Chapter 18

High up in one corner of her room, mounted at the juncture of two walls and the ceiling, was a small speaker enclosure.

Pal had noticed it before, but because she had always had too much else on her mind, she had given it no thought.

Now, the day after her exacting participation in the four-way orgy with Heidi, she lay on her bed, still exhausted, unable to regain as yet the strength torn from her during the degrading and shameful episode.

Her eyes caught on the dark wood that housed the speaker, and she wondered why it was there. All the time she had been imprisoned in the room, there had been no sound from it.

Her experience in the hospitals had taught her that speakers can be used as microphones, also, when connected in certain kinds of intercom systems.

She doubted that this installation was intended as a listening device, for several reasons. First of all, she had seen no indication of any kind of staff here. There seemed to be only Paul and Jonas. They could hardly interrupt their separate and individual duties for spot checks of the "cells" occupied by Heidi, Betty, and herself. At least, not with any degree of security.

And if it were up there to betray her activities, they would most likely have discovered her escape attempt before she had stumbled into Stillwell in the lobby.

They also could have heard her pattering about when she was on her douche-hunting junkets.

No, she deeded, it was not a snooping device, as such. But she wished it would act like a decent speaker. Why didn't they play some music over it, or something? Did they want to drive her out of her mind from boredom?

She wished she had never noticed it in the first place. She wished most heartily that she had not started thinking about it now. It was just one more thing in a long list of petty little irritations that she would prefer to get out of her mind.

Like the food. Especially the evening meal!

It was always some kind of a TV dinner. Probably because that was as simple to serve without an accredited staff as anything else. And maybe they bought them in such quantity that it was also the least expense. They certainly must have loaded up on those fish dinners! She had had them several times in the past few days.

The memory of fish suddenly reminded her of the ocean-front smell that emanated from Heidi's pissy cunt when they had all begun to revive after the orgy.

She could still see the happy smile and relaxed expression on the German girl's face as they left her alone in her room. And the shocking picture of her pitifully marked body!

Oh, if I could only get out of here! Pal thought. If I could just get the police to bust in here, those two would never see the light of day as long as they lived.

She tossed around restlessly on her bed, trying to get her thoughts shifted away from the helplessness and the hopelessness of her situation.

She wondered what Paul Harshman and Jonas Stillwell did when they weren't tormenting helpless victims. After the orgy in Heidi's room, Paul had told her she had twenty minutes to use the bathroom before she was locked up for the night. Then he and Jonas had taken the elevator up in a hurry.

She lost precious time by forgetting to retrieve her treasured douche hose, and had to go back for it. Still, she had been able to sneak in the lab, fill her violated uterus with gas fumes, and flood herself thoroughly with water before she showered, without getting punished, so she must have made it in time. It was impossible to know without any clock or watch around.