Chapter 4 - The Test
The silence in the steamy bathroom became deafening.
Martha stood motionless, her mind racing through six years of neurology charts, spinal trauma profiles, and physical therapy records. A man who was paralyzed from the chest down for fourteen months due to complete spinal cord transection could not produce an active, conscious thermal avoidance reflex like that. Reflex spasms were unpredictable and clonic—this motion had been precise, sudden, and localized.
She looked from his foot back to his face. Maxwell’s jaw was set tight, his blue-gray eyes fixed on her with intense, breathless warning.
Slowly, gently, Martha reached out to the tap again. She adjusted the cold stream slightly, directing a small, concentrated trickle of cooler water directly toward his right foot once more.
She watched his leg intently.
Underneath the water, his toes visibly pulled back again, flexing away from the cold stimulus before settling back into position. His nervous system was sending signals. He could feel it.
Martha turned off the tap completely. The sound of running water stopped, leaving only the sound of their quiet, measured breathing amidst the thick steam.
May you like
She straightened up and looked directly into the eyes of the most dangerous man in Rhode Island.
"You felt that," Martha whispered quietly.
