Free Absolutely, positively by Jayne Ann Krentz Page B

him to the crook of his left arm. He studied the box curiously as he went toward the front steps of the ramshackle mansion.
    His first thought was that someone had tried to make a delivery earlier and had left the box in front of the door when no one had answered the bell.
    His next thought was that if no one had answered the door, it could only mean that Molly was not home. She had forgotten the date .
    Fierce disappointment gripped him. He should have called her again this afternoon to confirm, he told himself.
    And then he saw the black wire. It ran from the cover of the black box to the doorknob. The top of the box would be yanked off when the door was opened.
    Harry wondered if the arrangement was someone's idea of a practical joke. Perhaps a jack-in-the-box puppet on a spring would pop out when the lid was removed.
    Harry climbed the steps slowly, his attention focused on the box.
    No joke .
    A tingle of awareness went through him. Something was very wrong.
    There was a faint, scratching sound from the other side of the heavy door. Molly knew he was here. She was about to open the door.
    Harry dropped the roses and leaped toward the box.
    “Don't open the door,” he shouted.
    “Harry?” Molly appeared in the widening crack of the doorway. “Is that you? What's wrong?”
    The wire that linked the box to the door went taut. The lid was jerked off the black box. There was a whirring sound. Harry saw a pistol mounted on a metal pedestal rise into the air.
    The barrel of the gun was aimed at Molly.

4

    H arry heard a soft, deadly snick even as he launched himself at the pistol assembly. His left hand struck the box, toppling the entire contraption just as the pistol fired.
    The sensation of wrongness hit him in a shimmering wave at the instant his fingers made contact with the deadly looking mechanism. Harry had no time to react to the feeling. It vanished in a heartbeat.
    A split second later, propelled by the momentum of his charging dive, Harry came up hard against the wall of the house. He recovered his balance automatically and watched as the pistol box clattered and banged its way down the front steps onto the drive.
    Something soft unfurled from the barrel of the pistol. It fluttered limply as it hit the ground.
    “What in the world is going on out here?” Molly looked down at the black box and its contents. She raised startled eyes to meet Harry's. “You do move quickly, don't you?”
    “When I feel like it.”
    Harry straightened his jacket with a shrug and went slowly down the steps to stand over the fallen pistol assembly. A white flag had emerged from the barrel. There were letters printed on it in red. He used the toe of his shoe to spread out the strip of cloth so that he could read the words.
    BANG. YOU'RE DEAD.
    “Somebody's idea of a bad joke.” Harry took a slow, deep breath. He looked at Molly. “Are you all right?”
    “Of course. What about you?”
    “I'm fine.”
    “I can see that.” She grinned. “You have an original method for overcoming the social awkwardness of a first date.”
    “As Josh recently pointed out to me, it's been so long since I've had a date, I've forgotten the usual routine.” Harry glanced down at the flag pistol. “But this wasn't from me. I brought flowers.”
    “You did?” Molly spotted the fallen roses. She smiled in delight. “So you did. They're beautiful. How did you know yellow roses are my favorite?”
    Harry followed her glance to where the bruised roses lay scattered on the drive. “Lucky guess.”
    He watched her hurry down the steps to collect the flowers. The roses had been a last-minute suggestion from Josh, but Harry saw no reason to mention that. He told himself he would have thought of them on his own if Josh hadn't brought up the subject. He was out of practice, but he wasn't stupid.
    It struck Harry that Molly looked wonderful tonight. She had on a dashing little scarlet dress trimmed with gold buttons. The matching cropped jacket had a