The morning after I returned, late at night, from the silly incident in the holiday park on Sekonda, I woke up long after my normal time, feeling physically stiff and psychologically regretful. The experience there with Spoder meant that any career I might have been planning as an amateur sleuth was definitively at an end.

I put down some fresh food and water for Barmi. Knowing Jo would be back at some point, and that she would be here for only one day and a night, I tidied up and cleaned the house. After that I took the unexpectedly large heap of envelopes out to the patio, and started opening each one (a precaution against throwing away something I might actually want) before setting it aside for recycling. Somewhere in the pile I found, unexpectedly, a letter.

The envelope was addressed to Dr Todd Fremde. Inside was a letter, a real letter on paper, albeit one that had been clearly computer generated and personalized only by a scribbled pair of initials at the end. It was on the printed letterhead of the Dearth Plaza Hotel.

Dear Dr Todd Fremde,

After your recent stay here it was discovered that you did not surrender the mutability assurance key as issued to every guest, in your case identified to Room No. 627. Because this card contains confidential information, secured and encrypted, we would ask you to return it to us at the earliest possible moment. We are enclosing a pre-paid and addressed envelope for your convenience.

If you no longer have the key, would you kindly use the same envelope to inform us of its whereabouts if known, or confirm that it has been lost or destroyed. If it is still in your possession, please do not hand it to anyone else. It must be returned to us. It would be an offence to try to sell it. Please note that it is inert because of password protection, and that none of the software is usable by non-staff members.

We look forward to welcoming you to your next visit.

Yours sincerely

T.I. (or T.J. or T.T. or I.T.)

For the Dearth Plaza Hotel, Dearth City

I searched, but I could not find the promised pre-paid return envelope. I checked the heap of paper destined ultimately for the recycling depot to see if I had thrown it aside by mistake, but it was not there. I put the letter on the recycle pile with everything else.