Page 97 of The Beach Hut on Plum Island
“Oh great,” Finn said. “Is it weird that I’m hungry now?”
“No,” Scott said, shaking his head. “I am, too.” He looked at Harriet. “Ah, right.” He grinned. “This way.”
Scott led them through the house and into the en suite bathroom. He pressed against a floor-to-ceiling mirror, and it popped open. Scott pulled it back to reveal a secret passageway.
“It was reopened!” Harriet’s eyes lit up in delight as she turned to Finn. “Come on.”
His frown deepened as Finn realized she was enjoying this way too much. He followed her into the dark tunnel, which, to his surprise, lit up as soon as Harriet stepped into it.
“Well, that’s no fun,” Harriet said in disappointment. “I was sure we’d need flashlights.’
“Listen here, Veronica Mars,” Scott said from behind them, “if we’re going to keep the bootleg tunnels open, they’re going to have sensor lights in them.”
“You’re just scared of the dark,” Harriet called from up front.
“No, I’m not,” Scott denied it. “But I am scared of falling to my death in the dark.”
“Because that’s what’s going to happen in a fortified tunnel,” Harriet shook her head. “Oh, I see you’ve marked the way toour houses.” She pointed to where the tunnel forked in different directions.
“Yes, this way, if Brad or Ethan ever have to use them, they won’t get lost,” Scott said. “I’ll move to my house, you go to yours. Watch my window for the signal.”
“Okay,” Harriet said with a nod.
Scott went toward the Vanderbilt house, and Harriet led Finn toward her family home.
“Does this tunnel come out in a bathroom too?” Finn asked her.
“No, it comes out in the basement,” Harriet told him. “Which is actually a wine cellar now.”
“Nice. At least we get to have some wine if we get trapped there,” Finn said.
“We won’t get trapped there,” Harriet assured him. “At least not for long. Scott will come find us.” She stopped and frowned. “Although he might leave us there for a few hours to get some payback for all the times Alex and I locked him in there.”
“The more of your childhood stories I hear, the more frightened I become,” Finn teased.
“Oh, we weren’t children,” Harriet told Finn. “We were in our thirties and fighting when Scott came to break it up. We didn’t appreciate the interruption, so we locked him in.”
“Ah,” Finn said and nodded. “Your families are very close.”
“Yes, we are,” Harriet confirmed. “It was nice because when our parents were off working, we always had each other.” She stopped in front of a door. “We’re here. We just have to give Scott a few minutes to unlock it for us.”
“He can do that remotely?” Finn asked.
“Yes, he has all the tunnels linked to his security system,” Harriet told Finn.
A light clicked, and the door opened. Harriet led Finn into a very impressive wine cellar complete with large fridges for the white wine, a few spirits, and beers.
“Wow!” Finn said as he followed Harriet through the neat rows and up some stairs to a door. “Can Scott get us through this door as well?”
“No, I can.” Harriet pushed a panel on the wall, and a keypad popped up. “My father ensured no one would get locked down here. You can open the door from both sides.”
“Smart,” Finn said as Harriet punched in a code, and the door slid open. “Where does this come out?”
“In the games room.” Harriet lowered her voice and popped her head out.
“Why don’t you let me go first?” Finn said.
“Because you don’t know where you’re going, and I’ve snuck in and out of this house millions of times.”
