One cold February morning the mangled body of a homeless derelict turned up in one of Houston's wooded and desolate suburbs. The body was deteriorated and torn apart by animals.

Animals disturbing bodies was not unusual, however, forensics showed clear and very convincing evidence that one or more animals may have been involved in the killing itself. Perplexed Houston police asked the Health Department's Animal Control Director, Dr. Duncan MacDonell, to assist.

Footprints of the suspect animal showed it to be a large canine, much bigger than any domestic dog. Representatives from Texas Parks and Wildlife speculated that it might have been a very large Mexican red wolf.

Within a week a second body showed up, then a third. It wasn't long before MacDonell began to suspect the killer might be human, and it might be someone he knew.

Dr. Armstrong spent twenty years in the U.S. Air Force, Veterinary Corps, and another ten years with the Health Department of the city of Houston, Texas. He is now retired and lives in Kingwood, Texas with his wife, Nita, and his little dog, Charlie. Dr. Armstrong is the author of a second Duncan MacDonell veterinary/mystery, Index of Suspicion.