The Raven Seal

I'm halfway through a gas-station burrito two days past its sell-by when the mailer comes.

Kraft padded envelope, no return address, the flap closed with a coin of black wax. The wax is pressed with a raven in profile, eye closed. Hand-stamped. Heavy.

Then the photo slides out. A woman in the center of the orchestra of the Orpheum Theater on Canal. Red wool coat. White opera gloves. A wilted white camellia on the floor at her feet. Row J, seat 14.

Chapter 13 of *The Seventh Night*. The Woman in the Red Coat at the Orpheum. Detail for detail.

The phone buzzes against the laminate. Zelle. **$42,000.00**. Memo: *royalties — chapter 13.*