“Lie to me, will you?” Jackson Krieg wielded his walking stick like a baseball bat. Alice cowered, retreating towards the far wall, but the fear wasn’t there in her eyes this time. Jackson had missed three things on his way into the basement. One of them stepped up behind him now. A sharp kick to the back of his weak knee sent Jackson sprawling. Without ceremony he was hoisted onto his assailant’s shoulders. Tall and powerfully built, he was the man Jackson had long believed existed, whose purported existence he had punished Alice for, but he was powerless to punish now.

The second thing Jackson had missed stood in the corner of the basement. It was a hundred gallon water butt and it appeared to be his destination. The burly man carried him like a sack of potatoes, never saying a word.

The final thing Jackson Krieg missed would be the last thing he ever smelled. The water butt was full to the brim, and as he was dumped carelessly into the container, Jackson’s nostrils caught the unmistakeable scent of lye.