A Cold Christmas Read Online Free Page A

came out in little uuh uuh uuh uuh sounds.
    He had one hand just behind the snake’s head—its mouth was open, its tongue flickering—and the other hand at the end of the tail. In between it coiled and writhed and twisted itself around his wrist.
    Faster than she could see, it jerked its head loose and sank white fangs into the ball of his thumb.
    Cursing, he grabbed the head and, holding it high, he dashed behind her and fed the snake into a white wicker hamper. He slapped down the lid and propped his butt on it, resting one hand on either side.
    â€œI’ll call 911.” She was halfway up the stairs.
    â€œNot necessary.”
    â€œYou’ll die.”
    â€œNaw.”
    She crept back down the stairs.
    â€œIt’s just a black snake. Harmless. Good to have around, really. They take care of rats.”
    Rats? She looked around the basement.
    He studied the beads of blood on the ball of his thumb, then sucked them.
    She shivered. “Where did it come from?”
    â€œHibernating over there.” He nodded toward the hot water heater. “Got a bit irritated at being disturbed. Can’t say I blame it. How do you feel when you get yanked out of deep sleep?”
    â€œSo far I’ve never bitten anyone.” She eyed him closely, expecting him to drop dead. A great big black snake had been down here since last fall? And the kids hadn’t seen it? They were all over this place. One of them could have been bitten. She’d never seen that hamper before, either. Could he have brought in the snake inside the hamper? Why, for God’s sake, would he do a thing like that? Just because she hadn’t seen the hamper didn’t mean it hadn’t been here. With the jumble of junk down here, half the slithery creatures of Bambi’s forest could be here and she wouldn’t notice. Rats? Maybe it was time to clean this place out.
    â€œI could use a rope,” he said calmly. “If I get up it’ll get loose.”
    â€œRope. Right. Rope.” She peered around blankly.
    â€œOn the wall over there.” He nodded toward the wall behind her.
    Coils of rope of different sizes hung on pegs driven into a board on the wall. He knew more about this basement than she did. She snatched one coil and brought it to him.
    â€œYou might hold the lid while I tie it down.”
    â€œYes. Right.” She didn’t like being that close to him, but to her surprise he didn’t smell of fire and brimstone, or even sweat and dirt. He didn’t smell of anything more horrifying than soap.
    He trussed the hamper up like a package about to be mailed.
    â€œWhat are you going to do with it?” she asked
    â€œI’ll take care of it.”
    â€œRight.” She had a vision of him eating it as a midnight snack. How had he found it? Had he been clambering through junk? Looking for what? Hidden treasure?
    He finished up a knot and plopped the hamper at the foot of the steps, then went to kneel in front of the furnace. Paying some kind of homage to the furnace god? The roar of all that expensive fuel was fierce. He leaned in, did something, then backed away and sat on his heels.
    She heard a click and, much to her relief, the roar dwindled. “Will it go back on when it’s supposed to?” She had visions of going through the whole process again.
    He gave her that scary smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Yes, ma’am.”
    Go then. Go go. He replaced the panels, packed up his tools, and picked up the white hamper using the rope as a handle. She stood way back and let him climb the stairs. In the kitchen, she opened the door, watched him cross the small porch, go down the five steps, cross the driveway, get into the van, and back out. From a living room window, she watched him drive away. When she was sure he wasn’t going to come creeping back, she called Ettie and said she’d be right over to pick up the kids.
    Mat had the children, Ettie