"Killer," the voice said from somewhere in the dark.

Runa heard it but didn't move

"Killer"

"Murderer!"

She realized that her eyes were closed.

She realized something else too. She was speaking.

"Killer," she said. "Runa Walker is a murderer."

"NO I AM NOT!!" she yelled back opening her eyes and sitting up.

The air was still. She was naked on the stoop by the basement door again. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. She listened at the door but didn't hear anything.

'Damn Brian,' she thought. 'Does he really want to go on that stupid ghost walk thing?'

She was not in the mood for that.

She was really getting tired of everything that was going on. But she didn't know what to do. She couldn't afford to live anywhere else and she didn't want to go back to her mom's house.

She knew that her mom meant well but Runa wouldn't be able to put up with the constant nagging. She was always a sleepwalker anyway. Even as a little girl they would find her outside in the middle of the night or in the basement. So either it's gotten worse because of this place or it was just her. She hated it. But she couldn't afford to get any help and she didn't know if anything would help.

Runa slowly made it up the stairs and started getting ready for work. She had to be there at 9:00. It was 3:45. She was always early and Miss Hunter would remind her that she couldn't pay for any time before she was scheduled.

Runa didn't care. She liked being there in the morning before people showed up. The morning routine at the Zephyr Animal Clinic was easy. She got to actually enjoy the animals before being put in harm's way.

Runa had gotten scratched and nipped at so many times and even got bit once. That wasn't fun. Most people's pets were okay. But some were always a pain in the ass; especially cats. Cats are the worst except for Runa's. She loved Houdini. She was a sweetheart.

She was cooking a couple egg whites while standing in the kitchen in her robe when the phone rang. It was Mendalie. She wanted to know if Runa and Brian were going on the ghost walk Friday night. She couldn't get out of it now.

When she went into the living room to sit down with her plate and coffee, Runa stopped. She saw something lying on the floor by the front door. Someone had slipped an envelope under the door.

Runa was confused because she hadn't slept that long. If they knocked on the door she didn't hear them.

Setting her plate and glass on the coffee table, she turned and grabbed the envelope. It was very odd. It was a thick yellowed envelope like they might have used years ago. It had red, white and blue striped edges. It had Runa's name in script on the front and was sealed with an odd wax seal on the back. The seal had a picture of an open book and a lit candle on a candlestick beside the book.

Runa went to the kitchen and got a knife out of the drawer. She loosened the seal so she could open it. It was like an old parchment paper folded very precisely inside the envelope. Runa opened it up and it read:

Dear Miss Walker,

You are invited to tea with the honorable Ladies of the Zephyr City Book Club this Thursday evening September 22nd; during the Autumn Equinox at 7:00 pm. Please wear a modest dress and gloves. A hat is not required but encouraged.

The address is 824 1/2 Winter Street. There will be a lamp in the window.

Thank You,

Margaret Bismark

Secretary

Runa could not believe what she was reading. What would the ladies' book club want with her? She knew that she lived above a bookstore, but would that really be it; and a modest dress with gloves? Runa didn't even know what that meant. She doesn't wear dresses too often. She realized she might need some help with this.