Arthur stepped back so fast his chair scraped across the floor. His first thought was that he had brought home something dangerous. Something hidden. Something that had never been meant to end up in the hands of a lonely retired man with weak knees and a habit of overthinking.
The ticking was soft but steady. Tick. Tick. Tick. It did not speed up, and it did not stop. Arthur stared at the velvet bundle as if staring hard enough might explain it. The fabric rose slightly on one side, as though something metal inside was turning.
His phone lay on the kitchen counter. He thought about calling the police. Then he thought about how foolish he would sound. “Hello, I bought a suitcase, and now it is ticking.” But what if he waited too long? What if the next sound was not a tick, but a blast?