nothing! I’ve found in all my years inflicting pain that the imaginations of my victims are a most potent accomplice. All I will say before I take my leave is thank you to the person seated at this table that helped restore me to the side of the living. In case your fellow guests wish to give their thanks as well, allow me to leave this. It’s loaded in case you were wondering,” Van Nostrand placed the Walther pistol on the table equidistant from the four prisoners before he and Piper disappeared from sight. 

For several minutes, no one made a sound, their eyes either fixed on each other or the pistol just out of reach.

“Any idea what that speech was all about?” Janelle broke the silence, her question barely eliciting any acknowledgement she’d...

Please subscribe to keep reading.