So instead of a dedication the ex–Mrs. Senenmut carefully extracted the wax seal and threw the pink powder from the snail’s shell into the washbasin, and in its place she poured a deadly silver sand from a small bottle on which was written: “High explosive. Inflammable.” Afterwards, she painstakingly replaced the wax seal with the wick in the center.

Having put the snail back into its box, the ex–Mrs. Senenmut wrapped the present in the gold paper and tied the bow.

“I know David won’t be able to resist this,” she murmured. She placed the box with the bow on the drawing table which had till recently belonged to her ex-husband and left the apartment.

Young Mr. David Senenmut, the architect, no longer lived there. After the divorce, he had to rent a separate apartment, but he had retained one set of keys to the old apartment where his ex-wife was now living. He was permitted to visit whenever he wanted on condition the former Mrs. Senenmut was not there at the time. He could watch television, help himself to a drink, but he was not allowed to take anything out of the apartment. That was the agreement. If it was broken, his wife knew exactly what she would do. The lock on the door would be instantly changed and the police would be informed of any missing items.