ZACK GOT OUT AND HURRIED through the mud to the gate of the yard in front of the Wilcoxes farmhouse. He swung it open and quickly moved out of the way to let Melissa drive through while he shut it behind her.
He left the gate and started across the yard in time to see Melissa slowly turn the car around. He was also in time to see the headlights pick out first the chicken coop, with its unsettled occupants, and then the body that lay on the ground a short distance from it. He swore. After this morning he had thought he had seen his last body, outside of a film or television series.
Hurrying over to the body, Zack waved for Melissa to stay in the car for a moment while he checked things out. He dropped to his knees in the mud next to the body and reached out a hand to check for a pulse. He
