"Turn around, little one", he bade.She had not seen him for a month. She had tried to forget the pain, but she could not forget the horror.Beatrice sl...wly shuffled around 180 degrees to face her back to her master. He was now her master because he had broken her, he ruled her. After the session on the table she had been taken to the black room and caned unmercifully for three hours.It had been horrible. In the end her mind was a crazed wreck. The caning had consisted of severe swats with 12. ”“It is?” asked Myndee.“Yes ... but no keys.”“Abby?”“Yes ma’am?”“There’s a set of keys in your fathers desk. Would you fetch them?”“What an extraordinarily beautiful little girl,” said Andrea when Abby delivered the keys. Tom took the keys and repaired to the garage. Soon enough, he was back.“The keys fit,” said Tom. “The battery is dead.”He rubbed his hands together and grinned at his wife, “Something to do.”She smiled indulgently, “Well, yes ... but you should check the ownership before you. "Are you going to bother telling me about this plan of yours?" He asked softly, "Or should I just walk away?"She shifted in her chair and looked away from him, "You offered me the Silvana and her crew. More importantly, you offered your own support. But you're basing this all on the belief that I know what I'm doing. Or even that I'm sure that Sik and Philip were involved in Carolina's death. I could be imagining the whole thing." I knew that when I said it." Stop and think, Bren! My brother. The week seems hollow. I am looking forward to my Saturday night with Ben Sheppard but dreading the talk we need to have and I am dreading him going back to Milwaukee. It was that ‘last few days of summer before going back to school’ feeling when you realize how much time you wasted and how little time remains. I even counted it. If he got there at six and left at noon the next day, that meant there were only eighteen more hours of Ben Sheppard in my life. I caught myself sitting at my desk.