When Case came around, he was inside the derelict warehouse. His hands and feet had been strapped to a chair using electricians’ tape. Case strained against his bindings but he wasn’t strong enough to break them.

“You’re wasting your time.”

Case sat rigid in his chair. The voice had come from in front of him but he couldn’t see the man who’d spoken. It was too dark for that.

“Who are you?”

“The name’s Joe Hunter.”

“You’re a cop?”

“No. I’m a concerned member of the public.”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“You’re a bad man. I’m here to punish you.”

The only light was a faint strip beneath a door at the far end of the room. Against the light Case saw movement as a figure moved through it.

“What do you mean? I’m not a bad man!”

“I’ve been watching you, Case. I’ve followed you. I know what you did to the women.”

“I paid them,” Case shouted. “They knew what I wanted from them.”

“You hurt them.” The man’s voice had dropped an octave, but the menace in his words had grown exponentially. “Do you think cash was fair exchange for what you did to them?”

“Yes. I offered money and they agreed. Every time: it was a done deal!” Case strained at his bindings. It was pointless. The tape stretched, biting into his flesh. He heard footsteps as the man moved toward him. Case readied himself for a blow, but it didn’t come. The man walked behind the chair and laid his hands on Case’s shoulders.

“I want you to look at something.”

Before Case could reply, the man dragged him and the chair around so he was facing in the opposite direction. Case could see nothing but blackness.

The man moved away, and there was a click as he threw a switch.

A single bulb had been covered with a strip of muslin. The cloth obscured most of the light, but enough remained to see what was directly below it.

The woman strapped to the chair was barely out of her teens. She was just the kind of woman that Case usually preferred. She had blond hair and was slim. She used to be pretty. Now her eyes were swollen shut, bruises growing on both her cheeks. Her nose had been broken, split across the bridge and leaking blood. Her lips were mashed and blood-flecked drool hung in a string from her chin.

“Is this a done deal, Case?”

Case shuddered at the impotence of his situation.

The man stood alongside the woman. She moaned, but didn’t have the strength to move. All she managed was a glance up at Case that spoke of shame. The look condemned Case more than the man’s actions ever could.

The man balled his fist. “Is it right that a man beats a woman?”

“Leave her alone.”