Page 95 of Fourth Point Of Contact

“If he’s abusing them, there might be only one vehicle. Do you want to stick around and find out?”

The woman got in the car and drove past us. Her eyes were slightly panicked, and her hands were wrapped tightly around the steering wheel.

“She’s nervous,” I noted, looking back at the house.

“I don’t like this. I think we should check it out.”

“And what if he’s still in there?”

“I’ll go first. I’ll say I’m looking for someone in the area if he answers the door.”

“And if not?”

“Then we go in and see what we can find.”

It was as good a plan as any. “You know, there’s really no proof that anything is happening.”

“After what you told me, do you really think that’s true? Do you want to take the chance that nothing’s happening?”

Sighing, I had to agree with her. “Alright. I’ll wait for your signal.”

She was out of the car before I could change my mind. I watched as she crossed the street and casually walked up to the front door, knocking quickly. I kept my eye on the windows, but nothing happened. No one looked outside or crept around the back. It was quiet.

She motioned that she was going in. “Crap,” I muttered, flinging the door open. She had already picked the lock by the time I crossed the street. I really fucking hoped she was right about this. I made my way up the walk and into the house, slipping inside before I could think better of it. The first thing I did was look for any cameras. Nothing was in sight, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have them hidden inside.

Raven was already digging through the mail when I entered. “Are we all clear?”

“No one’s in the house.”

I nodded and made my way through the house, cursing my damn crutches the whole way, looking for an office, but there were only a few bedrooms. The house was in pristine condition and there was no sign that anyone else lived here, but that wasn’t right. When I found him, it said he was married with a kid. But as I looked around, there was no sign that a child lived here.

“Raven, do you see anything in the mail referring to kids?”

“No, just a bunch of bills.”

“Nothing medical?”

“Nope. Why?”

“Because the report said that he had a kid, but I don’t see a room for a kid or anything.”

“Maybe the kid died,” she said, her voice turning angry.

That was possible, but something felt off about the whole thing. There was nothing in the report about the kid dying. Not that mistakes couldn’t be made, but…

I walked through the house one last time, taking extra time to search every room. It was only when I walked down the halla third time and my crutches hit the wood flooring in just the right way that I heard the creak and paused. I rocked back and forth, testing the sections of the flooring and where the sound was coming from.

“Raven! Get over here!”

Using my crutches for support, I lowered myself to one knee, stretching my other leg out in front of me. I ran my fingers over the floor, searching for any changes in the wood. I found a section that was a slightly different color and followed it toward the closet. Ripping the doors open, I found a small break in the wood that could be used as a handle.

“What the hell is that?” Raven asked, her voice cold and spooked.

I looked back at her, my heart thumping in my chest as I slowly pulled up the wood. God, it was a fucking trap door. “Get a light.”

She hurried off to the kitchen while I pulled up the hatch and stared down into the darkness. A heavy weight sank in my gut as I stared into the dark depths. Raven was back in minutes, shining the light on the wooden ladder that led down into the crawl space.

“I can’t make it down there,” I said reluctantly. I didn’t like sending her down there alone, but there was no way I’d be able to get down there without breaking my other damn leg.

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