Chapter 5: The Room Beneath the Stairs
We reached home to find two police cruisers outside.
A uniformed officer met us in the driveway.
“Mr. Mercer?””
“Yes.””
“I'm Officer Grant. We received an alarm notification.””
“Was anyone inside?””
“We haven't found anyone.””
I pulled Lily closer.
“Did they touch her room?””
Officer Grant looked at me.
“Not that we know.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Take my wife and daughter somewhere secure.””
“No,” I said.
Daniel looked at me.
“Claire.””
“No.””
“Please.””
“I'm not leaving.””
Officer Grant cleared his throat.
“We can have another officer escort Mrs. Mercer and the child to a neighbor while we clear the property.””
I shook my head.
“I'm staying with my husband.””
Daniel looked like he wanted to argue.
Instead, he nodded.
“Fine.””
We entered through the front door.
The house looked untouched.
No broken windows.
No overturned furniture.
No signs of forced entry.
But the security panel beside the foyer was dark.
Daniel stared at it.
“Someone disabled the system manually.””
Officer Grant crouched near the panel.
“Could have been an employee.””
“We don't have employees with that access.””
“What about family?””
Daniel didn't answer.
The officer looked at him.
“Mr. Mercer?””
“Celia has access.””
I looked at him.
“You told me she couldn't enter without you.””
“I was wrong.””
We moved room by room.
Nothing.
The kitchen.
Nothing.
The living room.
Nothing.
Lily's bedroom.
Nothing.
Then we reached the staircase.
I remembered what Lily had said.
The room beneath the stairs.
I looked at Daniel.
“Open it.””
“There is no room.””
“Then open it.””
He stared at the wooden panel beneath the staircase.
Officer Grant examined it.
“There may be a latch.””
He pressed along the molding.
A click sounded.
The panel swung inward.
A narrow staircase descended into darkness.
I felt the air leave my lungs.
Daniel whispered, “That wasn't there.””
I stared at him.
“You're telling me you didn't know this existed?””
“I've lived here for eleven years.””
Eleanor stepped closer.
“I knew.””
Daniel turned.
“You knew?””
“I suspected.””
“You should have told me.””
“I tried.””
“You never told me about a hidden room under my house.””
“I told you your father had secrets.””
Officer Grant switched on his flashlight.
“Stay behind me.””
We descended.
The air smelled damp.
At the bottom was a small concrete room.
One wall was covered with filing cabinets.
Another had shelves filled with boxes.
And directly opposite the stairs was a desk.
Someone had been sitting there recently.
A coffee cup was still warm.
Daniel stared.
“Someone was here.””
Officer Grant drew his weapon.
“Everybody stay back.””
He checked the room.
Empty.
Then he opened the nearest cabinet.
Folders filled every drawer.
Daniel stepped toward them.
“Those are my father's files.””
“How do you know?”” I asked.
“I recognize his handwriting.””
He pulled out a folder.
The label read:
*MERCER FAMILY — PRIVATE*
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
Bank statements.
Medical records.
School reports.
I reached for one.
It was Lily's.
Her kindergarten evaluation.
Her vaccination history.
A photograph from her fourth birthday.
My hands started shaking.
“Why would your father have Lily's records?””
“He wouldn't.””
Daniel looked through another folder.
His expression became horrified.
“This isn't my father's handwriting.””
Eleanor picked up a document.
“No.””
“What?””
“This is recent.””
She pointed to the date.
Three weeks ago.
Daniel grabbed the paper.
The document was a list of names.
Mine.
Daniel's.
Lily's.
Celia's.
And beneath them was another name.
*Eleanor Mercer.*
Eleanor went pale.
“I told you,” Daniel whispered.
“What?””
“They've been watching all of us.””
Officer Grant picked up another sheet.
“What's St. Aldwyn's?””
Daniel froze.
I turned.
The sheet contained a list of children.
Beside each name was a date.
Some names had been crossed out.
Others had one word written beside them:
*TRANSFERRED.*
I scanned the page.
Then I saw it.
*Anna Mercer — 2012 — TRANSFERRED.*
My heart pounded.
“Anna wasn't missing,” I whispered.
Eleanor stared at the page.
“No.””
“You said she disappeared.””
“I thought she did.””
Daniel turned another page.
A photograph slipped onto the floor.
It showed Anna standing beside a woman.
The woman was much younger.
But I recognized her.
Celia.
I picked up the photograph.
“Why was your sister with Anna?””
Daniel stared at it.
“I don't know.””
Eleanor took the photograph from me.
Her hands trembled.
“Because Celia was the last person who saw Anna.””
Daniel looked at her.
“You never told me that.””
“I didn't know if she was involved.””
“Involved in what?””
Eleanor pointed at the files.
“Whatever happened to Anna.””
A sound came from upstairs.
Three slow footsteps.
We all froze.
Officer Grant raised his weapon.
Another step.
Then another.
Daniel whispered, “Stay here.””
The footsteps stopped.
A man's voice came through the floorboards.
“Daniel?””
Daniel looked toward the stairs.
The voice came again.
“You should have left the school alone.””
May you like
Then the lights went out.
And Lily screamed.
