Not a Happy Family

As Detectives Reyes and Barr first exit the Merton home after their initial inspection of the bloody crime scene, both are shocked by the brutality of the killings. Due to this, they suspect that the killings were personal, not a robbery gone wrong. As the two walk toward the driveway, Reyes’ eyes are drawn upward, where “[f]ive or six large birds gliding on the currents, high in the air” (43). Reyes identifies the birds as turkey vultures, and comments, “They probably smell the blood” (43). Later Jenna, ever the goth, notices the same birds circling lazily over the Merton home.

At their most basic, the vultures symbolize the reality of the two dead parents. The vultures hang about the Merton home because the parents’ corpses have been left out for more than a day. Turkey vultures feast on carrion: They thrive on eating dead or decaying flesh to the point where often they stuff themselves so full they cannot attain flight. Despite this, vultures are highly intelligent and use their overdeveloped radar system to devise strategies for finding and feasting on carcasses without exposing themselves to dangers—they take the measure of a situation and resolve how best to get what they need without risk.