On the other side of the Martin residence, the rest of the family was watching a movie in their large media room. Heather was off in a corner, curled up on a comfy, modern leather chair. She had a Scottish blanket over her legs and was halfway through Tina deBellegarde’s latest cozy mystery novel. The volume on the eighty-inch HD TV was too high, but she didn’t mind. She loved the fact that her three girls were lying on the floor together, watching an old Disney classic.
She was brought back to the present when she felt her feet being nudged. She lowered her Kindle and looked over the top of her reading glasses, looking down at their eight-year-old golden retriever. Though full-grown, Moose still acted like a puppy and demanded more of her attention than her kids. She leaned forward and scratched the top of his head and the outside of his ears. His tongue was out and he looked content. She was about to lean back into her chair when she saw Moose’s paw prints smeared across the off-white carpet.
Her brow furrowed. She slid the throw off her legs and stood up, puzzled. She followed the tracks through the dimly lit room and down a long hallway floor made of rich cherry wood. The tracks were still wet on the wood and she shook her head as she followed them, Moose padding at her side. She felt a chill breeze and hugged herself. She called out, “Bill?” as she neared the brighter glow of the kitchen. “What in the world are you making? Moose is tracking all over the house!”
She stepped into the kitchen as she finished the sentence, and it hung in the air as her mouth dropped open. Her husband lay sprawled on the floor against the island, blood staining the wall and pooling on the floor.
The girls were huddled together in the media room while Belle tried to talk the town’s mob out of going after the Beast. Their mom’s keening, a loud, long wail of grief, drowned out the movie soundtrack, and all three girls ran for the kitchen.