Illustration: Detail from New Zealand Cleo magazine, in Bondage Life, Vol. 1, No. 10, 1981.

Melody had a stubbornness that now showed itself. The mystery of the missing diamond was a brainteaser, and she wanted to follow it up. There was also Brod’s intriguing character. Melody tugged tentatively at the silk still snuggly encircling her wrists and appreciated the lesson in escapology. She had expelled the gag from her mouth easily enough. It made her more confident that, at a pinch, she could handle herself if she ever found herself bound and gagged again. And she felt that there were interesting ties developing between her and this large man who could appear friendly one moment and unsettling the next. In the face of Brod’s silence, Melody repeated her statement. ‘You’ll need me around, I think, before this case is settled.’

Brod stirred uneasily in his chair. ‘Maybe you’re right,’ he replied doubtfully. ‘There are aspects of this case you’ve picked up that don’t make sense at present.’

‘Like what’s become of the diamond?’ Melody offered.

‘Yes. It should be simple to work through a process of elimination. You don’t have the diamond?’

‘Of course not!’

‘But having eliminated you and the thieves, we’re left with the question whether the other witness is honest.’

‘That doesn’t seem very fair. She’s young. The robbery scared her almost to death. And anyway why couldn’t it have been one of the gang? What about Hudson? Or Karl? Either one of them could have taken the diamond and hidden it. I couldn’t see what they were doing. One could easily have taken the diamond while the other’s back was turned.’

‘That’s possible,’ admitted Brod.

He passed his fingers wearily through his hair before reaching across to the phone. There was a delay of a few seconds then Melody heard the click as someone at the other end responded.

‘Forensic?’ Brod asked. There was a pause. ‘Good. Put me through to Mister Oscar Holme please? He’s in one of your laboratories.’

‘Oscar’s my partner on this case. He’s the organizing principle against my investigatory functions,’ he added with a twinkle. He returned to the phone. ‘Oscar? Something’s come up this end. I’ve been talking to the other witness and she thinks none of the thieves got the diamond. Yes, that’s right. They did not get the diamond! So we have to call the Morris woman in for more questioning. How much time do you need to get that in train? Okay.’ Brod replaced the receiver and sat back.

‘Miss Hazard, this is going to take longer than either of us originally expected. I have to wait for Oscar’s call. He’ll arrange for the Morris girl to come in and see me. But for the present we have time on our hands. I don’t know about you but I could do with a strong coffee and a lot of fresh air.’

‘I’d love a drink,’ said Melody gratefully.

Although she knew she was a suspect in the case, Melody did not feel that she was Brod’s prisoner. As they walked side by side along the streets from the police precincts, she fought back an impulse to touch him.

However, after lunch, the mood changed as they re-entered the cramped fourth floor office and resumed their seats. Brod with a business-like frown lifted the phone from its cradle. This time the call reached Oscar immediately. Brod began to speak but fell silent, listening intently. When he lowered the phone with a muttered farewell his face was grimmer than ever. He looked at Melody hesitantly, as though seeing her for the first time.

‘Don’t keep me in suspense! What’s happened?’

‘That’s just the point,’ Brod answered. ‘I don’t know whether you’re involved deep enough for you to learn the twists and turns this case is beginning to take. To be honest, I’d like to see you out of this as soon as possible.’

‘Look Mister Clifford … Brod. I’m one of two persons who last saw the diamond before it disappeared. That makes me a suspect. I’d probably think the same in your place. It’s all very well being nice to me by buying me coffee …’

‘And sandwiches.’

‘And sandwiches. But that doesn’t mean a thing when in your duty as you see it you could so easily change face and put me behind bars. Are you laughing at me?’

Brod’s face had broken into a broad grin before resuming its normal stony exterior.

‘Melody.’ He rose from his chair and walked across to her. Melody stood and faced him defiantly. With a shrug he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. Then he swung her about and with one arm firmly around her waist he walked her unresisting, part protesting, to the window. Standing side by side they looked out over a lane at the featureless brick wall opposite. A swathe of blue sky above the buildings relieved the drab view. The city smog cloud was not so evident that day.

Brod’s grip around Melody tightened. ‘Oscar had some disturbing news. He passed our request on to the police and they sent a patrol car to the Morris girl’s address. One of her neighbors whose living room wall is shared in common with the girl’s said she heard a lot of movement in the flat last night. Doors slamming, hurrying footsteps. Then everything went quiet.’

‘I guess she panicked and decided to go to safer places,’ Melody suggested.

‘It’s the most likely inference. But there’s another possibility, and that is that the thieves might be after her. We need stronger evidence than guesswork of course, and that’s one reason why I hesitated to tell you.’

‘I understand. You need hard evidence before you can act on a case. What was the other reason?’

‘I hoped you wouldn’t ask.’ Brod turned and faced her, his hands taking her by the shoulders. ‘If the thieves are looking for Jasmine Morris they’re probably looking for you too!’

Melody had to admit that standing close to Brod’s arms had a lot to do with the calm she felt at that moment. It all seemed so unreal. She found it hard to believe that three men were out to capture her. Secretly she hoped that the first alternative, the girl’s fleeing in panic, was an over-reaction on her part.

‘Be careful where you go. Stay around places where there are people who might at least raise the alarm even if they don’t come to your assistance. Avoid lonely streets. Keep away from entrances to lane ways. When in parks stay on the main tracks out in the open. Preferably avoid parks altogether. Those are the basic ground rules that you’ll read in every good manual on self defence. It may not be safe to go home if they know where you live.’

‘They can’t possibly know that. I only moved into the apartment last week. I’ll be all right. And I’ll make sure I keep in touch with you.’

She looked up into Brod’s eyes once more. ‘Thank you for what you’re doing Brod. Perhaps I do need protecting, but I’ll be safe, for tonight anyway. Later if you think it’s wiser for me to go somewhere else I can always stay with friends.’

*

The first thing Melody noticed when she entered her apartment was that the telephone had been installed. She was overjoyed at the additional independence this gave her and her first act was to call Tilly, explaining why she had not been able to appear in the boutique that afternoon.

‘I’m glad you rang. There was a call for you,’ said Tilly. ‘I was wondering how to get in touch because it sounded urgent.’

‘Who was it?’

‘It was a gentleman called Brentford. Said he was an insurance representative and wanted to ask you some questions about the robbery. He was very keen that you get in touch with him as soon as possible. He left his phone number but no address.’ Tilly dictated the number to Melody, then added, ‘I’d be a little careful with his type if I were you. He sounded very smooth. Probably thinks he’s God’s gift to women. I picked up his line straight away.’

‘Thanks for your warning. I’ll keep my back to the wall.’

‘Okay. And don’t worry about having the afternoon off. That police business comes first, and anyway we’re having a quiet week.’

After Tilly had rung off, Melody took a moment to think what she should do next. Another official! It was logical enough and she wondered why the question of insurance had not been raised earlier by the police when they were taking her statement. With a shrug she punched out the number Tilly had given her.

‘Excelsior Hotel,’ answered a voice at the other end.

‘Can I speak to a Mister Brentford who is one of your guests I believe?’

The phone burred and there was a click as the receiver was picked up quickly at the other end.

‘Hulloo? Yes?’

‘Is that Mister Brentford?’

‘Speaking. And who might that charming voice belong to?’

‘Well Mister Brentford, we haven’t met. I’m Melody Hazard, the woman who was present when the jewellery store was robbed. I had a message asking me to phone you.’

‘Well well, this is indeed prompt. Very prompt, yes. Melody Hazard? Quite a welcome surprise. Heh heh!’

This guy’s unreal! I didn’t know they made them like that any more, thought Melody.

Brentford continued. ‘The purpose of our call at this late hour of the week, Miss Hazard, is in connection with our respective roles as insurance investigators. Only a few questions - not much of your time. It would suit our purposes if you were able to come here to us. A private room is better for the confidential reports we have to prepare.’

‘Well,’ said Melody slowly, ‘I guess I could come over. It won’t take long will it? It’s been a long day and I’m really tired.’

‘Your company dear lady even for a few minutes will be balm to our souls. Our room number is 163 on the first floor. It’s not hard to find. We suggest you avoid the hotel staff and come direct to us via the fire escape. You know how people talk. In insurance there are competitors everywhere.’

Melody thanked him and rang off. She had committed herself and now felt obligated to put in an appearance. Her spirits brightened however when she discovered that the hotel was only four blocks away. Without bothering to change from her skirt and blouse, she shrugged on a thigh-length satin overcoat and folded a long black silk scarf around her neck to keep out the evening draughts. Snatching up her shoulder bag she left the flat and was soon walking rapidly to the main street where the hotel was situated. With Brod’s warning in mind she kept to the lighted areas and remained on the lookout for strangers who might not fit the normal pattern of incurious passers-by.

She did her best to look unconcerned. However a warning thought hammered insistently in her mind that she was doing a pretty silly thing under the circumstances by going alone to two strange men without leaving a message for Tilly or Brod. What if there were more than three members of the gang and she had been cleverly lured into their clutches? That thought was too melodramatic. But exceptional times called for exceptional measures and she was prepared to take the risk. Door number 163 came up on her right. The corridor was empty. Melody raised her arm and prepared to knock.

*

‘They certainly came away with a big haul,’ commented Brod as he ran his eyes down the inventory Oscar had prepared from Jasmine Morris’s report.

‘There was a stock list locked away in the office safe,’ explained Oscar. ‘Including the sales dockets for the day. They were found scattered on the floor behind the counter.’

‘Did anyone ask the Morris girl about the sales procedure?’

‘One of the hallmarks of bureaucracy is alive and well in commerce,’ Oscar remarked drily. ‘The proprietor says the sales dockets are kept in triplicate. One copy is given to the customer for presentation when the ordered goods arrive, or the repair jobs are picked up. Anothercopy remains in the docket book as a permanent record of sales. The third copy in the instances when that applies goes with the article sent for repair.’

Brod’s normally tanned face turned pale. ‘Melody’s … Miss Hazard’s docket would have gone with the ring she handed in for repair, and the envelope was almost certainly taken by the gang with the rest of the visible stock. The docket contains her name and address. That means the thieves will know where she lives as soon as they sift through all their takings!’

*

The door of the hotel room swung open soundlessly the moment she knocked and Melody saw before her a tall, slightly pudgy, effete looking man wearing what the English call a smoking jacket over what appeared to be evening dress. In the background reclining in an armchair by the window sat another man. She guessed he was an assistant. He too sported evening wear, a tuxedo but no smoking jacket or dressing gown. The hotel room itself was spacious, and expensive. The fellow at the door stepped back in mock surprise.

‘Oh I say, what a smasher! Do come in my dear.’

With one hand he held the door a fraction wider to allow her to squeeze through, close enough for her to smell his breath. His other hand was occupied with a brandy balloon the contents of which he sniffed appreciatively while at the same time bidding her welcome. With increased apprehension, Melody stepped into the room. Was it her imagination that the man closed the door with a certain hint of finality?

‘This is Mister Orly, my compatriot in crime.’ The man giggled at the private joke. ‘I’m Brentford, Cuthbert Brentford.’

The other man rose and bowed stiffly. ‘Rupert Orly. So very pleased to meet you m’dear.’

Melody inclined her head and returned the greeting with less enthusiasm. Orly was tall, like his countryman, but in better physical condition with suave clean-shaven good looks. A lady-killer if ever there was one. Under different circumstances Melody would have found him interesting.

‘Care for a drink?’ asked Brentford. ‘We’re well stocked. The hotel has laid on a veritable feast of booze.’

‘Thank you, no alcohol. But I’d welcome a glass of water.’

‘With a dash of soda?’

‘All right.’ There could be no harm in being polite, and anyway Melody was thirsty after her walk to the hotel.

Brentford delicately set his brandy balloon on the coffee table and turned to a liquor shelf that took up half the wall. He poured some iced water from a tumbler into a long glass, added a squirt of soda and presented it to Melody with a flourish. One of his fingers purposely brushed across the back of her wrist as their hands met. Melody felt as though she had been touched by the dry leathery scales of a lizard and her flesh crawled though she gave no outward hint of the revulsion she felt.

Melody did not drink her water and soda immediately. Instead she chose a single straight-backed armchair that stood some distance apart from the cushioned easy chairs in which the men had been sitting. Brentford was hovering disconcertingly about her.

‘May I take your scarf and coat my dear? It must be very hot for you. Those fools in reception don’t know how to adjust the air conditioning.’

‘No thank you,’ Melody replied. She was trying to be as polite as possible but growing to dislike the fellow with every second. ‘I really can’t stay long. It’s been a busy week. And I’m expected somewhere else in another hour.’ There was no harm in covering herself by making them think that she would soon be missed if she disappeared.

Under the circumstances Melody felt that the white lie was appropriate, but to demonstrate her good will, she took a sip of the iced water and soda and had to admit that so far the drink was the only welcome aspect of her visit to these two strange men. She was about to cross her legs when she realized that the narrow waisted linen skirt she was wearing with the unbuttoned slit in front showed plenty of sheer black stocking. Crossed legs would have hiked her dress almost to her thighs. And there was no way she was going to take off the light satiny overcoat for them to ogle the almost transparent blouse she wore beneath it. In the present company she regretted not having changed into something less revealing and she determined to get the interview done with and be gone as soon as possible.

‘I can’t say much about the robbery,’ she began. ‘There’s not much I can tell you that you haven’t read in the papers already. I didn’t see a lot because I was in the office at the back, blindfolded.’

‘And gagged and bound. We’ve read the papers too,’ said Orly as he leaned back more comfortably into his cushions. He turned languidly to Brentford and said, ‘You tell her, Brenty, there’s a good chap.’

Brentford who had been crowding Melody all this time took a step back, she suspected the better to ogle her legs.

‘Very well,’ said Brentford a fraction peevishly. ‘Let me offer a toast.’ He raised his glass. ‘To a successful resolution of our problems. And where is the diamond?’

Melody was taken off guard by the sudden question, and her confusion as she looked at Brentford was not entirely simulated. She had read most of the press reports about the robbery and had even begun keeping a small scrapbook on the subject. It was probably the first and only real life adventure she would have. She knew that as far as the general public was concerned the thieves had successfully made away with the Murgatroyd diamond together with the rest of the shop’s wares. Only very few people knew the truth, that the diamond was not in the robber’s hands.

If Brentford and Orly knew somehow that the diamond had gone missing, it meant they had inside information. Either they were private detectives, which was extremely unlikely considering the way they presented themselves, or they were somehow connected with the robbery gang. Melody had already discarded the notion that they were bona fide insurance investigators. That seemed as false as their smiles and gallantry towards her.

‘I have no idea where the diamond is. You’d best ask the thieves that,’ she replied.

Melody decided that it was safe to assume they represented the gang in some way. That meant she would have to play the game carefully, and start by pretending she knew less than she did. She could also assume that they meant to keep her there, and she watched for any signs that would betray an attempt to overpower her.

‘It’s not that easy,’ said Brentford smoothly. ‘You see, we happen to know they did not get the diamond.’

Melody feigned wide-eyed surprise.

‘And the only other persons who were on the "scene of the crime,"’ he raised his fingers limply to indicate quotation marks, ‘were yourself and the salesgirl.’

There must be a leak in Brod’s security! These definitely can’t be insurance salesmen, thought Melody, becoming more alarmed by the second. Aloud she said, ‘What you’re suggesting is preposterous!’ Inwardly, she decided that her luck had been played out far enough and it was time to take the initiative before the two men could act. Sitting frozen on the spot would not help. She rose to her feet and took a couple of paces away from the chair so it would not trip her accidentally if she had to move suddenly, and surveyed the two men cooly.

‘I don’t know what you’re getting at, but I think it’s time I said adieu. I’m sorry I can’t be of further assistance, but I’ve told you all I know. And I don’t believe you’re insurance investigators, so our interview must really come to an end.’

Her bluff surprised Brentford and he literally rocked back onto his heels. The man spluttered a moment before regaining sufficient composure to make himself look as menacing as before. ‘Ah but you’re not going anywhere, my dear. You haven’t answered our questions at all satisfactorily, so you must remain our guest.’

‘If you try to stop me I’ll scream so everyone in the hotel will hear.’

There was an even chance, Melody told herself, that they would wilt and allow her to leave unhindered. She was wrong.

‘I wouldn’t count on that, my lovely. Get her, Orly!’

Orly obediently ran towards her, his arms outstretched. Melody was confident she could elude his lunges, but somehow her reaction time faltered. As she turned towards the door, the room began to sway and blur. Oh no, she thought. The drink! They’ve put something in it. She had only taken a few sips but that must have been enough. Her knees felt weak and it was an easy matter for the slim man to take her in his arms and guide her back on rubbery legs to the wooden chair. The glass from which she had been drinking now lay on its side where she had dropped it, its contents soaked up by the carpet.

‘Tie her hands,’ Brentford urged softly. ‘Behind her back. She’ll find it harder to get free that way. You’re not gong anywhere in a hurry m’dear. We have more questions to ask you.’

Whatever they had put in her drink had not knocked her out, and Melody was still able to think relatively clearly. As Orly dragged her arms behind her around the wooden frame of the chair, she tried to remember Brod’s advice through the fog in her mind. She made fists and stiffened her arms though her limbs felt weak.

Orly’s binding technique assisted her unintentionally. ‘I’ll tie this over the cuffs of her blouse so as not to cut her tender skin,’ the man muttered, speaking half apologetically as much to Melody as to his compatriot.

Brentford clucked his tongue approvingly. ‘And such a delightfully chic blouse too. A good thing you’re wearing lacy lingerie beneath it. Ah, we appreciate your beauty, don’t we Rupert?’

By now Orly was kneeling in front of Melody, lashing her ankles together with another long piece of sash cord, wrapping it around seven or eight times before cinching it and tying off a double knot. The lace hem of Melody’s full slip and the tops of her stockings were in full view and she could do nothing about it. It’s hard to maintain modesty with one’s hands tied behind one’s back, she thought ruefully.

Melody’s ankles felt more secure than her wrists, and to test this impression the young woman relaxed her hands and fingers. Yes, there definitely was some slack. She could twist her wrists about without much difficulty. I have to play this cool, she thought. So she tightened her fingers into fists again, stiffened her forearms, and put on a very good show of struggling vainly against her bonds.

Brentford chuckled, not unkindly. ‘You’ll be out of those restraints, m’dear, as soon as you tell us what we want to know. The moment you give us a lead on that diamond you’ll walk out that door as free as a bird, heh heh.’

Melody took a deep breath. ‘Even if what you say is true - and I think you’ve somehow got your facts very mixed up, which is a little strange for insurance investigators - how could I or that girl have taken the diamond? We were blindfolded most of the time. Those robbers took everything, including your precious bauble.’

Brentford looked surprised for the second time. ‘How did you know it’s our, as you say, precious bauble?’ He stopped suddenly, realizing he had said too much, but the young woman maintained an innocent gaze.

Melody in fact caught the verbal slip and her suspicions were further aroused. Just who are these two working for? she asked herself. Brod would probably know. These two blokes are such characters they’re sure to be in some police mug files!

But that was not important now, she told herself. I’ll have plenty of leisure to speculate on those questions once I’m away from here. But how to get free? Her plans to practice escapology rested on being alone for awhile. She could do nothing while the two men were there in the room. And Melody was sure they were capable of tying her up with astonishing thoroughness if they chose to do so. She decided the best strategy was to put the ball back into their court, and to change the subject quickly, steering it away from Brentford’s verbal gaffe.

‘Look, Mister Brentford, Mister Orly. I don’t like being bound hand and foot. It’s the second time this has happened to me in two days’ — three times actually she thought, with a warm feeling towards Brod — ‘and I don’t mind telling you that I’m getting frightened. I’m an ordinary woman, an innocent bystander, and if I knew where the gem was I’d have told the police already. There’s no point keeping me here a prisoner.’

‘Ah but there is,’ exclaimed Brentford airily. ‘Orly and I have been thinking about that very thing, and it’s really a process of elimination. Oh I don’t mean of you m’dear. There’s no need to be alarmed. We mean the ruling out of one witness after another. That’s you, and the other woman who was in the store when the thieves burst in. We also know a lot about women’s wiles. So we’re not going to believe you as easily as you imagine in your innocence, or your feigned innocence. So, Rupert … ?’

‘Yes indeed,’ said Orly, taking up the his companion’s threatening line. ‘We’re going to let you sweat for awhile Miss Hazard. That means,’ he grunted as he wound another piece of rope around Melody’s waist, ‘that we’ll go off and have a well-earned dinner while you,’ he grunted again as he finished tying the knots, ‘do some hard thinking.’ Melody was now sitting with her lower back pressed firmly into the chair.

Brentford took up the conversation. ‘We don’t like physical violence, but we can rise to it if the occasion calls for it. Have you ever been slapped hard across your lovely breasts?’

‘You … you wouldn’t do such a thing!’ Melody exclaimed aghast.

‘Oh yes we would. That is, I think we would. Wouldn’t we Rupert?’

‘No doubt about it, Cuthbert,’ agreed his friend heartily.

Melody did not know whether to believe them or not. But if she could help it she would not be sitting there to find out when they returned. She lowered her head and tugged at the ropes holding her to the chair, hoping that Brentford and Orly would be satisfied that she was not going anywhere.

‘There’s one thing we can do,’ said Brentford. He crossed to the table and picked up Melody’s bag, hefted it in his hand, and upended it. The bag’s miscellaneous contents spilled out onto the table. ‘What have we here? Comb. Nail file. Compact. Lipstick. Handkerchief — that might come in handy. Credit cards. New note book. What a pity it’s empty. Neatly folded silk scarf — it will be useful too. Wallet — we shan’t touch your money Miss Hazard. Well,’ Brentford turned to Melody, ‘I’m afraid we’ve drawn a blank here, and I’m getting peckish. Orly, please do the honours for our lady guest while I change into my jacket.’ Brentford left the room.

Melody looked questioningly towards Orly. ‘What my colleague means by that, dear Miss Hazard, is that I have the task of rendering you unable to call for help while we’re away. I hope you won’t disturb the genteel atmosphere of this hotel suite by making any undue fuss about it.’

‘If you mean you’re going to gag me, then get it over with!’

‘I just wanted to warn you that resistance is useless.’

Orly picked up Melody’s handkerchief and the folded scarf from the table and crossed the room to her. He took the handkerchief by a corner and shook it out of its folds with a flourish, then bunched it loosely in his fingers. ‘Open your mouth, dear lady.’

Melody obeyed and sat quietly while Orly carefully pushed the cloth between her teeth and into her mouth. It was a woman’s handkerchief, smaller in proportions than that of a man’s, but it was made of linen, which gave it more bulk than cotton. It filled the front of Melody’s mouth sufficiently well to make intelligible speech impossible.

Orly looked at the silk scarf in his hand a little uncertainly. It was still folded, neatly pressed into a rectangle. He folded it once more to form a square so as to make it thicker. ‘I think we’ll use this for a bit of padding,’ said Rupert Orly thoughtfully.

It was one of Melody’s favorite scarves, with muted pink, cream and black patterning, and when opened out it made a comfortable neckerchief.

‘This scarf from around your lovely throat too.’

Orly reached the black silk scarf from Melody’s neck over her head so that the soft material pressed against her lips. But before drawing it to the back of the young woman’s neck and knotting it very tightly under her hair, he placed the colored scarf over her mouth. The combination of linen wad in her mouth, silk pad over her lips (and partly in the front of her mouth too), and thick black bandage holding it all in place immediately stifled her frustrated whimper when she realized how securely the gag had been tied.

Orly stepped back and looked critically at his handiwork, openly admiring the tantalising V in Melody’s flimsy blouse which was revealed now that the covering scarf was being used for a different purpose.

‘You will be able to make some noise through the cloth, dear Miss Hazard, but nothing that will be heard outside this room. You are of course more than welcome to try,’ he gloated.

Brentford reappeared. ‘My, she really is a smasher, isn’t she?’ he enthused.

Melody was a prisoner again. It had all been done in such a short time. For her two captors’ benefit she again put on a show of theatrical struggling. But when she tried to dislodge her gag she found with a shock that it was very firmly in place. The linen in her mouth tangled against her tongue and she could feel it already making her palate dry. The silk pad and the scarf that held it over her mouth clung to her face and when she called for help experimentally all that came out was a faint squeal.

Brentford and Orly beamed at her. ‘I think all has been said that has to be said, don’t you my dear?’ said Brentford with satisfaction. ‘We’ll leave you now, alone with your thoughts. I hope you consider your options carefully,’ he added with just enough touch of menace to send a shiver along Melody’s spine. He then exited with an elaborate bow, followed by Orly waving ‘Adieu’’ mockingly.

Melody waited for two minutes after the men had gone, counting the seconds off in an agony of impatience. When she was as sure as she could ever be that her captors would not be making a sudden reappearance, she began to work on the cords at her wrists. The gag was surprisingly tight and she did not waste time trying to free her mouth. She relaxed her hands instead. There was still the same degree of play in the loops of cord as she had found earlier, and she began to wriggle her wrists confidently within them.

At this point Melody made an unwelcome discovery. In trying to slip her wrists free, the large silk cuffs and the full arms of her blouse, over which the cords had been tied, had become entangled in the bonds, reducing the slack that had been there. Her wrists were more cunningly trapped than she expected.

Melody had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and panic began to gnaw at her. Her hands really were bound tight, and the gag resisted all efforts to dislodge it. Oh my God, thought Melody. What if I can’t get out of this before those two weirdos get back? The minutes passed rapidly. Her struggles made no headway. Hysteria was now her worst enemy.

Chapter Four