He caught the diffused glimmer of the reflected light from the outer room as the door opened and closed, sharply.

But the momentary half-light did not give him a glimpse of who or what was before him, for in a second all was blackness again.
His first uneasy thought was that it was a very artful move.

He and that Other were alone there, in the utter darkness.

Neither, now, would have the advantage.

He had been a fool to leave one of the doors without its double lock, of some sort.