16
Bruce and Trudy arrived just as Alice was getting out of her car outside the bungalow. They saw her brow furrow in the headlights’ beams when they pulled up behind her yellow, two-door Toyota.
Bruce turned off the engine, opened the door, and shot out of the car. Folding the driver’s seat forward, he waved to Alice. “Get in,” he said, his tone urgent.
Alice stared uncomprehending at him, then turned toward the open door of the bungalow. Her eyes went wide when she saw the shiny, banana-yellow police tape across the door and a dark stain running down the gray cement steps. “What happened?” she asked. The metallic stench of blood still hung thick in the air.
“Do what he says,” said Trudy, hurrying toward the stunned woman. After reaching her side, Trudy grasped Alice’s narrow shoulder
