I opened the mail box and spotted the long white envelope immediately. My heart started to pound and bundling up the rest of the bills, magazines and fliers, I ran into the house and tossed the mail in the counter. There it was, the logo on the envelope and I stared at it. I was scared to open it and scared not to open it.

My hands were ice cold with a kind of expectant dread but I grabbed a knife out of the drawer and slit open the envelope.

We are very pleased to offer you the position of Executive Research Assistant to

Dr. Armon Drucker at the Institute for Psychological Studies at the

University of Rostock.

I grabbed my cellphone out of my purse and dialed. It rang twice before I heard her pick up.

“I got it! I got it! “ I was laughing and crying and I heard Caroline chuckle on the other line.

“That is fantastic, Glo! I am so happy for you! Do you know when you start?”

“I haven’t read beyond the first line. Hang on. Ah. Here it is. It says I have to be ready to begin work on February 1st. Oh! And I will be boarded at the Institute as part of my compensation package and can move in any time the week before I start work. Oh, Caroline this is all so overwhelming!”

“You earned it, Gloria. It’s your chance to put all the “stuff” behind you and move on. A new job, new city, and new country where people most likely have never heard of you. It’s all good!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

February 1st I woke up and for a moment could not recall where I was. Then it hit me! I actually was in Rostock and my first day working at the Institute with Dr. Drucker. We had talked yesterday for a couple of hours and he showed me the Institute, introduced me to the small staff and explained a bit about what we would be doing. He told me that initially I would have to go through the protocols that our clients went through so I could understand the whole system, but not to be nervous.

“It’s just surface things, Gloria. We will put you under with the new drug, you will fall asleep, we will ask a couple of basic questions and then you’ll wake up feeling like you have had a deep sleep. Let’s say be here in the lab by 9am and dress comfortably. We’re informal here.”

Dr Drucker was not what I had expected. He was a lot younger for one thing, and very put together; every inch the typical German university professor. He was handsome in a very Nordic way with a mane of blonde hair and deep blue eyes. I would have to keep reminding myself this was my boss was my thought as I went back to my room after that meeting.

I jumped out of bed and remembering his “dress comfortably” speech yesterday, I threw on my easy jeans and an oversize sweater and made my way to the lab. It was delightful living where I worked. The apartment was up near the top floor with several skylights and was usually flooded with light. All-in-all I had landed on my feet and was incredibly grateful for this second chance to move on past the murder accusations and the memories of Kevin. I shook off those thoughts and pushed the laboratory door open.

“Ah! Good morning, Gloria! Ready to get this out of the way?”

I nodded, and he gestured to the examination table. “Just climb up. You see it is quite comfortable. Pillow, blanket, all the nice bed linens.” He laughed and pulled over a cart with a couple of needles and vials. “Two quick jabs and you will wake up feeling like you have had the best sleep of your life.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I came to and was lying on a deep sofa in what must be Dr. Drucker’s office. He was sitting behind a large, intricately carved mahogany desk and staring at me. I immediately sat up, embarrassed to have him watching me as I slept, a bit confused on how I had gotten here. I remembered nothing after Dr. Drucker injected me.

“That went well, Gloria. Now indulge me for a few minutes as we review the results of the protocol. All of this is, of course, necessary for you to be of use to me here at the Institute. We have certain...uh...criteria for those who stay.”

“Stay?” I know I looked shocked. “But I assumed this was a full time position. I have sold my home and came here thinking...”

“Oh please don’t worry. I am sure you will be perfect, particularly after the information we gleaned from the protocol. Settle back and tell me about the Kevin Montrose episode and your subsequent stay at Valley Hills Hospital after your breakdown.”

I gaped at him. “I’m starting to think that you know more about me than you let on.”

He gave a broad smile that showed too many teeth.

“Have you not considered that I do indeed know everything about you? It’s why we offered you the job, Gloria. You are exactly who I need to further my research into the psychological issues of murderers. Now. Shall we start?”