The man had a definite edge going and was obviously pissed off. He had a right to be, Teddy thought.

“So here are the rules,” Andrews said. “The house has been cleared. Every room but the dining room. You want to look around, be my guest, but nothing’s gonna be happening for another hour or two. If you have any questions, ask ADA Powell. Where’s Barnett?”

“At the roundhouse,” Teddy said.

“Is he gonna farm the case out?”

“I’m not sure.”

“How come you’re not sure, Teddy Mack?”

Teddy didn’t say anything but held the man’s eyes. After a long moment, District Attorney Alan Andrews turned his back on him and disappeared into the house. When ADA Powell started for the door, Teddy took a deep breath of fresh air and followed her inside.

The smell hit him as he passed the threshold. It was a chemical smell, almost like an acid that burned the nostrils and irritated his eyes.

“They’re gassing the body,” Powell said. “Super glue. It won’t be ready for a while.”

He nodded at her even though he didn’t know what she was talking about. Still, the intense fumes were enough to explain why the windows were open and it felt like the heat was switched off. Powell pulled her jacket tighter in the mid-December air. Something about seeing a beautiful woman in this setting didn’t compute. Her eyes were blue gray and gentle, her face, refined and made all the softer by her shoulder-length hair. Teddy guessed she was in her late thirties, and had seen things most people, including himself, would never see or even hear about because those were the details newspapers always left out.

“Who’s the lead detective?” he asked.

“Dennis Vega,” she said. “I’ll show you where everyone is. Then you can have a look at the rest of the house on your own. The place has been cleared, but I’d still be careful about what you touch. There’s a lot of fingerprint powder around, and it’s hard to wash off.”

“Where’s the family?”

“They’ve got a place in the mountains. They’re on their way home.” Powell turned away, leading him through the foyer and around the stairs. Then she added in a lower voice, “Given the unusual circumstances, I think it’s good that you’re here.”

There were those words again. Unusual circumstances.

Teddy looked at the floor and noted the drop cloths. When they reached the living room, fifteen people turned from their seats. They looked at him a moment, then lowered their eyes to the floor as if deep in thought or even prayer. Teddy knew the three people waiting on the couch were from the medical examiner’s office because of their jackets. The men in suits looked like detectives or city officials and had taken the chairs. The rest appeared to be crime scene techs, sitting on long cases that had been unlatched but remained closed. No one was talking, but Teddy could hear voices from the next room.

He followed Powell further into the living room and saw a man in the doorway straddling a dining room chair backwards and balancing his weight on the rear two legs.

“It’s gonna work,” the man was saying to someone.