I Am the Messenger Part 1 / Chapter 3 Summary

the ace of diamonds

  • Ed and his buddies all get together to play cards. There's some talk of his fifteen minutes of fame in the newspaper as a hero, but mostly they just hang out.
  • Then it happens. It's a Tuesday night, and Ed gets the mail just like any night. But when he opens it, he sees an Ace of Diamonds with a cryptic message: "45 Edgar Street, midnight. 13 Harrison Avenue, 6 p.m. 6 Macedoni Street, 5: 30 a.m."
  • Hmm… he's not really sure what this means, or who would send him such a thing, so Ed calls his friends and mom to check if it's from them.
  • It's not. Plus he forgot to pick up a coffee table for his mom like he promised, so she gives him a good tongue-lashing and tells him he's an idiot (along with some other choice words to boot). He promises he'll pick it up for her tomorrow.
  • Ed plays cards with his friends again, and they all talk about the ace he got in the mail. Audrey thinks it's connected to the bank robbery, and though Ed's not so sure, he definitely wants to find out.
  • He imagines himself being on the brink of something special. He's not sure what, but he thinks this card might be important.
  • Who is he kidding? He tells himself to stop dreaming and get over it.