Trails thick with hundreds, thousands, of insects traipsing across the floor from the door to the spot where Brian had fallen. I’d torn up the carpet, tossed it out far, far away. I’d bleached the hardwood until it was clean enough to eat on, but the ants found something they wanted there.

I dropped to my hands and knees, face pressed to the floor, trying to see what they were after. That’s when I saw it, a small splinter of bone under the display case. Using one of my tools, I pried it free, then stomped the ants into mush.