Chapter 2
At eleven twenty that evening, a commercial taxi pulled into the driveway and dropped Edgar off heavily intoxicated. He stumbled into the foyer, dropped his house keys onto the hardwood floor, and barely offered a coherent greeting.
“I am heading straight up to bed,” Edgar slurred, rubbing his bloodshot eyes as he reached for the banister.
As he placed his heavy boot on the first step, Nora stood up from the living room couch. “Edgar, do not go up to the master bedroom tonight.”
He turned toward her with an irritated scowl. “What are you complaining about now, Nora?”
“I saw a live rattlesnake hiding inside our bedroom,” Nora stated plainly, keeping her eyes fixed on him.
In the adjacent kitchen, Kristina dropped a heavy silver spoon onto the granite counter with a loud clatter.
Edgar burst into a loud, slurred laugh. “A snake? Nora, you have been complaining about a migraine since yesterday, so you are obviously seeing things.”
“I am completely serious,” Nora insisted. “Your mother was upstairs near the bed as well.”
For a split second, Kristina looked as though she was about to confess, since a single sentence could have instantly saved her son’s life. However, blurting out the truth meant admitting to the entire family why a deadly viper was hidden between those sheets in the first place.
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“I thoroughly checked that entire bedroom a short while ago,” Kristina interjected quickly, her voice trembling slightly. “There was absolutely nothing in that room, so Nora likely saw a loose rope or a dark shadow in the corner.”
“See?” Edgar shook his head in frustration. “You always turn every tiny thing into an unnecessary drama.”
