Finally they reached the front door and were greeted by Sheriff Dandridge, who was lifting up a stretch of yellow tape that read “Caution, Crime Scene” so they could step under it more easily. A few uniformed police officers ordered the reporters to stay off of the property, which had the effect of creating an invisible wall around the front of the house, but didn’t stop them from hovering in the front yard.

Sheriff Dandridge looked to be in his sixties, and just about ready for retirement. In fact, he had just been thinking to himself that it was too bad he hadn’t taken retirement before this mess. He was your classic string bean, but only stood around five foot seven, and his long, narrow head was topped by what at first looked to Carolyn like a beige cowboy hat. When she saw the badge in the center of it, however, she realized it was part of his uniform, which was a dull khaki color. Another blue-uniformed officer stood beside him, like a sentinel. There was some pretense they were observing a certain amount of protocol, but in reality everyone was faking it. Dandridge knew he and the rest of the force had never experienced anything like this before.

Dandridge was wearing a very grim look on his face, but he also appeared perplexed, frustrated, and a little out of his depth. The cameras and the reporters in particular scared him. He knew that thanks to the Internet, one little slip-up could instantly be transmitted around the world, and then replayed over and over for years to come. So he had stood in front of the cameras only once that morning, in order to convey the basic information to the reporters, and had declined to provide any other details for the rest of the day—only adding to the mania of the massive collection of media professionals desperate for any nugget of information.

Once inside, Mitch pulled back a curtain; it was only then that he realized just how many people—reporters as well as onlookers—were in front of the house. It appeared their mad dash into the house had just provided the highlight of the day, and everyone seemed to be buzzing around frantically. Then Mitch remembered where he was and why he was there.