The letters were cut out from newspaper clippin’s an’ from the look o’ things, painstakingly positioned onta the paper. After readin’ it again, I lifted it up ta my nose, tryin’ ta get a scent off it. Stupid, I know, but it seemed like the only thing ta do. Damn, I hated bein’ helpless.

I looked over ta the couch at Rogue. She was a bit calmer than before, sippin’ her tea an’ watchin’ everyone in the room, ‘cludin’ me. She locked eyes with mine an’ fer a split second I saw fear in them green eyes. She turned away an’ the look was gone.

Raven hung up the phone all fumin’ mad an’ blue in the face. She looked like she wanted ta bust somethin’... or someone.

“They have no record of any deliveries to this address within the last twenty-four hours,” she practic’lly hissed before takin’ a seat opposite Rogue an’ Irene. “I don’t know if they’re simply incompetent or...”

She didn’t finish; she didn’t wanna voice what the rest o’ us were already thinkin’. That this bastard walked right up ta the front door, pretty as ya please, an’ left his ‘package.’ If he got in that far, maybe next time he’d push his luck an’ try goin’ even further.

Raven turned to me shootin’ daggers from her eyes. “Why didn’t your people catch this, Logan?”

“They ran it through the X-ray,” I replied evenly, keepin’ my frustration in check. “They saw exactly what was in that box -- a necklace an’ a letter. If it’d been an explosive or somethin’ like that, it’d never have made it ta the main house.”

She dropped the subject then, but I got the feelin’ that she’d start rantin’ on my ass later, when she could corner me alone. At least the poisonous looks in my direction stopped. She knew I’d do anythin’ in my power ta keep her daughter safe. It was more than the job... hell, I’d been guardin’ that kid every flamin’ day fer the past four years. She was like family ta me.

Raven stood up again, this time pacin’ the room. “Are you sure this isn’t just some prank by that Cajun boy?”

“It ain’t Remy, Momma. He wouldn’t do somethin’ like this.”

She was right, too. This wasn’t Gumbo’s style. He tended ta sweet-talk her, not flat out freak her out with cryptic messages ‘bout bein’ ‘inside’ her. Anger boiled through my blood at the last part. Didn’t even wanna think what the sick bastard meant by that comment.

“Well then, the only thing we can do is cancel the promotional tour -- “

“Absolutely not!” Rogue was outta her seat in half a second flat, blanket fallin’ off her shoulders. “We’re doin’ no such thing!”

“Darling, you can’t possibly go on tour now with some lunatic out there stalking you!” Raven stopped her pacin’ long ‘nough ta face her daughter.

“Ah won’t let this interfere with mah life. We’ve worked too hard on this record, spent too much time organizin’ an’ plannin’, ta let some whack-job scare me inta a corner!”

“Child, are you insane?! You’re going to risk your life for your job?!”

“It’s not jus’ a job, Momma, an’ you know it!” They were face-to-face now, tryin’ ta stare the other inta submission. “This is mah dream; what we’ve been workin’ t’ward fo’ th’ past ten years! Ah’m not gonna let anyone ruin it fo’ me -- fo’ us!”

“Well, if you won’t cancel your itinerary then I’m at least calling the police.” She reached fer the phone an’ started dialin’.

Rogue caught up ta her an’ pressed the plunger down. “No, Momma. If ya get th’ police involved then it won’t be long ‘til th’ media finds out. An’ if that happens, it’ll jus’ be anothah problem ta handle.”

“Kid’s got a point, Raven,” I added. “If the press hears o’ this, they’re gonna swarm ‘round her like white on rice. Be even harder ta keep security tight.”

“So what would you have me do? Sit back and do nothing?” She looked ‘round the room at the rest o’ us. “That’s exactly what you want me to do, isn’t it?”

“It ain’t like we’ll be doin’ nothin’, Momma. We can get more people on security with Logan. An’ we’ll be extra careful whenevah we’re out in public. It’ll be okay.”

“Irene, would you please talk some sense into your daughter?” Raven turned to the other woman, who’d been silent through the whole debate.

At first, she didn’t speak; ‘stead she glanced from Raven ta Rogue an’ then back again. Finally, she said, “I’m sorry, Raven, but I have to agree with her.” She held up her hand ta stop any argument. “I’m just as concerned for her safety as you are, but they make a good point. If the media gets a hold of this information, there’ll be a frenzy and it will be even more difficult to keep her safe.”

Raven sighed. She almost looked... defeated. “What are you going to do?” she asked Rogue.

“‘Sactly what we had planned fo’ th’ past six months: Ah’m gonna promote this album. Now if y’all excuse me, Ah gotta start rehearsals fo’ th’ tour this aftahnoon so Ah’m gonna go get some sleep.”

The three o’ us watched silently as she made her way back upstairs. Not even an hour ago, I found that girl up in her room close ta tears. Now, she was tough as nails an’ determined as all get out. I couldn’t help but smile. Maybe I was rubbin’ off on the kid. After all, I taught her a thing or two ‘bout givin’ the world hell.

“Hey, listen to this, mi amigos,” Angelo Espinosa said, as he read the headlines off the newspaper. “‘Killer in NYC Claims Fourth Victim.’ Gruesome.” He turned to his fellow students at the Frost Academy and continued reading, “‘Police found the body of twenty-six year old businesswoman, Lorna Dane, in a dumpster behind a popular NYC dance club early this morning. Dane was apparently beaten and raped before receiving a fatal gunshot to the head. She is the fourth victim in a string of murders in the New York area, all exhibiting similar modes of operation. Evidence strongly suggests that the victims were stalked for an extended period of time before being murdered. Authorities have reason to believe that escaped mental patient, David Haller, is responsible for the series of killings. Officials declined to comment on any leads regarding Haller’s current whereabouts.’”

Jonothan Starsmore groaned. “You and your sick obsession with police crimes, mate.”

Jubilation Lee reached over and snatched the newspaper out of Angelo’s hands. “You’re totally abusin’ this paper, dude. The only thing kids our age are supposed to be doin’ with a newspaper is read the comic strips an’ the entertainment section.” To prove her point, she indicated an article that caught her eye. “Check it out. Rogue’s new album comes out late next month. Cool.”

“No wonder you’re so uneducated, Jubes,” Angelo joked as he sighed and leaned back into his chair.

In response, Jubilee popped the rather large bubble of gum she had been blowing and returned to her article.