I took his head in both of my hands and looked at him. The bones of his skull were just beneath the surface. His skin was velvety smooth and felt like worn paper. I said, “You have to relax now. Just breathe.”

Nothing changed on his face, but the breathing slowed down. His eyes were unmoving in their sockets, but they gleamed with life. I put my forehead to his, until we were touching.

“Relax now. Just relax.” I felt his head lean into the chair as he allowed himself to be held. His eyes shifted ever so slightly, unfocused. I closed my eyes and counted to thirty. Then I opened my eyes and was looking directly into his from inches away.

They had focused.

“What’s the combination?”

Vaugeois’ left eye blinked three times in rapid succession.

I said, “Three.”

Nothing. No movement. Vaugeois was as still as a lake on a windless day. Then his left eye blinked again. Three times in rapid succession. I retrieved the notepad and pencil from his desk drawer. Came back around and wrote '33’ on the top sheet of paper. Then his right eye blinked four times. Then two. I wrote the numbers down on the pad, '33-42’. Vaugeois’ eyeballs rolled back into his skull and he trembled. I figured he was working hard. Each wink was costing him, big time. I got back down in front of him.

“Come on buddy, push through.”

His left eye blinked, nine times. Then eight.

“33-42-98.”

Vaugeois closed his eyes and an involuntary sigh came out of him, like air escaping from an inflated plastic bag.

Chapter Forty

33-42-98.

I spun the dial a couple of times to the left, then a couple of times to the right, to clear the lock. I tried to remember which direction these things usually go. I figured, right, left, right. But then I realized that Vaugeois had used both his left and his right eyelid. Left first, then right, then left.

I turned the tumbler left to 33, right to 42, then left to 98.

And it didn’t open.

Then I tried left to 33, right all the way past 33 again until it hit 42 for the second time, then left to 98.

No dice.

I’d done it before, with other locks. Regular combination locks in the army, for lockers. I reached back and summoned the old muscle memory. Three times to the right, stopped at 33. Left once, did a complete turn past 33 and hit 42. Left again, straight on to 98. It made sense, in a muscle memory kind of way.

Nothing.

Then I did exactly the same thing, but the other way.

Left three times to 33. Right once, past 33 to 42. Left directly to 98.

Bingo. The catch released, steel whispered on perfectly machined steel. I turned the handle and the safe opened.