“What if I told you Danny was okay with it?”

“I probably wouldn’t believe you.”

“You’re not very trusting.”

“If you provided me with a signed, notarized statement that he was okay with it, then I’d be perfectly happy to have you be nice and naked in my hot tub. As it is, the fact that I get locked in here when nobody’s around indicates that we haven’t crossed all the trust barriers yet.”

“All righty, then.” She patted the bed next to her. “Let’s get that shoulder bandaged up.”

“Really, you can just leave the kit.”

“Andy, sweetie, you don’t have to worry. I may bite, but I’m not venomous. The big, strong serial killer isn’t afraid of a waif like me, is he?”

She wasn’t exactly a waif, but pointing that out seemed like a really good way to get hurt. I sat down on the bed next to her, and she removed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some cotton swabs from the kit.

And then I realized that while I was standing there being extremely uncomfortable with her in the room, I was overlooking a perfect opportunity to strike. Daniel might be a horrible, vicious murderer…but he also might be willing to release the prisoners to save his wife. It was a risk, sure, but there clearly wasn’t going to be an easy solution to my problems.

Josie pressed the alcohol-soaked cotton swab against my cut. I forced myself not to wince. Instead, I put my hand gently on her leg.

She continued cleaning the cut, but there was a definite hint of a smile.

I slid my hand upward just a bit as she set aside the cotton and alcohol and took out a bandage. I peeked into the kit. No scissors. No sharp objects. The rubbing alcohol wasn’t even in a glass bottle.

I’d just have to do this without a weapon.

Now that the excess blood had been wiped away, my cut didn’t look all that bad. It was barely even bleeding anymore. I wondered if Josie thought I was a complete wimp.

She tore open the bandage wrapper.

I slid my hand down her leg, and then up again, beginning to knead the flesh.

She gently put the bandage on my shoulder.

I pounced.

I slammed my hand over her mouth and wrestled her down onto the bed. I grabbed the first aid kit to bash against her head, but she got a handful of my hair and tugged hard.

Damn! Why hadn’t I thought to turn on the whirlpool first, to cover the noise?

She bit down on my hand, but I pulled it away before she could draw blood. “ Danny!” she screamed.

I got ready to slam my fist into her face, but the door burst open. Daniel and Foster entered; Foster with his gun.

I raised my hands in the air. “Don’t shoot!”

Foster pointed the gun at my face, ready to do just that.

“No!” said Daniel. “Josie, come here.”

Josie got off the bed and rushed over to Daniel, throwing her arms around him. Foster looked like he wanted to shoot me so badly that he could barely keep from wetting himself, but he didn’t pull the trigger.

“What’s the story, Mayhem?” Daniel asked.

“We weren’t doing anything,” I insisted.

“Oh, really? And what were you doing?”

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” I said, getting to my feet. “She came in here saying all this stuff.”

“What stuff?”

“That she looked good naked, and did I want her to join me in the hot tub? She said you didn’t mind!”

“And you believed her?”

“No! Well, yeah. I mean, c’mon, Daniel. You built a freakin’ gladiator stadium in your backyard so you could watch people kill each other. I figure somebody that depraved isn’t going to get all bent out of shape over a little wife-swapping.”

“I’m missing where the ‘swapping’ portion comes into play.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I’m not sure I do.”

“Come on, Daniel!” said Foster. “Why are we listening to him? Let me blow his face off.”

“In a second.”

At that moment, water began to spill over the top of the Jacuzzi. “Aw, for crying out loud,” muttered Daniel, walking over to turn off the faucet. “Now look what you’ve done.”

“Can I shoot him for that, at least?” asked Foster.

“No, you may not. Give me the gun. You’re getting all worked up; you’re gonna hurt somebody.” Daniel walked back to the doorway and grabbed the gun out of Foster’s hand. I lowered my arms.

“But he tried to kill Josie!”

“He didn’t try to kill Josie, you jackass! He tried to get off! Get out of here for a minute, all right?”

Foster punched the wall, then stepped out into the hallway. Daniel closed the door, and pointed the gun at me.

“All right, look. I knew she was gonna come on to you, and I’m cool with it. Share the wealth, know what I mean? Maybe I don’t provide her with a signed, notarized statement, like you said, but I’m happy to let her do her own thing. My only question for you is, why was my wife screaming my name?”

“Isn’t that what you’d want?” I asked, trying to smile.

“This is not the time for jokes,” said Daniel, keeping the gun pointed at me. “This is the time to think very carefully about one’s own mortality, especially when one could very well end up with the other prisoners.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Really, I am. I thought she liked it a bit rough.”

“Mmm-hmm. And did you ask her?”

“It’s not something I’m used to asking.”

“Well maybe you should consider it in the future. If you have one.”

I leaned forward and cracked my knuckles. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“You invited a man who has killed fourteen people into your home. You did it for the express purpose of letting him help kill even more people. And now you’re telling me you were expecting a well-behaved houseguest? Are you some kind of idiot?”

“Watch yourself,” said Daniel.

“No, you watch yourself. You invite me here into this hedonistic sociopath paradise where we can do whatever we want, so hell yeah I’m gonna dive at your wife when she tries to seduce me. Now, I apologize for getting rough. I didn’t hit her or anything; I just put my hand over her mouth. I won’t do it again. But come on, Daniel, I turned my former best friend over to you for who-knows-what kind of torture…did you think you were inviting Mr. Rogers?”

Daniel pulled the trigger.

I flinched at the sound of the gunshot. I turned and saw that a bit of smoke billowed from a bullet hole about six inches from my head, in a color photograph of a skinned body.

“You’ve got a point,” he said.

Josie started to protest, but he waved her silent. “I guess we need to go over some house rules. Do whatever you want to the prisoners. Respect the guests. Understand?”

“I understand.”

“I’m sorry to say that you’ve cost yourself an incredible couple of hours. Believe me, I know what you’re missing. But tomorrow we’ll start fresh. How does that sound?”

“That sounds fine,” I said. “Josie, I’m sorry. I got carried away. You should be a little less irresistible.”

“Jerk,” she muttered, opening the door and leaving.

“You’re not making friends here,” Daniel informed me. “I suggest you soak for a long time, then take a cold shower, get a lot of sleep, and hope things go better.”

“They will,” I promised.

“I’m counting on that. Sleep tight.” He left. I heard the door lock, and then promptly rushed into the bathroom and vomited.

After I’d recovered, I reached into the hot tub and turned the knob to drain some of the water. The bathroom had plenty of towels, so I used those to soak up the spilled water.

Now they were going to be watching me even more closely than before. I’d screwed up my chance. Possibly my only chance. And I hadn’t even gotten any use out of the fingernail clippers. Things had seemed pretty much hopeless before, but now…

I looked over at the bed.

No. No way.

I hurried over to it.

Yes!

A yellow card key. Josie must have lost it during our struggle, along with a stick of chewing gum.