Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen

• A package arrived at the event company offices just before noon, addressed to Sylvia Reyes with no return label beyond a courier code.
• Carmen brought it to her desk herself, expression carefully neutral. “This came for you. Private delivery.”
• Sylvia turned the box once in her hands. It was modest in size, wrapped in plain heavy paper rather than anything branded. She waited until Carmen returned to her own office before opening it. Inside, nestled in tissue, lay a pair of practical but clearly expensive black leather gloves, lined for cold weather, the kind that would last years of winter commuting. A single card rested beneath them.