Jake's POV

The smell was worse in the house. Much worse. He had to steady himself not to visibly gag.

It was carnage. It was a bloodbath. It was desperation.

Blood splattered the walls, and there was a pool of it on the kitchen floor.

"Did the old man have a pet?" a crime scene photographer was asking.

"I don't believe so, although some of the neighbors reported a large black dog hanging around the house." The officer that responded was young, a strawberry ...