He read on:

SPECIAL: DO NOT DELIVER BEFORE MIDNIGHT (12 AM)—

RECIPIENT WILL NOT BE HOME TO RECEIVE BEFORE MIDNIGHT—

DO NOT DELIVER PAST 12:30 AM—RECIPIENT WILL NOT BE HOME TO RECEIVE AFTER 12:30 AM. IF RECIPIENT IS NOT HOME (OR DOES NOT ANSWER THE DOOR) BETWEEN 12 AND 12:30 OR IF DRIVER MISSES THIS WINDOW OF TIME, DESTROY CONTENTS OF BOX.

“Wait. What the fuck?”

Here Jerry wrote in pen:

Customer is real serious about this…no typo. Destroy box if you can’t reach him.

There was more:

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO OPEN BOX BEFORE DELIVERY—MAKE SURE BOX IS SECURE—CUSTOMER WILL NOT RECEIVE BOX IF ATTEMPT TO OPEN IS EVIDENT.

Tom shook his head. Triple the money or not, this was a weird gig.

DELIVER BOX ALONE—DO NOT LOAD ON TRUCK WITH OTHER ITEMS—MAKE SURE BOX IS ALONE IN TRUCK—DO NOT GET IN THE REAR OF TRUCK WITH BOX AND TRUCK DOOR CLOSED.

“Okay,” Tom said. “Now you’re telling me shit I learned sixteen years ago, buddy. Think I’m gonna lock myself in?”

DO NOT STOP TO CHECK ON BOX—ONCE BACK DOOR IS SECURE DO NOT OPEN UNTIL YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT 726 ROLLING HILLS DR., ROLLING HILLS, GOBLIN, MI.

And this:

IF BOX SHOULD FALL OR ANY NOISE THAT INDICATES AS MUCH SHOULD OCCUR, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CHECK ON BOX—KEEP DRIVING TO DESTINATION.

Tom grunted.

“Well, I ain’t gonna let it fall, buddy.”

There was one more instruction, followed by another note from Jerry in pen:

DO NOT COMMUNICATE TO OTHER DRIVERS WHERE YOU ARE DELIVERING BOX TO—RECIPIENT WANTS STRICT ANONYMITY AND INSISTS ON DISCRETION.

So don’t go yapping on the CB!

Tom let out a long dull whistle. He’d been given some pretty far-out orders before but never—not once—had he been instructed to destroy a package if no one was there to get it. He’d had to bring a few back, of course, and sometimes they had you drop it off somewhere else, but never this.

“Goblin and back,” he said. “Come on.”

He tried to move the box by way of the dolly, but it simply wouldn’t budge.

“One hundred and ten pounds, my ass.”

He found that if he sort of knelt and put his shoulder into it, if he put all his weight into the middle and lower part…the box slid. And he was sweating when he finally got it against the wall. He had to take a second before wrapping the straps around the box and securing them to the truck wall. Then he secured the power dolly to the opposite wall.

“I won’t be seeing you until Goblin. And we’re both better for it!”

He got down from the truck and pulled the rope, slamming the door closed. After locking it, he walked to the cabin and stopped at the driver’s-side mirror.

He looked at himself.