Decker coated each nostril with the salve, then took out a handkerchief and placed it over his nose and mouth. Marge covered her face with her hands. The layout was similar to the Howards’ place. A quaint country living room, but this one smelled as ripe as a slaughterhouse. Bees flitted through the air like confetti. The floors were peg-and-groove pine, and streaked with trails of red-brown crust. A path of footprints, stained the same color, led from the kitchen to the front door. Big feet—around a size eleven, followed by a smaller size—maybe seven or eight. Decker pointed it out to Marge, and she nodded and pulled out a notebook.

Decker took a good look around the room. Nothing overturned or uprooted. The furniture was upholstered in bright red and yellow florals, the material intact without rips or tears, the pillows decorator-arranged. The matching curtains were whole as well, the pleats hanging straight. Nothing yanked apart or pulled down. No overt signs of struggle here. Marge tapped him on the shoulder. She pointed to a dark, fuzzy line on the floor. The line moved, wriggled about like glitter, a queue of bees piled atop each other.

Decker cautiously stepped over the bees and neared the kitchen. The stench was unbearable, the air dense with bees droning out a requiem. Decker added more VapoRub to his nostrils and put the handkerchief back over his face. Marge coughed behind her hands.

The kitchen proved to be as large as the Howards’ and equally as modern. Decker took a swift look around the room, forcing himself to study detail. The shiny sunlit steel appliances were splattered with caked blood. Puddles of curdled milk had collected on the countertops, and empty cans of formula were strewn about—on the stove, on the counters, on the floor. An open gallon jar of honey lay sideways, its contents now a plasmic glob on the floor. Hundreds of bees were wading in the cloudy brown pool, their forelegs and tongues eagerly gathering the pickings.

Finally, he allowed his eyes to rest on the center of the floor. First a quick peek, then he focused on the grisly sight.