Doug looked up at him hopefully.

The editor broke open another fortune cookie. “Have you gone to the police with any of this?”

“Well, I told them about the letters to shut off my phone, water, and electricity. I even gave them copies. But I haven’t told them anything else.”

“Maybe you should go to them.” Stockley raised his hand. “I’m not saying I believe you, but if you’re right, this is definitely a matter for the police.”

“I don’t know if I’m right either. That’s why I came to you. If I walk into the police station and tell them what I just told you, they’ll probably think I’m crazy.”

The editor chuckled. “You didn’t want publicity, so you came to a newspaper. That’s a good one.” Doug started to protest, but Stockley cut him off. “I understand. I know what you’re trying to do, but the problem is that a newspaper deals with facts. If a story doesn’t have the five Ws, I don’t print it. I could do a feature on you, let you put forth your ideas, but everything would be attributed to you, and I don’t think that’s what you want.”

“Actually, I’m not really looking for an article, although I think people probably do need to be warned. What I really came in for was confirmation. I mean, you know what goes on in this town. If someone stubs his toe or catches a cold, you’re aware of it. I just thought that if anyone had noticed something unusual lately, it would be you. Am I right?”

Stockley was silent, chewing.

“Just tell me what, if anything, is going on. What have you heard?”

The editor’s gaze was troubled. “The relationship between a journalist and his source is very sacred,” he said finally. “It’s analogous to a lawyer/client relationship, a doctor/patient relationship, a priest/confessor relationship. I could pussyfoot around this, but I’ll be honest. Yes, I have heard some talk. Nothing specific, nothing like what you’ve told me, and nothing that anyone would admit to if questioned, but other people have noticed odd things occurring lately. And I think they’ll notice even more after Bernie Roger’s suicide. I should remain neutral, objective, and impartial, but I’ll tell you the truth. Yes, I think something strange is going on around here. And I think it’s centered around the mailman.”

Doug felt relief flood through him. He hadn’t realized how good it would feel to have an ally, to hear someone, a third party, say that he was not crazy, that he was actually on to something. At the same time, it made everything that much more frightening. If all of this was true, the mailman was at the very least dangerously unbalanced and deranged.