"Grandmother would have confined Aunt Margie to her room for the rest of her natural life, if she had been less than a nice lady," I said with feeling.

'Licia looked at me curiously. "I thought that you liked your Aunt Margaret?"

"I do. But, you have to admit that she is a bit eccentric."

"When she came for a visit last year, I thought that she was absolutely charming,"

'Licia responded lightly.

"I'm not denying that. But, Aunt Margie has more than one cog loose."

"Geoff, how can you say that? She's still active, still working, even though she must be all of ninety."

"Even you have to admit that Aunt Margie is a little strange."

"Must I?"

"Why are we fighting?"

"Are we fighting?"

"Felt like it to me."

'Licia sighed. "I think that it is just the strain of the past few weeks coming out. I'm sorry."

I touched her face. "Are you okay? And sprout?"

She smiled at me. "We're both fine, Geoff. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Wonderful. Well, are you going to open any more of the presents?"

"Now you sound like a little kid at Christmas," she teased.

"Of course. It's infectious ... I can imagine all the Christmases after this next one with kids wandering around down here, like I used to, shaking boxes and peeping into stockings hanging by the fire. We are going to have such a good life together, you and I."

'Licia's smile was wistful. "I know."

"Now open those presents, woman..."

The gifts were a mixture of practical, elegant, and whimsical. Finally, there was only one package remaining to be opened. The music died away as the CD finished playing.

'Licia rose from the floor to clear away the wrapping paper and to carry the presents into the dining room where all the wedding gifts were being displayed.

Then she returned to the living room. I was looking at the package. I motioned for her to be quiet.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"Hush! I thought that I heard a sound coming from the box. Listen."

'Licia looked at the box, noticing for the first time that it hadn't been delivered by UPS. In fact, there were no markings on the parcel except for a typed name label.

The guards were keeping an eye on the house. 'Licia went to get the man who was guarding the front door.

Tall, muscular, and thick-necked, James Brodwell, definitely looked like a bodyguard. Either that or a thug. But, then again, how do you easily tell the difference?

He took a look at the package.

"Do you have someplace big enough so that I could submerge this?" James, the bodyguard, asked almost too casually.

"Is it a bomb?" 'Licia demanded, not buying the casual tone.

"I don't know. But, I don't like it," James said.

"The laundry room has a large sink," I told him. "You go immerse it, I'll call Phil."

*Chapter 27*

'Phil'

I stormed into the house with two uniformed officers in tow. "Good grief, Al! Can't you stay out of trouble for even eight hours?" "Very funny, Phil," she said in a voice which told me that she found the situation anything except amusing.

"What do you have here?"

"I hope nothing. But, the package was making a rhythmic sound. And it had neither a return address nor any sort of postage/ UPS marks. It looks as though the package was simply placed on the porch, among the rest of the wedding presents," she told me quietly with strain in her voice.

"So you decided to drown it?"

I know that my anger was reflected in my voice. If I hadn't immediately realized that, I would have known how harsh my voice had sounded by the way that she had flinched.

"Don't you know that you should have left this for us? Water won't hurt some bombs. And then there are designs that could use being immersed as a trigger. This was a profoundly stupid thing to do."

Al blanched.

James Brodwell, one of the bodyguards whom Geoff had hired, spoke up. "I take the responsibility for that decision." "Well," I said. "It's far too late to second guess this. Let's see what we have here.

Al, why don't you get out of here."

"Maybe I would rather stay," she responded.

"This could get messy. It would be better if you were out of harms' way," I told her.

"I can take care of myself," she replied.

"I know that, Al. However, you have more than just yourself to consider. There is someone who can't take care of himself. Consider him."

Al sighed. "You're right." Then she turned and left the room without another word.

I looked at the bodyguard, then at the officers whom I had brought with me. "Well, this is one drawback of being on a small force. We have to do everything ourselves. Shall we begin?"

Cautiously, I slit the wet paper on the top of the package. Using a flashlight, I looked inside the wrapping, down the upright sides of the parcel for trigger strings coming from the packaging. Finding none, I peeled the paper from the piece of luggage.

I looked for a long minute at the overnight case. A bra.s.s plate on the front of the tan leather case was engraved with AMJ, Al's initials. Very slowly, I turned the case around. Several half inch holes had been drilled in the backside of the case. Water still drained from the punctures. With the flashlight, I looked into those holes.

Scales. Reptilian Scales.

I barely suppressed a shudder. With most wildlife, I could adopt a policy of live and let live. But, I hated snakes with a pa.s.sion. This was a snake: probably not a pleasant one, if snakes could ever be pleasant. Personally, I had never met a snake I could like.

"I'm not going to open it," I said firmly. "We'll take it over to Glenna Clarey's and have her x-ray it. She should be able to identify the creature from the x-ray."

"What is it?" John, the bodyguard asked.

"Look for yourself," I said as I handed over the flashlight.

"Holy sh..." John exclaimed, then caught himself. "Timber rattler."

"You're sure?"

"h.e.l.l, yes," the bodyguard replied. "I've seen enough of them while hunting. The color of the scales is distinctive."

Al hadn't been in the living room for more than a couple of minutes when I walked in. She had obviously been pacing the room.

"Well?" she asked.

I sighed. "Do yourself a favor. Don't open any other presents until we can x-ray them. Don't eat any candy sent to you. Check your car before you start it. Be careful. Be very careful."

"You are frightening me," Al replied.

I nodded. "I intend to. You have cause to be frightened. Not holding onto that fear could prove fatal. You know that, Al. You've told me virtually the same thing yourself. Just be extra careful."

"Then it was a bomb?" Geoff demanded.

"No. It wasn't a bomb."

"Don't tell me that I ruined a clock?" Al teased.

"It wasn't a clock."

Geoff looked at me. "Care to tell us what it was?"

I knew that tone. It was one he used frequently in cross-examining hostile witnesses.

"It was a rattlesnake."

Al looked at me in open disbelief. "A rattlesnake?" she croaked.

"If you had opened it, the snake would have struck, probably repeatedly."

Al crossed herself as she sank into a chair. "A rattlesnake?"

"John ID'd it from the scales. I've sent the cruiser over to Glenna Clarey's with it. The vet should be able to give us a positive identification of the species," I responded. "While people don't usually die of snakebite, I'd say that someone definitely wanted to make his point."

"Lord," Geoff prayed.

Al's color became even more pasty. "I feel ill..."

I nodded. "I'd be worried about you, if you didn't. The bodyguards and two of my men will be, with your permission, searching the house to make certain that there are not any other little nasty surprises around."

Geoff nodded. "Go ahead. Can you take a look at my cars as well?"

"No problem. You ought to know that the snake was delivered in an overnight case."

"The overnight case? Was it the one of mine which disappeared during our trip to Chicago?"

"The case was tan leather. The initials on a bra.s.s plate on the front of the case were AMJ.".

She drew a deep breath. "I was afraid of that."

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"About as well as I could expect to be," she said. "I'd like to lay down for a while."

"Let us check your room first. The last thing that we need is some kind of unpleasant surprise like yesterday's."

Al sighed. "I am so sick of this, Phil."

I nodded. "We'll catch him, Al. We'll catch him."

"Before or after he kills me?" Al asked.

Geoff looked at his fiancee in surprise. "There is no need to bite Phil's head off.

The police are doing the best job that they can do."

It was obvious as she sank into a wing chair, that Al was struggling for self-control, and that the struggle was difficult. "It may not be enough, Geoff. We have to face that. It may not be enough."

"Baby?" Geoff asked.

"Just leave me alone," she said in a tone just over a whisper. "Please. Just give me some time alone. I have to pull myself back together." "I'll be here, whenever you need me," Geoff told her.