That Perfect Moment. Carmen Green

      Zach opened the front door again. “I will ignore your sarcasm. Look across the street.” A man was waving from inside the neighbor’s house. No one should have been there. The Sugarbakers had been on vacation in Spain for a month. “The height of your bushes allows a limited view of their home and them yours. If you need help, no one can come to your aid.”

      Even with his brother there, Zach was still by her side. “You’ve made your point. They’re selfish neighbors for not inviting me to Spain while we get robbed, and my alarm company sucks, therefore they’re fired.”

      Zach laughed and winked at her. “Smart lady.” He dialed his phone and walked off, while the man who’d been in the Sugarbakers’ house crossed the street and entered her house.

      Kim extended her hand. “You’re a Hood, too.”

      “Hugh Hood. Nice to meet you. It’ll be expensive. About ten thousand dollars. You can do them for less, but you get less. The bars will blend with your current windows. The doors are pricier, but you want them to match your current motif. You don’t have a homeowners’ association, per se, but you don’t want to stick out like Fort Knox and upset your neighbors by making upgrades they don’t agree with. I’d say do the windows, doors and alarm first. Then do the bushes. The neighbors will think you got new windows. The doors will surprise them, but you need them.”

      “Can I keep my bushes, but trim them back?”

      “Let’s see,” Hugh said.

      Hugh and Kim walked outside, with Zach trailing. Hugh nodded. “You can. But we need to get that done today.”

      “What’s the rush?”

      “We’ve discovered a couple people we want you to take a look at.”

      “That’s good.” Kim turned to look at Zach, whose attention was on the sky.

      “Come inside,” he said. “That helicopter has flown by three times. I don’t like it.”

      Kim did as she was told, flustered and unnerved by the seriousness of the Hood team.