Page 8 of Edge of Desire

I was so proud of that bag. I was obsessed with polka dots, and when I found this one with black and pink ones, I just had to have it. I hollered back, waving my arm in the air, “It’s mine! Isn’t it cute?”

He didn’t comment except he said, “You need to follow me, ma’am.”

I knew how scary these people could be on any given day, so I just smiled and followed him to another table, where we were immediately surrounded by several men. Now I began to get curious.

They started pulling everything out of my bag and dumped it on the table as they muttered among themselves. I silently stood by and watched. One of them got on his radio and called for the Charleston PD and told them to locate a Homeland Security agent. Now I was really getting concerned.

“Excuse me, can you tell me what’s going on?”

No one would answer me. Three policemen ran up and shoved me away from the table. They were all staring at the wrapped gift and mumbling about wiring and such.

“Ma’am, can you explain this?” he asked as he held up the wrapped gift.

“The present?”

The one that asked me the question rolled his eyes. Was that a stupid question? I didn’t think it was.

A man in a suit ran up to us then and he pulled out his ID badge, indicating he was from Homeland Security. Before I knew what happened, each of my arms had been grabbed and I was hauled down the concourse and through a door toward a section of the airport I had never seen before.

“What in the world is going on?” I asked.

No one answered. We finally got to a room with a table and six chairs. I was shoved into the room and a female TSA agent came up to me and patted me down. Then she ran one of those funky wands up and down me a couple of times, which was weird since I’d already been X-rayed. When she was done, she shoved me into a seat. The Homeland Security guy, a TSA agent, and two police officers sat in the others, facing me, staring me down. I got the feeling something was terribly wrong.

“How can you explain this?” one asked, as he held up the wrapped box.

“The present from Melissa?”

“Don’t be a smartass with us, Miss Middleton.”

“I’m not.”

“Miss Middleton. How can you explain this?” He held up the package again.

“I told you. It’s a gift from Melissa.”

The Homeland Security guy groaned and rubbed his head. The door opened again, and another TSA agent came in with one of those big German shepherd guard dogs. The dog came up to me and I reached out my hand to pet it. I thought it was a handsome-looking dog and I’d always loved animals.

“Hi there, fella,” I said. It acted like he wanted a good ear scratching. The damn thing nearly took my hand off as it growled and snapped at me, while the agent pulled it back by its leash. I screamed at the top of my lungs, and everyone jumped to their feet as the room broke out in chaos. I crawled onto the table fearing that beast was going to chow down on me for lunch, as it was now foaming at the mouth while saliva gushed out and pooled on the floor.

“Are y’all trying to kill me or something?” I hollered.

“That’s a bomb-sniffing dog! You’re not supposed to pet the damn thing. It’s trained to attack!”

“Well, it would’ve been nice if y’all had told me! It nearly ate my arm off!”

“It did not!”

“Did too! What kind of place are y’all running here?”

“Miss, you are in serious trouble. I’d caution you to take care of what you say. Now get down off that table and take a seat,” Homeland guy said.

My mouth pinched as I said, “Not until you get that man-eating beast out of here.”

“That beast is here to determine what’s in that box, because you don’t seem competent enough to tell us.”

“Well! Of all things.” I crossed my arms and said, “I can’t tell you what’s in that box because I don’t know. My friend Melissa gave it to me as a going-away gift, and seeing as I haven’t opened it yet, and don’t have X-ray vision, it would be impossible for me to say what’s in the damn box.”

“Miss Middleton, are your friends usually in the habit of giving you bombs for going-away gifts?”

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