Theo frowned as he read the owl, the book enclosed lying next to him on his desk. The letter was plain and to the point, but made little sense, since no one knew about the (many) illegal items in his manor. They were hidden well out of sight, most of them gathered by his father, a few by himself (mostly books) but all in all, he hadn't bought an illegal item since he was in his twenties - and no one had ever known.
Well apart from the man who sold them but he was dead and he knew who had and hadn't returned. He wasn't one of them. Could this be a shot in the dark?
He pondered ignoring the letter all together, but that could prove foolish if the man indeed had evidence of the items in his possession. As unlikely as that was, the implication might be enough to push him away from his position and therefore he could not afford to ignore it.
He was no stranger to blackmail - he was just usually the man doing the blackmailing and he did not like it when the shoe was on the other foot. Still even if there hadn't been blackmail... he was just too curious to let it be.
Casting a few spells on the book to make sure it really wasn't cursed, he opened it to a blank page and picked up his quill.
And just who is it that I'm supposed to be awaiting instructions from? he wrote, because he would not submit to anyone's will that easily. He'd find out who it was and crush them.
And what are these items of which you speak? he added, needing to know if this was a trick or not. He watched as the writing faded into the page and waited.