GTP-Chapter 3

When she arrived back at her hotel, Carrie plopped on the luxurious queen-sized bed and contemplated the events that had occurred that morning. It was so bizarre. She leaned back against a pillow and placed her hands behind her head. She felt the exhaustion from the previous day’s flight wash over her body and allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

* * *

Brring.

Carrie bolted upright in alarm. She felt blood rushing to her head from sitting up too quickly. After regaining her focus, she rubbed her eyes and looked around. “What time is it?” she wondered.

The sun shone brightly through the window. Carrie squinted. “I have got to remember to close those tonight,” she thought. “That sun is intense.”

Brring.

Still groggy, Carrie fumbled around on the nightstand for her cell phone. The clock next to the bed read 2:23 p.m.

She finally located her phone on the sixth ring. “Hello?” she answered.

“Ms. Jones, this is Mr. Walker. I need you to come to the concert hall immediately. There is something you should see. Tiffany will be waiting for you in the lobby,” Mr. Walker said.

“Yes, sir,” Carrie said. “I’m on my way.”

After she hung up, Carrie hurriedly put on shoes, brushed her hair, and grabbed a jacket. As she reached for the doorknob she noticed an envelope taped to the door. She had been so wound up earlier she had apparently overlooked it. “How long has that been there?” she wondered.

Carrie turned the envelope over in her hand a couple of times. Her name was printed in green ink on one side. The other side had a logo stamped on it in the shape of skull and crossbones, only different. In place of the crossbones were two music notes. The whole ideal reminded Carrie of the musical, Phantom of the Opera. She carefully tore open the note and unfolded the blue stationary. It read:

Dear Ms. Jones,
You are a very talented musician; however, there is no place for you here. Should you return to the concert hall matters will only get worse. You will regret your actions. Do the right thing…leave NOW!
Sincerely,
DT

“What in the world does that mean?” Carrie wondered.

Feeling a little panicky, she put the note back in its envelope and placed it in her back pocket. She planned to show it to Mr. Walker. He might have some idea who wrote it and what she should do about it. She hurried out the door and took a cab to the concert hall.

* * *

Tiffany was waiting just inside the door as Mr. Walker said. Carrie kept close as they wound their way through the maze of hallways once more. They passed Mr. Walker’s office and turned the corner. Light was visible from underneath the door of a room at the end of the dimly lit hall.

Carrie followed Tiffany into the brightly lit room. It was obvious right away that is was the costume room. Open trunks filled with hats, boas, belts, and various other items lined the walls. Racks upon racks of clothes were scattered all over the place. A couple of doors off to the left Carrie took to be dressing rooms. People were hurrying about doing various things. An air of unrest filled the room. “I wonder if this room is this chaotic on a normal day before a show,” she thought.

She noticed a section on the far side of the room had been roped off with yellow tape. She spotted Mr. Walker next to it leafing through some papers, occasionally looking up to speak to one of the investigators.

Mr. Walker looked up from the papers in his hand and waved her over.

“Look at this,” he said thrusting an envelope into her hands. “I found it in my office after I returned from lunch.”

This envelope also had Carrie’s name on one side and the peculiar logo on the other. Carrie looked up at Mr. Walker, a sick feeling rising in her stomach.

“I found an envelope exactly like this in my hotel room,” Carrie said. “The note inside sounded like a death threat or something.”

“Well, open it,” Mr. Walker urged.

Carrie tore open the envelope and unfolded the stationary. This note read:

Dear Ms. Jones,
I believe I have already warned you once, yet you are still around to read this note. You are foolish. I don’t think you realize what you’re getting into. Be prepared for trouble. I told you that you would regret your actions, and I don’t go back on my word. Take my previous advice, GET OUT OF TOWN!
Sincerely,
DT

“What does this mean?” Carrie asked. “Who is DT?”

Mr. Walker was reading the note over her shoulder. “Obviously, this person wants you out of his way. I don’t know for sure, but maybe DT is the person who took the Steinway from the hall.

Carrie did a double-take. “Someone took what?”