He turned the knob and pushed the door open. Susan was on her feet now, near the lantern in the center of the room. Archie had never been so happy to see her in his life. But she appeared disoriented, backing away, terrified. She didn’t know it was him—the light spilling from the hallway behind him must have blackened his features. Then Archie felt Gretchen reach around the door and slide her hand along the wall and an overhead incandescent bulb came on.

The room was filled with bright light.

Susan blinked and gazed up at the bulb over her head. “Shut the fuck up,” Susan said.

Her hair was wild and her hands were balled into fists. She whipped her head toward the doorway, her body coiled like a feral cat’s. Then he saw her take in his presence. Her defensive posturing crumpled with relief, and she cried out—a heartbreaking yelp of relief and elation. Then Gretchen stepped beside him, and Susan stiffened.

The room smelled like concrete and urine. The floor was fissured with cracks.

Susan looked cautiously from Archie to Gretchen. “Are you two back together?” she asked.

Archie moved toward her. He could feel Gretchen’s eyes on his back. He didn’t want to get too close. Any affection he showed for Susan would just give Gretchen another reason to kill her. “Are you all right?” Archie asked her.

Susan gave him an indignant look. “No, Archie. I’m not all right.”

He tried to keep his body language composed. “You’re going to be fine,” he said. “She’s not going to kill you.” He raised his voice pointedly. “Are you, Gretchen?”

“Probably not,” Gretchen said, after a pause.

Susan was shaking, whether from fright or fury Archie couldn’t tell. She had been down here for hours, with no water or bathroom, knowing that Gretchen could return at any moment. She looked exhausted. Archie wanted to take his blazer off and drape it around her shoulders, to take her in his arms, but he knew that Gretchen wouldn’t like it. He just had to keep Susan calm, and make sure she didn’t do or say anything that would get her killed before he could get her out of here. “She’s not going to hurt you,” Archie said evenly. “She wanted my attention and now she has it. She just used you to get to me.”

Susan wiped some snot from her nose and flailed her arm at the wall. “She’s killed people here,” she said, hiccupping.

Archie moved his eyes around the room, taking in the blood spatter on the walls, the bloodstains on the mattress.

“Not her,” Archie said. “Someone else has.”

“I’m helping Archie out with a case,” Gretchen said breezily from behind him.

“What’s she talking about?” Susan demanded from Archie.

How was he going to explain this one?