Apart from the Cords, Jeff and Harriet were there, and a couple of friends of Owen. Rina and I were seated a few feet away from Abigail who mouthed me... a greeting and Rina too, but didn’t approach us or make any effort to sit by us. I relaxed. I just nodded my acknowledgment of her voiceless greeting.The Cords more or less hung together and Rina and I just sort of sat and observed. Jeff and Harriet actually sat between us and them. I didn’t know if that was by design or if it just worked out. Harold headed to the study. And locked the door."Daddy?"Harold jumped when he heard the knock on his study door. He quickly pulled up his knit shorts, and turned off his monitor."What is it, baby?" Can I come in?" Heather asked plaintively.Harold got up and unlocked the door, opening it for his daughter. God she looked good. She had her cover-up on, but it was open in the front, showing off her firm young body.Heather walked in and closed the door behind her."Where's Lynn?" Harold asked. She. Great for sliding your ass along smooth floors.I made it over to the table easy enough. But how to get up on top of the bench? There was only one way I could think of, and it would hurt like hell. I'd need to twist my feet in the cables in such a manor so that I could stand flat-footed and rise up. I prayed there was enough slack in the cables so as not to break my ankles. I bit the bullet and straightened my knees. I saw flashes of white light as the cable cut viciously into my skin. I gritted. She was a skinny thing, maybe a little too skinny for my tastes, with a bra size to match. Her face was fairly nice with striking green eyes, but a few stress lines showed through the make-up surrounding them. She must have been a really attractive girl before the drugs took over.That's what I decided had happened. The gap in her job history, the ambiguity about a criminal conviction, her address in a heroin infested neighborhood, her "almost-too-thin" appearance, they all pointed to a recent.