d almost given up when I thought I saw him in the kitchen, but then a man stepped in front of me, blocking my view.

“Excuse me,” I said, trying to move past him, but he moved, too, which made me stop and give him a better look. He was tall and older than everyone else here, and there was something hard about the look in his eyes.

He turned to follow my eyeline and frowned. “I saw you talking to the werewolf,” he said. “What were you talking about?”

“What? That’s none of your business, dude.” I tried to push past him a third time, but he was fast and blocked me again.

Who is this guy? A cop or something?

I took a quick survey of the party, wondering why he was hassling me when there was a party full of people who looked a lot more interesting than I did. It was uncanny that even though I’d totally missed the mark with my costume, I was apparently the main attraction tonight.

Everyone looks of age… Is he here to catch underaged drinkers or something?

“Sir, if you want to card me, be my guest.” I started digging around in my purse. “I have my ID, I’m of age—”

The guy stepped closer, his eyes even harder. “This isn’t about that. You need to tell me what the wolf said to you. This is very important.”

I backed away. This guy was getting creepier by the second and starting to sound like a jealous boyfriend. He was strangely menacing even though he looked like an accountant in his crisply pressed khaki pants and white button-up shirt.

“Is that supposed to be a costume?” I asked him. “Or did you come straight from work?”

The guy leaned in closer. “This is my work.”

I laughed. “What? Crashing Halloween parties? Wait a minute, are you an undercover fun police officer? You know, a guy who hates to see people having fun? Or wait, maybe you got off on the wrong floor.” I snapped my fingers. “I’ve got it, you’re somebody’s father here to take their kid home. I get it. This is no place for kids. Can I help you find them?”

The guy grabbed my arm in a firm grip. “This isn’t a joke. What did the werewolf say to you? It’s imperative that you tell me. It could mean life or death!”

Life or death? Whose?!

Now I was really alarmed by the man’s intensity. I tried to yank out of his hold, but he wasn’t budging.

I looked around for Simone, but I didn’t see her anywhere.

“Get your hands off me, and leave me alone! If you don’t, I’ll scream.”

The man paused and then finally released me, but he didn’t leave me alone. Instead, he flashed a badge and hissed, “I’m a cop!”