Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

T he whole ride home from lunch, Bailey had been unusually quiet. Nate tried to start a conversation several times, but her answers were brief and scattered. He finally turned the music up, letting the boys sing along to one of their favorite songs and giving her the peace she seemed to need.

He pulled into the drive leading to the front gate and stopped to punch in the code. That's when he noticed a large cardboard box sitting on the ground beside the mailbox.

"Bailey? Are you expecting any packages?"

"What?" His question seemed to break her out of her reverie. She leaned forward to look. "I don't know. Maybe. We have several companies that send us new products to stock in the store on commission. It could be from one of them." She released her seat belt and opened the passenger door before Nate could offer to get it for her.

She retrieved the mail from the mailbox and set it in the console. Then she went back for the box. It was the size of two shoeboxes lying side by side. "Weird. There's no label on this." She lifted it toward the cab of the truck.

"Bailey, wait?—"

She screamed and dropped the box again, practically jumping into the truck, her breath coming in gasps.

"Mom? What's wrong?" Seth leaned forward in his booster seat.

Bailey looked at Nate, her eyes wide. "Something moved in the box after I picked it up. I think there's something alive in there." She gave a violent shudder.

Nate threw the truck into park. "You guys stay in here."

He jogged around the vehicle. The box had landed on the ground, one corner propped up by a large rock. Nate nudged it with the toe of his shoe and immediately heard something shift around inside.

He dialed Paris's number. The detective answered on the second ring.

"Paris here."

"Hey, it's Nate. We've got a suspicious package out in front of Bailey's place—no label or return address. There may be a living creature inside. Something's definitely moving around in there."

"Steer clear of it. I'm sending a unit your way."

With that, the connection ended. He got back into the truck. "The police are on their way. While we wait, let's take a look at the camera footage and see if we can figure out who left it."

"What if there's a puppy in the box?" The question came from Seth. "Or a guinea pig?"

"Or a rhino." Jordan cackled at his suggestion. "A biiiiig rhino."

Nate looked in the mirror at the youngster. "That would be quite the magic trick, wouldn't it?" He glanced over to see Bailey smiling at her son's antics in spite of her worry.

He half listened as the boys went through idea after idea, trying to one-up each other.

"Here we go." Nate positioned the phone between them. Bailey leaned in so she could see the screen, too. She rested an elbow on the console, the sleeve of her shirt tickling his arm. "Here's the first recorded footage."

They watched as a woman in a postal service uniform placed several envelopes and flyers in the mailbox and closed it again. She walked away immediately and didn't return with the box.

"That's our normal mail lady," Bailey confirmed. "She's been delivering in this area for over a year now."

"Let's see what this second recording is. It looks like maybe ten minutes after the mail was delivered." He started the next video. Both he and Bailey leaned in closer, their heads nearly touching.

A man walked into the frame, a large-brimmed hat pulled low over his ears and blocking any view of his face. Thanks to a long-sleeved shirt and dark pants, there was no way to see any distinguishable marks.

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 he brought 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 kids off.

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."