A Very Saxby Christmas - Chapter 2 snippet

The walk back seemed shorter, or perhaps I was just more focused on the mysterious package. Ransome stayed closer than usual, as if he'd picked up on my increased alertness.Snow continued to fall, fat flakes that caught in his fur and mine, creating a winter wonderland effect that would have been charming if I wasn't carrying an unknown package from an unknownsender.

I pressed the second button on the remote and the garage door began to rise. This was the best place to drop out snow sodden gear. Once inside, I shed my coat and boots while Ransome shook himself vigorously, sending snow flying in all directions. I carried the package up the stairs, Ransome close at heel, to my desk, set it down carefully, and stared at it for a long moment.

"Standard procedure", I said aloud, more to organize my thoughts than to inform Ransome.

"First, we examine the exterior. Look for any signs of tampering, unusual construction, or threat indicators."

Ransome padded over and sat beside my chair, his attention focused on the package as intently as mine. If he'd been a working police dog instead of a wolf companion, he'd have been brilliant at it.

The brown paper was ordinary, nothing special about it. The string was natural fiber, tied in a simple bow. The handwriting of my name was careful, almost old-fashioned in its precision. No return address, no postmark; this had been hand-delivered.

"Well," I said, reaching in the drawer for my scissors. "Only one way to find out what this is about."

I cut the string carefully, roughly 30mm from where the bow was knotted to preserve the bow and knot just as I'd been trained to do with potential evidence. I carefully wiggled the string off the package as complete as possible. The paper unwrapped easily, revealing a simple cardboard box. Inside, nestled in tissue paper, was a snow globe.

I lifted it out carefully, holding it up to the light. Inside the glass sphere was a miniature scene, a small lodge remarkably similar to my own, surrounded by pine trees and mountains. In front of the lodge stood two figures: a man and what was clearly meant to be a wolf or large dog. As I shook it gently, glitter swirled around the scene, catching the light.

Beneath the tissue paper was a card, handwritten in the same careful script:

"Mr. Saxby - Welcome to Aspen. May you find the peace here that has eluded you elsewhere. A friend."

"A friend," I repeated, turning the card over. Nothing on the back. "What friend? I've been here five years and barely know anyone beyond the post office clerk and the woman at the market."

But even as I said it, I knew that wasn't quite true. There was Em at the wolf sanctuary, of course. And I'd developed a nodding acquaintance with a few locals. Devon, the owner of the Silver City Grill where Ransome and I occasionally ate, the proprietor of the wine shop who'd helped me understand the impressive wine cellar this place had come complete with. Aspen was smaller than I'd initially realized, and in a town of about 5,000 year-round residents, a British detective with a black wolf companion didn't exactly blend into the background.

"Could be any of them, I suppose." I set the snow globe on my desk, watching the glitter settle."Thoughtful gesture, whoever it was."

Ransome moved closer, resting his large head on my knee. His way of telling me to stop overthinking things and just accept the gesture for what it was; a simple kindness. I scratched behind his ears, feeling the tension in my shoulders ease slightly.

"You're getting soft in your old age," I told him. "Next thing, you'll be asking me to put up a Christmas tree and hang stockings."