My breath coming in short gasps, finally I look up and around, take in my surroundings.
The light is bright, harsh and white, But it quickly fades, illuminating only a small area around me, three or four yards, before fading to an impenetrable gloom.
Juliana’s there, waiting, sitting on a fold-up wooden chair. Jose stands beside her. Between them and me, trickled over muck and slime, a thick white line is painted on the concrete floor.
Calmly, she watches me, a slight smile playing over her lips. “You won’t escape that padlock, Larry. I chose it especially for you.”
The smile broadening, she holds something up, dangling it in her fingers, glinting dully: a small brass key: She passes it to Jose, who hangs it on a nail banged into the concrete wall, clearly visible, but well beyond my r
