He carefully set the box on the ground and backed out of the frame.
“He had gloves on,” Bailey said, a hint of defeat in her voice. “There aren’t going to be fingerprints.”
Nate backed the video up and hit play again. “True. But look.” He paused it and pointed to the man’s feet. “Boots. Maybe there’s a footprint out there that we can compare to the ones we found in the woods near your house. It won’t be conclusive, but it should give us a good idea if this is the same man.”
“You’re right. And just because he wore gloves when hebrought the box doesn’t mean he did when filling and sealing it.” She sat back in her seat again as he scrolled through the other camera feeds. “What are you doing?”
“Making sure no one’s messed with the store or house. At least not blatantly. As soon as the police arrive, I’ll drive you and the kids home, make sure you’re set, and then come back. It could take a while. There’s no use you guys waiting around here.” Truthfully, he didn’t want them anywhere near here when they finally opened the box.
Bailey’s eyes narrowed as she studied him. Apparently, she’d picked up on something in his tone. “What are they going to do with the box?”
“They need to cover their bases. Use a metal detector to make sure there’s nothing dangerous inside.”
“Like a b-o-m-b.” She spelled the word so that the boys wouldn’t overhear. “Is that a possibility?”
“Highly unlikely. But it’s protocol when dealing with a strange and unknown package. Just a precaution.”
She nodded but didn’t look convinced.
Nate was relieved when a police car pulled up behind them, shortly followed by another. Jenny got out and came to the driver’s window.
“You guys okay?”
“I’m going to take them to the house and come back. The package is over there by the mailbox. We did get a video of the man dropping it off. No visual of his face, though. I’ll make sure to get that video to you and Paris.”
“Sounds good.” Jenny looked past Nate to Bailey. “Try not to worry. We’ll come by as soon as we’re done here.”
When they got to the house, Minnie greeted them enthusiastically at the door. That meant the house was secure, and Nate had no problem dropping Bailey and the kidsoff.
The boys ran upstairs to their bedrooms.
“I’ll keep you in the loop,” Nate promised. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.” He turned to leave and was nearly out the door when Bailey’s urgent tone stopped him.
“Nate?”
He faced her again to find her watching him, her arms wrapped around her torso.
“I need…” Her voice faltered. “Please be careful.”
Nate didn’t allow himself to second-guess his instincts. He strode forward and wrapped her in his arms. The moment she leaned into him and gripped his waist, he knew he’d done the right thing. “I promise. Everything’s going to be fine.” He pressed a light kiss to her temple.
She nodded against his chest.
Nate took a step back, gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, and headed back to the front gate.
By the time he got there, Officer Philip Lorenzo was carefully going over the package with a metal detector. If there was a scene with a possible bomb, he was the one who was called in. It was only moments before he shook his head and stepped back. “You’re clear.”
Detective Paris must have arrived while Nate was taking Bailey and the boys to the house. He gave Jenny her cue. With a pair of latex gloves on, she took out a knife and carefully cut along the edges of the box lid to loosen the cardboard. When she was done, she sheathed the knife and began to lift one flap of the box.
A persistent rattle—almost like a hiss—caused her to jump backward, putting plenty of space between her and the box.
“Detective, I think we’re going to need animal control out here. I’m pretty sure there’s a rattlesnake in the box.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
There had been two young rattlesnakes in the box. No matter how many times Bailey repeated the fact to herself, she could hardly believe it. If she’d taken the box in and opened it without taking precautions, she could’ve been bitten. Or the snakes might have gotten loose and bitten one of the boys.
To top it all off, there was no note included with the snakes. Not even a threat, although the fact that someone had gone to the effort to capture venomous snakes and deliver them to her house was threat enough.
