The Key to Midnight

click.'
        'Go on.'
        She was silent.
        'Joanna?'
        She said, 'I need…'
        'Yes?'
        '… a minute.'
        Take your time,' Inamura said. He glanced at Alex, and his eyes revealed an infinite sadness.
        Alex looked down at his hands. They were fisted on his knees. He wanted to beat Herr Doktor until his knuckles were scraped and raw, until every bone in his hands was broken, until his arms were so weary that he could no longer lift them from his sides.
        On its perch in the cage, the myna erupted in a brief rage, flapping its wings frenziedly before abruptly going as still as though it had spotted a predator.
        In that drab voice borrowed from someone dead, as though she were channeling a despairing spirit that was trapped in Hell, she said, 'Touching me between the legs. Cold steel. Clicking so loud. Like explosions.'
        'And then?'
        'He opens me.'
        'And then?'
        'Puts one.'
        'Does what?'
        'Puts one of his steel fingers.'
        'Puts it where?'
        'Inside me.'
        'Be more specific.'
        'Isn't that enough - what I said?'
        'No. You mustn't be afraid to say it clearly.'
        'Into… my vagina.'
        'You're doing well. You were used terribly. But in order to forget, you must first remember. Go on.'
        Her hands were still clasped protectively over her breasts. 'The clicking noise fills me, fills me inside, so loud, echoing through me.'
        'And then?'
        'I'm afraid he'll hurt me.'
        'Does he hurt you?'
        'He threatens me.'
        'What does he threaten to do?'
        'He says he'll… tear me apart.'
        'And then?'
        'He grins.'
        'And then?'
         And then? And then? And then? Go on. Go on. And then? And then? Go on.
        Alex wanted to press his hands over his ears. He forced himself to listen, because if he hoped to share the best of life with her, he must be prepared to share the worst as well.
        Inamura probed at Joanna's psyche in the manner of a dentist meticulously drilling away every trace of rotten matter and bacteria in an infected tooth.
        The brutal revelations of repeated rape and perverse sex - in addition to the even more chilling story of the 'treatment' that she had endured - left Alex weak. He nurtured the blackest imaginable hatred for the people who had stolen her past and who had dealt with her as they might have dealt with any animal. He was determined to find the man with the mechanical hand and every one of that bastard's associates. But revenge would have to come later. At the moment, shell-shocked by the hideous events that Joanna was recalling for Dr. Omi Inamura, Alex didn't have even enough strength to speak.
        The remainder of the interrogation lasted only five or six minutes. When Joanna answered the last question, she turned on her side and drew her knees up, assuming the fetal position once more.
        Unconcerned about what the doctor might say, Alex got out of his chair and knelt beside her. With one hand, he smoothed her hair away from her face.
        'Enough,' he told Inamura. 'That's enough for today. Bring her back to me.'

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    37
        
        At six o'clock Sunday morning, Joanna was awakened by thirst. Her lips were chapped, and her throat was dry. She felt dehydrated. The previous night, after the exhausting session in Inamura's office, they had eaten a large dinner: thick steaks, Kobe beef, the finest meat in the world, from cattle that had been hand-massaged daily and fed nothing but rice, beans and plenty of beer. With the steaks, they had finished two bottles of fine French wine, a rare and expensive luxury in Japan. Now the alcohol had leached moisture from her and had left a sour taste.
        She went into the bathroom and greedily drank two glasses of water. It tasted almost as good as wine.
        Returning to bed, she realized that for the first time in twelve years, her sleep had not been interrupted by the familiar nightmare. She had not dreamed about the man with the mechanical hand.
        She was free at last, and she stood very still for a moment, stunned. Then she laughed aloud.
         Free!
        In bed, wrapped in a newfound sense of security as well as in blankets and sheets, she sought sleep again and found it quickly after her head touched the pillow.
        She woke naturally, three hours later, at