“I'm not trying to scare you. I don't want you to see what's on that step. You don't need to see it, and you don't need that in your head. I can't get rid of it right now because I don't want to let go of my gun; do you understand? I need to get you in the house and the door locked behind you so I can come out here and deal with this and clean it up, but first we need to get inside so I can make a sweep of the house and check out all the alarms.”

It's dark enough that if she's focusing on the number on her door intently, her peripheral vision will not clearly pick up what's laid out on the step. The light to her front door is perched above the lintel, meaning most of it falls on the upper part of the door, and if she’s staring right at that, her lower range of vision will be in the dark.

“Eyes up and ahead, walk forward but stop before you climb the stairs.” Keeping my gun raised, I shadow her every step until we reach the three white stairs leading up to her front door.

I take hold of her elbow with one hand, keeping the gun held aloft with the other. I guide her to the right of the dead dog and help her climb the stairs, making sure I don't let her step anywhere near the body.

“You can open the door now,” I tell her.

She takes the key out of her pocket and fumbles getting it into the lock twice. She's holding Brutus with one hand and trying to get the key in with the other, but she's shaking badly.

“Here, let me.”

I take the key from her and open the door. She rushes in as if being chased by a swarm of bees, and I follow her, closing the door behind us quickly. The alarm beeps, and I enter the code to turn it off. So long as all the windows and the patio doors are still armed, it’s very doubtful anyone entered the house. I'm still going to make a full sweep of every room to be sure.

Reaching around into the kitchen, I flick on the switch and flood the room with the brightness afforded by the down lights in the ceiling.

“Take a seat in here and wait for me.”

I leave her looking pale and shaken, even though she didn't see the dog. I don't have time right now to comfort her, and I refocus on the task at hand. I make a quick clean sweep of the entire house, checking out every room and each access point. Once I'm sure the house is safe, and I’ve grabbed a refuse bag and some cleaning products, I head back to the kitchen. I leave the cleaning supplies by the door.