The morning arrived the way certain mornings do, carrying a weight that everyone in the building seemed to feel before they could name it. The front desk staff at the veterinary clinic spoke in half-voices. The usual rhythm of the place, phones ringing, a dog barking somewhere in the back, the cheerful exchange between a receptionist and a patient owner, had gone quiet. Even the fluorescent lights in the examination hallway seemed subdued, though of course that was not possible. Some silences are so complete they reshape the room around them.
Officer Alex Voronov arrived at 9:14 in the morning, earlier than anyone had expected, because he had not slept.
Continue on the next page:
