I pull a clean sheet toward me and think for a moment before dipping the pen. "A short question to a courier wants to be shorter than he'll read. Let me try."

I write in a steady hand, reading aloud as I go, so you can hear the shape of it.

"Rowan — a question about the parcel you left with us, A17. No urgency, no trouble attached. Its card names two streets: North Street and Marsh Lane, both for the ward records office. On your outward trip, where did you see the North Street sign — at the door you delivered to, or somewhere along the way? And on your return, where did Marsh Lane appear? A street name on a sign, a marker, a gate, anything. Say what you saw and where, and don't guess at the rest. — M.V."

I set the pen down and turn the sheet so you can read it yourself. "That's the draft. The wording does three things on purpose. It tells him there's no trouble, so he doesn't get defensive about a delivery he made in good faith. It asks for each street separately, tied to each leg of his trip, so we can compare the two answers against each other. And it asks him to report what he saw rather than what he concluded — couriers, in my experience, will supply a confident explanation if you leave them a gap to fill, and a confident explanation is worth less than a plain observation."

The last line is as much for me as for him. I've filled my own gaps twice already this morning.

"The card's warp suggests damp weather on his route, which fits your quay-side remark, but that's observation and guesswork sitting side by side again, so I'll keep it out of the letter."

I leave the sheet between us and don't fold it. "A17 stays on the counter, seal untouched, regardless. The letter doesn't mention the parcel's contents because I don't know them, and doesn't mention the glitter because I'd rather hear his answer clean, without leading him toward ink questions he's never thought about."

"Read it through. Anything you'd change — tone, length, a question added or cut — say so, and I'll redraft before we talk about sending it anywhere."