Chapter One

Crap. Maybe the dude was fuckin’ dead.

What did she know? She’d never seen a dead guy. And maybe that’s why it was so god-awful cold. She thought of a side of beef, on the hook. Jenny watched carefully. Didn’t see his chest move. His body was draped under a thin sheet, but it was a guy: big feet, narrow hips. But he didn’t move.

Maybe it was a test. Did they want to determine how she would react? Locked into a room with a corpse? No, that was just crazy.

“Just check on the patient,”the woman had said, and had all but pushed Jenny through the door. It closed behind and Jenny could feel the woman’s weight, bearing down on the crash-bar. Like she was leaning back, relieved; had avoided a nasty situation. Like she was holding the simmering pot lid down.

The room was dark. No... more than dark.Black!

If there was a window, it had to be heavily curtained. And the walls, ceiling and floor, must be black. And it was cold.

She reached out with tentative fingers, to the right side, where she thought she might find a light switch. Nothing. Justunyieldingconcrete block.

Jenny looked back to the bed at the end of the room. The sheet was silhouetted in pale green.Was he dead?No, that was crazy; couldn’t be. The monitor on the wall, emitting the peaceful, green light, displayed his vitals. There was the slow rhythm of life. But that would be easy to rig. Any minute now it would flat-line and she would be put to the test.

And they would be watching. Yes, watching and waiting. For her reaction.

That must be it. That’s why it was so damned dark. They had a spy-hole somewhere and the darkness covered theirvoyeurism. And she was cowering on the other side of the room. That wouldn’t look good. She had to make a move and, mind made up now, she dropped her bag onto the floor and pushed off the door frame; she took a step toward the bed.Be proactive. Or at least look the part.<