Once inside the Darcys’ kitchen, Byron broke down—dry sobs coughed up from his chest, guttural groans emanating from his throat.

“It’s…it’s Linda Darcy, over there,” Byron said. He pointed to the middle of the room, his lower lip trembling now. “Other one’s…Dear God…other woman’s Carla Darcy…the man on the Frigidaire is Luke…dear Jesus, have mercy on their souls.”

“How about the other man?” Decker said softly.

“Huh?”

Byron seemed dazed. Decker spoke quickly. “The other man, Mr. Howard, in the pile with the women. Do you know him?”

Byron shook his head, his skin as gray as gunmetal. The Linda mantra tape was playing again, speaking her name as if he were in prayer. His eyes had begun to roll backward. Before the beekeeper went under, Decker escorted him outside and handed him to Marge, waiting by the unmarked. Byron allowed himself to be transferred as if he were a baby swaddled in bunting.

Decker pulled Marge aside and ID’d the bodies for her, explaining that there was still one unaccountable John Doe. Marge listened, then asked if Decker thought bee smoke would muck up evidence.

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Decker said. “You take Byron back to his farm, I’ll ask the techs. Cameraman and the meat wagon should be here soon. Like to debug the bodies before we cart them down to the morgue.”

“Be back in about a half hour,” Marge said. She slid into the driver’s seat of the unmarked, and was off.

Decker took the time to sort out the mess. Part of the Darcy family—Luke, his wife, Linda, and his sister, Carla—lay dead in the kitchen. Decker was curious about the part of the family that was missing. A set of parents, a sister named Sue Beth, and her husband and kids. Then there was the retarded brother named Earl.

According to Annette Howard, they were at a bee convention in Fall Springs. First thing to do was notify kinfolk and find out everyone’s exact whereabouts for the last week.

Then, he thought, at least Katie has relatives.

Katie. The kid wasn’t wandering around the Manfred development when all this went down. She was probably in the house, and someone couldn’t stand the thought of her rotting with the others. Someone deliberately dropped her off at the Manfred development, hoping that she’d be found and cared for.

So what did that mean?