12.
THAT SAME DAY, THE THIRTIETH of October, 2017, Houston, Texas, Will Baines drove to work, taking Allen Parkway, which had too many curves for the SUVs to build up lethal velocity. The sight of a young couple walking a golden retriever puppy along Buffalo Bayou tugged his heartstrings. His dog at home, Mason, didn’t need a companion, according to his wife. Just more attention from them. The opposite was true, as it happened. Mason now slept between them, a deterrent to spousal amorousness. The dog needed his own friend.
That morning, his wife had departed for Boston. Her mother was ill and he’d stayed home until his wife left for the airport. She’d been going to Boston regularly over the last six months to care for her mother, leaving him alone in the house with Mason after his daught
