Hocus

Better able to control his panic now, he was more cautious. “There’s no reason for you to die.”

Bret smiled. “Ever watch any airplane disaster movies? Some panicked person on the plane always screams, ‘We’re all going to die!’ Well, truer words were never spoken. Most of us don’t know when we will die, and many of us won’t believe there is any reason for our deaths. When and why. Samuel and I have a reasonable approximation of the former and a certainty of the latter. We have that.”

“But still—”

“No, Frank, Samuel and I won’t live through this set of events we’ve set in motion. We are rather good amateurs, but time and experience is on the side of people like Detective Cassidy.”

“Cassidy isn’t a killer,” Frank said. “He’ll do everything he can to end this peacefully.”

“It won’t be up to Cassidy, I’m afraid.”

“I don’t understand—”

“No, I’m sorry. You are still at a great disadvantage. I promised you a story. Now, would you like to get out of this bed and sit at a table and read it yourself?”

Confused, but seeing that — for the moment — Bret would discuss matters only on his own terms, Frank said, “Yes.”

“All right, then first let me explain a few things. Samuel and I went to a great deal of trouble to refit this building to our own needs. Right now, we are in a tent within a room within a room. One door to each, no windows. Soundproof. The tent is similar to tents used for fumigating buildings, made of the same material. There is a security system to which I must respond before anyone can gain entry. Without going into the sort of details that will give you a little too much information, I’ll tell you that opening the valve Samuel referred to starts the flow of a gas into this tent. The gas will asphyxiate anyone in the tent. In other words, if he wanted to, he could open that valve now, and we would be suffocated.”

Frank thought of the mood Samuel had been in when he left and closed his eyes.

“I see you begin to understand. I can free you if I become a prisoner within the room with you. Should I need to leave the room, you will have to return voluntarily to the bed and will be restrained as you are now. Samuel will not come in here unless you are restrained. If you refuse to be restrained, Samuel will receive a signal from me to start the flow of the gas.”

“You’d die with me.”

“If your only goal is to kill me, I’m giving you that opportunity. But if I die, Samuel starts the gas. If you injure me, prevent me from restraining you, or prevent me from giving the proper entry signal to Samuel, then we die together. I suppose I’m counting on the fact that you are probably less reconciled to death than I am.”

“I don’t understand this,” Frank said, knowing he should be calmer, should be trying a different approach, but unable to manage it. “I don’t know why you want to die.”

“I don’t. I’m willing to die. That’s different. I don’t want you to die with me, but I’m willing to allow that to happen, too. I’d prefer you live. I’d prefer we passed our very limited time together with the more pleasant pursuits of meals and conversation. Conversation with you, the opportunity to get to know you….” He smiled again. “It’s a sort of going-away present to myself.”

“We can talk and eat while I’m still in this bed. Why go to all this trouble to let me roam around the room?”

“You know the answer to that.”

After a long silence Frank said, “Because you’ve been chained.”

“Exactly.”

“The drugs—”

“Are a necessity, I’m afraid. I’ll do my best to keep them at a minimum. That’s largely up to you. If you’re uncooperative, you’ll probably spend most of your remaining time with us in a state of unconsciousness. If you prefer that, I can start the IV again now.”

“No—”

“I didn’t think that would be your choice. Shall I untie you now?”

“Yes.”

“I have your word — you’ll accept our conditions?”

Miserable. He felt goddamned miserable and angry with himself for it. He tried not to let any of this show as he said, “Yes.”

“Good,” Bret said, but he was frowning, watching Frank’s face. He lowered his head in concentration as he began to unfasten the restraint he had so recently attached to the rail.

There it was again, Frank thought. Bret, attuned to his moods, watching for little cues.

He would need to be more careful. Yet here was his hope, perhaps his only hope — Bret’s concern for him.

“Bret—”

Bret looked up at him.

“How does Samuel feel about this?”

Bret smiled, now working to take the restraint off the wrist itself. “He dislikes the idea intensely, but we humor one another. He knows this will make me happy, and so he gives in.”

“And what did you give to him in return?”