Private Scandals

ebony hair wrapped in gold cord, other photographs of her, always of her, in elegant and ornate frames. The shoes she’d been wearing in the limo were there as well, along with her jacket, neatly folded.
    The place was like a shrine, she realized with a shudder. The sound in her throat was feral and frightened. There was a television in the corner, a shelf of leather-bound albums. And most terrifying, cameras bracketed the upper corners of the room. The pinpoints of their red lights beamed like tiny eyes.
    She stumbled back, fear soaring like a slickly coated bird. Her gaze sliced from one camera to the other.
    “You’re watching me.” She fought back the terror in her voice. “I know you are. You can’t keep me here. They’ll look. You know they’ll find me. They’re probably looking already.”
    She looked down at her wrist to check the time, but saw that her watch was gone. How long? she wondered frantically. It might have been minutes, or days, since she’d passed out in the car.
    The car. Her breath began to hitch. “Tim.” She pressed her lips together until the ache snapped through the need to weep. “Tim, you have to let me go. I’ll try to help you. I promise that. I’ll do whatever I can. Please, come in here, talk to me.”
    As though only her invitation had been required, a section of the wall slid open. In reflex, Deanna surged forward, only to bite back a moan of despair as her head spun in sickening circles from the drug. Still, she straightened her shoulders and hoped that she hid the worst of her fear.
    “Tim,” she began, then only stared in confusion.
    “Welcome home, Deanna.”
    His face flushed with shy pleasure, Jeff stepped into the room. He carried a silver tray on which rode a wineglass, a china plate of herbed pasta and a single red rosebud.
    “I hope you like the room.” In his unhurried and efficient way, he set the tray on the bureau. “It took a long time for me to get it just right. I didn’t want you to be just comfortable. I wanted you to be happy. I know there’s no view.” He turned toward her, eyes too bright though apology quavered in his voice. “But it’s safer this way. No one will bother us when we’re in here.”
    “Jeff.” Calm, she ordered herself. She had to stay calm. “You can’t keep me here.”
    “Yes I can. I’ve planned it all carefully. I’ve had years to work it out. Why don’t you sit down, Dee? You’re probably feeling a little groggy, and I want you to be comfortable while you eat.”
    He stepped forward, and though she braced, he didn’t touch her.
    “Later,” he continued, “after you understand everything, you’ll feel a lot better. You just need time.” He lifted a hand as if to touch her cheek, but drew it away again as if he didn’t want to frighten her.
    “Please try to relax. You never let yourself relax. I know you might be a little afraid right now, but it’s going to be all right. If you fight me, I’ll have to . . .” Because he couldn’t bear to say the words, he slipped a hypo out of his pocket. “I don’t want to.” Her instant recoil had him pushing the needle out of sight again. “Really, I don’t. And you wouldn’t be able to get away.”
    Smiling again, he moved a table and chair closer to the bed. “You need to eat,” he said pleasantly. “You always worried me when it came to taking care of yourself. All those hurried or skipped meals. But I’ll take good care of you. Sit down, Deanna.”
    She could refuse, she thought. She could scream and rant and threaten. And for what? She’d known Jeff, or thought she’d known him, for years. He could be stubborn, she reminded herself. But she’d always been able to reason with him.
    “I am hungry,” she told him, and hoped her stomach wouldn’t rebel. “You’ll talk to me while I eat? Explain things to me?” She gave him her best interviewer’s smile.
    “Yes.” The smile burned across his face like a fever. “I thought you might be angry at first.”
    “I’m not angry. I’m afraid.”
    “I’d never hurt you.” He took one of her limp hands in his and squeezed lightly. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. I know you might be thinking about getting past me, Deanna.Getting through the panel. But you can’t. I’m really very strong, and you’re still weak from the drug. No matter what you do, you’ll still be locked in. Sit down.”
    As if in a dream, she did as he told her. She wanted to run, but even as the thought