Structure

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Beginning

The exposition introduces the setting and characters of the short story. Mr. and Mrs. Enderby are sitting in the music room of their apartment. Mr. Enderby is reading the newspaper. He usually starts with the comics, but “when they were on the job he turned to the city news first, scanning through the stories quickly, especially the police blotter” (p. 119, ll. 12-14). This foreshadows the illegal nature of their job, which is also foreshadowed by the descriptions of their apartment: “They rarely heard their neighbors above and below, and their neighbors rarely heard them. Which was all to the good” (p. 120, ll. 5-7). The soundproof building helps the Enderbys conduct their kidnappings, as no one can hear their victims’ …

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Middle

The rising action begins once the couple hears the thumping sound in their closet (p. 120, l. 8). The noise foreshadows the fact that they have trapped someone in the closet. A tension point is created when it is revealed that the couple abduct people: “to date, the work had gone swimmingly. Mr. Timmons …