The Box

by Paul D. Marks

About the Author: Paul D. Marks is the author of the Shamus Award-Winning mystery-thriller White Heat. His short story Ghosts of Bunker Hill was voted #1 in the 2016 Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Poll. Windward was selected for the Best American Mystery Stories of 2018, and won the 2018 Macavity Award for Best Short Story. His stories have also been published in Beat to a Pulp, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Hardboiled and more. www.PaulDMarks.com

Excerpt

The room grows smaller with every word coming from the man across the table. His stale, garlic, cigarette and bourbon breath slam me in the face—what the hell did he have for lunch? Or was it dinner? I’ve lost track of time. It might be bright daylight outside or dead of night. No clocks in this room. Neither of us wears a watch. Time stands as still as the air in the confined, windowless space—a room they call the Box. And the air, thick as tar and smelling just as good, suffocates me. I try not to show my discomfort. Try not to let my scratchy throat betray me. It’s not easy, but I think I’m pulling it off.

Nothing to look at. Bland, non-descript brighter-than-white walls nearly blind me. No pictures, no view. Nothing to focus on but the burly man in the rolling chair a few feet away. His chair has wheels. Mine doesn’t. His chair sits higher than mine, so he can look down at me while I have to crane my neck to look at him. No doubt who’s the alpha dog here.

The man wheels closer. I try to push away, but I’m backed up against the wall. I want to get up. Afraid to. His face is inches from mine. His moist, sour breath chafes my cheek. He flicks a wooden match with his thumb. Fires up a cigarette, right underneath a “No Smoking” sign, the only wall decor.

“Get it off your chest, Brett,” he says.

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