Page 54 of Free Fall (The Quantico Files 3)

“By the way, what’s the deal with the dress?” Tracy said. “It looks like something a child would wear.”

“I know what you mean,” Amy said. “It didn’t fit me very well either. I could barely get it zipped.”

“Is it possible there’s only one?”

“I think so. And the shoes were tight too.”

“They were too big on me,” Marla said. “I agree that there’s only one dress and one pair of shoes. Weird. I doubt we’re all exactly the same size.”

“Okay,” Tracy said. “We’d better stop talking for now. I don’t want to push it too far. Good night, Amy. Marla.”

As she slid her panel shut, she heard the echoes of the other two women doing the same thing. She decided she’d pray especially for Rhonda tonight. She’d sounded about ready to give up. But right now she couldn’t stop thinking about Merrie. What was she going through? It was supposed to be her turn to go on a date, and she felt guilty for getting out of it.

She carried the tray to the table and took off the lid. Thank goodness. Food. Beef stew with veggies, fruit gelatin, and a roll. Butter but no knife or fork. Besides the tea there was a bottle of water and a small bowl of vanilla ice cream.

After eating, she held off on the tea as long as she could. But eventually she sat where the camera could see what she was doing and drank it. Then she held the cup upside down to show it was empty. She’d never get the chance to hide the tea in a bag again. From here on out, she needed to play it straight until she could come up with another plan of escape.

She got ready for bed, opened the upper panel of her door just a crack, and then tried hard to stay awake so she could hear Merrie come back. But before long she felt herself losing the fight as she drifted off to sleep.

---