I couldn’t hear ticking. “I don’t think so.” A shiny metal clip on the ribbon caught my eye, and I gingerly reached out to capture it. “Earl’s Jewelry?” Oh. “I know Earl.”
Oliver didn’t move. “Well enough to have him sending you a big box?”
“No,” I admitted.
Oliver’s freckles stood out on his pale face. “That box is the right size for a head. Do you think it’s a head?”
I looked sideways at him. “Nobody sent me a head.” Probably. So far, I’d only received red roses and a painted heart from my weird admirer. Even so, I reached for my cellphone on the desk, had Siri conduct a search, and made a call.
“Earl’s Jewelry Store—Spokane’s longest standing store,” Earl answered almost instantly, sounding like he was stacking boxes at the same time.
“Hi, Earl. It’s Anna Albertini.”
“Oh, Anna. How nice to hear from you. Are you happy with the cross necklace?”
I blinked. Oh yeah. “I am.” But Aiden had a cross already. Then I mulled over the pretties in his store. “You know what? I think I might want to buy one of those watches you showed to me.”
Earl’s small gasp sounded delighted. “That’s excellent. Even if a man uses a day watch, every man requires one for special occasions. I have so many from which to choose.”
I frowned. “Okay. I’ll take the silver and black one to the far left in that case you showed me.” I finally relaxed. That was a good present. “For now, did you send jewelry my direction?”
Earl was quiet for a minute, no doubt ringing up sales in his head. “No. Why?”
“Because I’m looking at a box that would fit a head. The wrapping paper is red with a really pretty and glittery silver ribbon with a metal plate having your store name.” I motioned for Violet to get out of the room. She grabbed her belongings and the dog’s collar, heading out to stand by Oliver.
“Huh,” Earl said. “I’ve never had red paper—it’s only green for me. But I did have silver ribbons last year, and I had to get rid of most of them after customers complained that they left stripper-like glitter all over the place. Can you believe that? That someone would take pretty glitter and say it came from dancing boobs.”
I edged away from the box until I stood in the doorway and took a quick glance down the hallway. Yep. Glitter had created quite the trail. “Okay. I’ll be in to pick up the watch tomorrow, and I was hoping you’d have a few minutes to chat about Bernie McLintock.”
“Sure,” Earl said. “I’ll be here all day. Let me know if there’s a head in the box.” He ended the call.
“There’s no head in that box,” I muttered, slipping the phone into the back pocket of my jeans.
Oliver hovered behind me. “Should we call the police?”
“Probably,” I agreed, moving for my office, grasping scissors, and heading back to the spare office. “But my new secret admirer has been careful, and I’m sure there won’t be prints on this thing. I don’t hear ticking, and nothing is leaking.” Even so, I edged them both out of the way. “How about you two wait outside of the building?”
“Not a chance,” Oliver said, his wide-eyed gaze on the box.
Violet slowly nodded, her focus completely on the present.
This was getting out of hand. Taking a deep breath, I stepped closer to the red and silver package.
The dog barked.
Violet shrieked, Oliver yelped, and I jumped three feet. My heart pounding, I turned to see the dog flop flat, putting his nose on his paws, yawning.
“Not cool,” I snapped.
He yawned bigger.
Violet giggled nervously.
I gently snipped the ribbon, making sure not to disturb it too much. Then I sliced through the plain red paper to see a normal brown shipping box taped at the top. Holding my breath, I cut the tape away and gently lifted the flaps.
“What is it?” Oliver whispered, pressing closer.
I looked down. “Two wrapped presents.” They were both wrapped in silver paper, expertly ribboned with a narrow green and sparkly ribbon. I pulled them both out.
