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As you cut another slice from the rye loaf, you notice that your hand is trembling. That was close. Too close. She has an extremely powerful will, this one. Much stronger than Lazlo's. She broke through your motor restraints. You will have to keep her tightly reined. No telling what she might do if she gets loose.
Thus the punishment. And let her think that you can keep her in sensory deprivation permanently should you so choose. Don't let her know that it is an effort for you, that you can only keep her deprived so long, and then you must let her up. Let her think you release her out of beneficence instead of necessity. That should help keep her in line.
Oh, Lazlo. If only he were alive. It was so much easier with him. He could be dominated, trained to behave. You knew just what to expect from Lazlo.
Although on rare occasions he did manage to surprise you. That note to Kara on the back of the electric bill. It had infuriated you that he had dared to interfere, yet you had to grant him a grudging accolade for his craftiness.
And you punished him severely, of course. Just as you are punishing Kara now.
As you eat, you remember that you must check and make sure that Wheatley has followed the terms of the will as to the burial of Lazlo's body. You don't want your brother lying in the morgue any longer than necessary.
You finish your toast and coffee and wipe the crumbs from the dining room table. It is time to welcome Kara back to the world of the senses.
"Hello, Kara."
There is a long pause. Finally, her voice comes to you. It is small and weak.
Please don't ever do that to me again!
"The choice is up to you, my dear. You merely have to be civil company and we shall both live in peace. Right now, however, it is time to go."
It's too early to go to Ellen's.
"Correct. We are first stopping at the office of the late, lamented Lawrence Gates, M.D."
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The office is empty of life except for the fish in the tank. You feed them. Eventually you'll move them to your house. You don't want them to die.
You notice that your desk drawer is open. Someone has been searching your office. Detective Harris, no doubt. You check the file room and see that the cabinets remain closed and locked. You glance into the padded cell.
What's that.
Her voice is stronger now. You flip on the light to show her.
"That, my dear, is a place where you will be penned from time to time. During those periods, your body will be totally yours again."
Where will you be?
"Sometimes in my own body—find it remains in better health if I return to it once in a while—but most times I will be using someone else's body. Variety, you see, is the spice of life."
Is this where you left Lazlo when you took me over at night?
"Exactly. Lazlo, you see, developed a nasty habit of injuring himself when I left him locked in a normally furnished room. He did it to embarrass me, so that I would have a black eye or a swollen lip when I returned to take control of him again."
Good for Lazlo!
"I thought you'd appreciate that. As a result of his persistence in these pranks, and the fear that he might one day do permanent damage to himself, I had this padded cell installed here. I would have loved to have had a similar cell installed in the house, but after seeing all the talk and consternation caused by this one, even though it was in a psychiatrist's office, I decided against it. I have striven always to maintain a low profile. Here. Let me show you how it works."
You close the door and push the "LOCK" button.
"There. We're locked in. To get us out, all I have to do is tap in the combination."
You blank out Kara's vision to do this.
No! Please!
"Don't worry, my dear. Only your sight and only for a few seconds. Letting you see the combination would defeat the purpose of having a lock, now, wouldn't it?"
You allow her to see again as the door swings open.
"And don't try to memorize the movements of my hands. I change the combination periodically."
If Lazlo was locked in here, who sent me that note ?
"Lazlo, of course. A most ingenious prank, I must say. Although perhaps I was a bit lax with him. When I locked him in here one night while visiting you, I forgot I had three or four bills in stamped, addressed envelopes in the pocket of my sport coat. He had a pencil hidden somewhere, so he opened the electric bill and wrote to you on its back; then he readdressed the envelope and stuck it back with the others. I dropped the lot of them into the mailbox the next day, never realizing what he had done. He was quite a character. I'm going to miss him."
Did you… punish him?
"Of course. Severely! You had only a taste of the punishment. I cut Lazlo off for an entire day. So don't try anything like it."
Kara says nothing. You wonder about her. You hope she will become compliant. You're not paired with her permanently, but it will be some time before you can arrange to transfer all your assets to someone else. You are stuck with her for now. You must convince her to be a good little girl.
"And now we go to your aunt's."
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The arrival at Ellen's went far more smoothly than Kara had anticipated. Which only deepened her depression.
Lucia, the cook, let her in on the first knock.
"Miss Kara. I didn't know you were out. Can I fix you some breakfast?"
"No, thank you," Gabor said in her voice, "but could you fix something for Jill? We'll be leaving soon?"
"Of course. What would she like?"
"Quick! What's her favorite?"
Waffles.
"If waffles wouldn't be too much trouble—?"
"No trouble at all!" She bustled back toward the kitchen.
Gabor took her body on a quick tour of the apartment.
"Your aunt has good taste. Money doesn't seem to be an object."
Kara didn't answer. She didn't care what Gabor thought of Ellen's decor. She was frightened. It was bad enough that she was enslaved to Gabor, but the thought of Jill within his reach was almost more than she could bear. If only there was a way to keep Jill away from him. Even if only for a little while. Just long enough to find a way to fight her way free of Gabor.
For somewhere within her consciousness was a conviction that this would not be a permanent thing, that sooner or later she would escape Gabor. She held onto that conviction with an iron grip. It and her fear for Jill were the only things keeping her sane right now.
"Where's your daughter's room?"
Leave her out of this!
"Come, come, Kara. I thought we had settled this. We must take Jill with us. Too many questions, too much unwelcome scrutiny if we leave her here. Plus, that would break her heart. I may be many things, Kara, but I am not without feelings."
Kara saw no use in withholding Jill's location. He could find her easily enough without her help.
The bedroom at the end of the hall
"Thank you."
Kara had to admit that Gabor was very good with Jill. He woke her gently and explained that they'd be staying in the city for a while but in a different place, a big new house with a giant TV screen and the loudest stereo in the world. Jill was excited, all trusting smiles. Kara wanted to cry out to her, wanted to gather Jill in her arms and hug her tight against her. But she could do nothing. Jill hopped out of bed and into her robe and ran down the hall for her waffles.
"You never told me what a darling little thing she is!"
Kara didn't want him to touch her or even talk about her, but she felt that telling him so would only give him more power over her. And he had more than enough already.
Yes. I raised her myself.
"So you told me. You've done a splendid job."
Kara wanted to tell him where he could shove his compliment, then realized that the orifice would be hers.