He heard a bony thud on the exposed cherrywood floor. There was a second thud after that and a third, the sound of something crawling through the dark. It was the child, he knew. His child, the one he had been raising over the last month on his walks along the bridle path. He had nursed it on his resentments and it had gorged itself—he had no doubt he had raised a big, strong, healthy boy.
