"Candace! Candace!"
She heard Mainwaring's voice but she was too numb to move. Her arms felt like lead and she was light-headed from the blood pooling in her head. The leather restraints fell away, one by one, and she was helped to her feet, only to find that she could not stand. Strong arms bore her to a place where she was laid down and covered with something. A few minutes later, the blindfold was removed, the suction cups coming away filled with a mixture of her sweat and tears.
She blinked against the strong light, reacting as someone who had stared into a flashbulb and was momentarily blinded. Someone wiped a cold cloth across her eyes, cleaning the detritus away and she raised a hand to rub them, still blinking furiously. A few minutes more and her sight had cleared sufficiently so that Mike's face came into focus, his expression priceless.
"Mike, is that fear I see?"
"Are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Where's Fusco?"
Mainwaring swallowed, his eyes moving to a spot on the floor. "He's over there."
The words didn't sink in until she saw the body, then disbelief clouded her mind. Her partner, her closest colleague was lying on the floor, a pool of blood spread like a blanket beneath him. The cage lay inches from his hand, its barbed spikes threaded with gelatinous flesh. "Victor?"
Detective Mainwaring put his hands on Sutton's shoulders, his voice low as more officers poured into the room. "It was Fusco, Suttie. He was Jack."
