Viper Venom

The viper slided softly over the cold, white body of a young man, making barely a sound. Its pink tongue flickered out, and, tasting the air, changed its course over the man's dead face.

With confident hands, Detective Inspector Carlton picked it up, one hand behind its head, the other holding its scaly body.

"Got it!" he called, and handed it carefully over to the animal expert, who locked it carefully in a safe. "You okay, River?"

River was as white as the corpse in front of them, and had pressed herself against the door. She nodded as she came forward gingerly. "I don't like snakes," she muttered. "Look what it did to him."

The man was in his early thirties, his face frozen in an expression of wide-eyed fear. Kneeling beside him was the forensic pathologist, who was examining a neat pair of bite marks on the man's left calf.

"What have you got, Sarah?" asked Carlton, joining her.

"Clear cause of death," she answered, pointing to the bite marks. "The viper bit him here, see the bruising and the swelling? The venom travelled quickly through the system."

"Accident or murder?" asked River, feeling it was safer to come forward now that the snake was out of the room.

"Or suicide, like Cleopatra?" suggested Carlton.

"Well, certainly not suicide," replied Sarah with a chuckle. "The victim has applied ice to the swelling, which suggests he didn't know that the snake was venomous, and also that he didn't intend it to happen."

"Well, I don't believe it was an accident," replied Carlton. He glanced around the man's flat. "Wherever the snake came from, I doubt it was here."

"You're right there. The door of the flat was locked from the outside, probably to prevent him from getting the medical attention he would have needed when he got bitten."

"Someone locked him in with a viper?" River shuddered. "Stuff of nightmares. No wonder he looks so traumatised."

Suddenly, the door swung open, and a young woman came in. "What's going on?" she asked. "There are half a dozen policemen downstairs, and -" She broke off and screamed when she saw the body, and the two bite marks in the man's leg. "Oh my god, it's Paul!"

At that very moment, she fell down into a dead faint.

When she came round, River was sitting beside her. "Feeling any better?" she asked, as the woman sat up.

"I can't believe he's dead," she said, tears running down her cheeks.

"I know, and we're so sorry for your loss. My name's Kate River, and I promise you, I'm going to do everything I can to find the person who killed Paul. What's your name?"

The woman mopped her eyes. "Yvonne Blake. I'm Paul's fiancée."

"When did you last see him, Yvonne?" asked River.

"A few weeks ago. I'd been in New York with a friend, and I've only just returned. We were going to get married in next month!" Another bout of tears choked her words, and River put a hand on her arm comfortingly.

"Miss Blake, can you think of anyone who might have wanted Paul dead?" asked Carlton sharply, coming into the room behind her.

"No! Paul was such a sweet guy. I can only hope it was some kind of accident."

"We think that was unlikely," began River, but Yvonne interrupted.

"You don't know anything!" she cried. "Paul was always bringing animals home. He absolutely dedicated to his job - he was a vet - and he was always doing stupid things like this. Sometimes it was a sick parrot he brought home, sometimes a starving kitten. Once it was a rabid dog, and that was bad enough. But a viper? I would have thought he'd have a bit more sense..."

Carlton's eyes met River's, and she nodded. "Miss Blake, you are under arrest for suspicion of murder," he said sharply.

How did he know?

The answer: How did Yvonne know it was a viper that bit him? She only saw the snake bite marks, not the snake itself.