Before I could respond to his promise, he again gagged me with the same silk cloth. Despite knowing that it would be pointless, I screamed with all of my might. This did cause him to step back and put his gloved hands over his ears. "Shut up!" he screamed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar handgun. This frightened me into silence, but I still was determined to escape. Edward used his free hand to lift me from my chair and drag me to an elevator. We rode down a few stories and he kept his weapon against my shoulder. "I told you what would happen if you caused trouble..." he growled, "Don't test me, woman." I couldn't help but flash an angry glare at him, causing him to reciprocate over his large glasses. Once the doors opened again, we were presented with a long, dark hallway with doors on each side. The few lights that were on were so dim that they provided little help as we walked deeper into the passage. We stopped in front of a door that was labeled "B12", which he unlocked and pulled me inside with him.
There was nothing unassuming about the room, it was a large suite-like room with a small living room, bathroom, kitchen, and finally a bedroom with a bed that rivaled the size of the one in Van Dahl Manor. I was worried that he would force me into the room, flashbacks started to play in my mind and caused me to panic. "Stop it!" he snapped, but I couldn't help myself. I pleaded and cried through my gag and tried to run from him. In frustration he threw me on the couch in the living room and pointed the gun at me once more. But as frightened as I was that he would sexually assault me, I just lowered my head and tried my best to beg for him to let me go. He observed me for a moment, and then I saw him look back toward where I first started to react, and then he seemed to be trying to solve a puzzle. All at once, I saw a look of realization emerge on his face. I expected a cruel, taunting reaction to the situation; but instead, I saw a familiar look of concern. It was the same face that I met at the GCPD the first time that we met.
I remembered that he interrupted my interview with Detective Bullock and then we exchanged pleasantries till another officer finished taking my statement. Though he seemed to be a little awkward with his social interactions, I was still grateful for the distraction and later appreciated his company when he visited my apartment. What happened to you? I asked myself. "Ms. James..." I heard a familiar voice say. His voice tapered off like it was unsure of how to proceed. To my surprise, he knelt down to my level, placing the gun on the shabby coffee table. I felt his gloved hand on my chin, pulling it up to force me to meet his gaze. I saw his eyes search mine, leaving me feeling vulnerable again. "I won't let him hurt you..." he whispered. Him? Is someone else here? He unexpectedly removed the gag from my mouth again, and I was then able to plead, "Please, let me go...my baby..." Suddenly, a dark shadow seemed to eclipse his eyes and his face changed inexplicably. "Don't worry..." he said with a deep growl, "I'll be gentle..." Suddenly, he captured my lips with his own. As shocked as I was, I wasn't able to react till after the kiss ended.
He stood up quickly and picked up the gun again. "Find your way out, little Fee; trust me, your life depends on it."
He swiftly left the room, and I wasn't able to catch him before he locked the door behind him. I heard a small beep, coming from a small number pad next to the door. I swore under my breath and walked back to the living room to see if he dropped the handcuff key. I fell to my knees to search under the coffee table when I heard what sounded like an intercom. I heard a low chuckle and Edward's voice come through a speaker, "You have one hour to find your way out by finding a four digit code. One hour till that room fills with a toxic gas. I will give you one clue to get you started, but then you are on your own. You measure my life in hours, and I serve you by expiring. I am quick when I am thin and slow when I am fat. The wind is my enemy, what am I?" I couldn't believe what was happening. The last thing I wanted to do was answer one of his riddles, but it allowed me to push aside what had just happened. Despite my desire to tell him to screw himself, I knew that I had to play along to at least buy some time. If I was going to survive, I would have to play his game.
I repeated his riddle in my mind and a few answers strolled through my mind. A clock? An hourglass? But then I looked around the room and noticed that there were three fat candles on the table next to me. That's it! Candle! I used my handcuffed hands to throw off the candles awkwardly and then turned to see that there was a handcuff key where the largest one had been. "Well done. One more riddle for the road..." I was finally able to free one of my hands as he said, "It can't be seen, can't be felt, can't be heard and can't be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills and empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, ends life and kills laughter. What is it?" Suddenly the lights went out and Edward's laughter surrounded me. Panic started to grip me, but I knew that I was running out of time. His first clue gave me an idea. I crawled around to find one of the candles, then I returned to the couch and searched the cushions. My fingers touched a small cardboard square and gave me a thrill of victory. I was able to strike a match and light one of the candles.
The dim light of the candle did little to make me feel more at ease. Without windows, the apartment was truly pitch black. My mind started racing as I thought What's next? Then I took a second to look through the drawers for a weapon or something to pry the door open, but had no luck. Again, Edward's deep laughter seemed to radiate from every wall, further irritating me. I decided to go back to the matchbox to see if there was a clue there. The matchbook had a logo for a bar, which made me want to return to the kitchen to see if there were any liquor bottles. I was able to see three bottles of various sizes and shapes, and each had a different color label on it. To see them better, I lined them up on the counter and stared at them for a few moments. Suddenly, inspiration hit me. Each bottle was filled at different levels, so I rearranged them in order from least filled to most filled. I took note of the colors of the labels as well as other information on them. Then I started to search around the apartment again.
"Fourty-five minutes, little Fee..." I looked up to see if I could find a camera that I could break, without success. When I looked down, I saw a book lying on one of the end tables next to the couch, it had a blue cover and had the title, "The Great Gatsby". The paperback book had a dark blue cover with a woman's eyes and lips emerging from the blue depths. I then saw another book in front of the television with a large red A etched on it with the title "Scarlet Letter". And finally, I was able to find a third book on a night stand in the bedroom that had the title "Emma" by Jane Austen, which was a pale tan color. As I thought, they all matched the labels of the bottles. They were in the order of Red, Blue, then white. Is this in regard to the flag? France? No, the order is wrong... It took a long time for me to think, Edward was all the while taunting me. "I could watch you for ages..." he said with humor in his voice. Suddenly, inspiration struck me again when I looked at the book covers. A for the Scarlet Letter, G for Great Gatsby, and finally E for Emma. Age...age... I then saw a photo with a child looking at a birthday cake with the number 7.
God help me... I pleaded the longer I searched the apartment. My head was throbbing and I was becoming weak from hunger and exhaustion. My eyes were also strained from trying to search in the darkness. Though I was able to find three numbers, I knew that it had to be at least four digits that I would need. Time was running out and the candle was becoming quite short. "One minute left..." This time, Edward's voice sounded like dark velvet, almost seductive in tone. I frantically started dialing the numbers, using process of elimination to find the final digit. One...no...Two...no...Three...no! Suddenly, I heard, "Time's up..." And I heard a hissing sound coming from above me, making me tremble and drop the candle, causing it to extinguish. I started hitting the number pad, screaming in anger. The bottles shattered behind me, but it was no use; the door held fast, and the gas descended on me. The last conscious thought I knew was a plead to God to help me and regret that I couldn't see Oswald one more time.