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chest. The doorknob turned. He placed his finger securely on the trigger. Nothing happened. There was a slight swishing sound, and he looked down and saw a note slide under the door. He wouldn’t be fooled by the old trick of bending down to retrieve a note just as a bullet crashes through the wood door. He waited. He heard nothing. He unlocked the door. He opened it slowly and carefully looked out. He saw no one. He moved cautiously into the hallway. No one was there. The mysterious postman had come and gone. He shut and locked the door. He picked up the envelope and felt around the edges. It was flat with no signs it contained anything dangerous. He used his penknife to slit the envelope on the short end and took out a single sheet of paper. Written on the paper was, “I know who did it, and he’s closer than you think.”
    ***
    Carrie woke up and sensed a presence in her room. Was it the dream, or had someone also come to her room? She looked around but nothing appeared to be out of

place. She thought of her character, Ascot, and wondered how he escaped from the two agents in the alley. She would work on that problem later. She thought of the note Ascot received, and she reached into her bra. Her letter was still there. Ascot’s note didn’t say much. She hoped her letter from Jamie held more answers.
    She moved over to the desk and smoothed out the creases of the letter. As she was about to read it, there was a knock at the door. She quickly returned the letter to its hiding place.
    “Come in,” she called.
    “Good evening, miss. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
    The young woman who entered was a member of the Faraday household staff. She was in her late twenties, thin with auburn hair piled loosely on top of her head. Her glasses sat precariously perched on the end of her nose. It made her look somewhat bookish as she stared over the top of the frames.
    “The family asked me to inform you that a light supper will be served in a half -hour. They are currently in the study, if you would care to join them for cocktails.”
    “Thank you…and you are…?”
    "Oh, I'm Mary, Miss. Shall I announce that you will be joining them?"
    "Well, I'm not quite ready yet, Mary, perhaps in a few minutes. Mary, did you put my clothes away?
    “Yes, I did. Oh, was anything wrong?” Mary’s face showed concern.
    “No, no not at all. It was quite nice and a pleasant surprise. I was tired after my trip, and it was nice not to worry about unpacking. I just wanted to thank you.”
    Mary looked pleased. “I appreciate you saying something. Mr. Jamie was the same way. He always thanked me, too, when I kept this room for him.”
    “This was Jamie’s room?” Carrie asked, somewhat surprised.
    “This was…is one of the guest rooms. But Mr. Jamie used it when he came home. He wanted his son to have his old room.”
    “I see. Well, thank you, Mary. I’ll be down in just a little while. Does the family dress for dinner?”
    “Oops, glad you asked. I was supposed to tell you to dress casual.” She smiled sheepishly as she closed the door behind her.
    Carrie knew that dress casual in the Faraday house didn’t mean jeans and a T-shirt. Instead she put on navy slacks and a matching turtleneck with small snowflakes along the neckline and around the sleeves. She brushed her hair and removed a new lipstick from its packaging. As she tossed the package into the trash can, she realized the can was empty. Someone had been in her room! But why take the empty envelope? She wondered about the empty trash can as she left her room to join the family for dinner. Maybe Mary had emptied it while she napped.
    When she arrived on the first floor, she could hear voices coming from the study. She couldn’t make out the words, but the discussion sounded lively among Charles, Suzanne, and Mrs. Faraday.
    She qu ietly approached the study door. The words coming from inside were clearer now.
    “I don’t see why you invited her to stay here in the