The first strike of the ram barely moved the reinforced door.<\/p>\n
Dust sifted from the ceiling.<\/p>\n
Mary heard Lily cry out from the other side.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re okay,\u201d she called. \u201cThat noise is us. Stay away from the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jenkins swung again.<\/p>\n
Metal groaned.<\/p>\n
Upstairs Thomas shouted until another officer ordered him to stop.<\/p>\n
The third blow bent part of the frame.<\/p>\n
Still the lock held.<\/p>\n
Daniel glanced toward Mary.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalk to her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary moved closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cLily, are you sitting somewhere safe?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood. Cover your ears if you can.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Emily there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer seemed to calm Lily more than any reassurance about herself.<\/p>\n
Jenkins struck a fourth time.<\/p>\n
The locking plate cracked.<\/p>\n
A fifth blow tore the deadbolt loose.<\/p>\n
Daniel held up a hand.<\/p>\n
Everyone stopped.<\/p>\n
He slowly pulled the door outward.<\/p>\n
Stale air escaped from the room.<\/p>\n
His flashlight entered first.<\/p>\n
The space beyond was not what Mary expected.<\/p>\n
There were no chains hanging from walls, no obvious instruments of violence, nothing resembling the crude dungeon her imagination had produced.<\/p>\n
Instead, somebody had painted the walls pale yellow.<\/p>\n
A small bed stood against one side.<\/p>\n
There was a dresser.<\/p>\n
Children\u2019s books.<\/p>\n
Colored pencils.<\/p>\n
A moon-shaped night-light.<\/p>\n
The careful imitation of a bedroom made the absence of a window more disturbing.<\/p>\n
There was no clock.<\/p>\n
No outside light.<\/p>\n
No second exit.<\/p>\n
A child could live there without knowing whether it was morning or midnight.<\/p>\n
Lily sat in the far corner wrapped in a faded blanket.<\/p>\n
She was painfully thin.<\/p>\n
Her blond hair had been cut unevenly around her shoulders.<\/p>\n
She stared at the uniforms as though she could not decide whether they were real.<\/p>\n
Daniel lowered his flashlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy name is Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
No response.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a police officer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily pulled the blanket tighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here to take you somewhere safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he gone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daddy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel exchanged a glance with Mary.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is your daddy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily pointed upward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe man upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s his name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke for a moment.<\/p>\n
Mary approached slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cLily, I\u2019m Mary.\u201d<\/p>\n
The girl studied her uniform.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you Emily\u2019s friend?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmily said she would tell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary felt pressure behind her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily\u2019s face crumpled.<\/p>\n
For the first time she began crying.<\/p>\n
Not loudly.<\/p>\n
The tears simply ran down her cheeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe really did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary knelt.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily wiped her face with the blanket.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he caught her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked around the room.<\/p>\n
A calendar hung beside the bed.<\/p>\n
Its final marked page was dated three years earlier.<\/p>\n
Every day before a certain point had been carefully checked off.<\/p>\n
Afterward, nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cLily,\u201d Daniel asked, \u201cwhen were you last outside?\u201d<\/p>\n
The girl looked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cOutside where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOutside the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know what month it is?\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe year?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another shake.<\/p>\n
Mary opened the dresser.<\/p>\n
Children\u2019s clothing had been folded with unsettling neatness.<\/p>\n
Different sizes.<\/p>\n
Some too small for Lily.<\/p>\n
Others too large.<\/p>\n
She closed the drawer without comment.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you stand?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily pushed herself upward using the wall.<\/p>\n
Her knees buckled immediately.<\/p>\n
Mary caught her.<\/p>\n
The child looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have anything to apologize for.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy legs don\u2019t work good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we have doctors coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo hospitals.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaddy said doctors ask questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary steadied her.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood doctors ask questions because they want to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
The girl considered that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill they send me back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou promise?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary thought about how carefully promises should be made to children who had been failed by adults.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. I promise we\u2019re going to protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paramedics entered minutes later.<\/p>\n
While they examined Lily, Jenkins noticed marks scratched into the inner surface of the steel door.<\/p>\n
Hundreds.<\/p>\n
Some shallow.<\/p>\n
Others deep.<\/p>\n
One message had been carved more deliberately than the others.<\/p>\n
A request to be found.<\/p>\n
Another consisted of a single word.<\/p>\n
Mom.<\/p>\n
Daniel photographed them.<\/p>\n
Upstairs, Detective Susan Carter arrived and took command of the expanding investigation.<\/p>\n
She spoke briefly with Brooks before looking at Thomas.<\/p>\n
He sat handcuffed under guard, his earlier rage replaced by complete silence.<\/p>\n
Carter did not question him immediately.<\/p>\n
Instead she walked outside.<\/p>\n
Neighbors had gathered behind police tape.<\/p>\n
Most wore pajamas or coats pulled over nightclothes.<\/p>\n
Red and blue light moved across their faces.<\/p>\n
Carter began asking whether anyone remembered other children at the house.<\/p>\n
At first everyone said no.<\/p>\n
Then Eleanor Watkins, an elderly woman from across the street, raised her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was another little girl.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFour years ago, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHannah. I think.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas said her mother took her after some kind of divorce.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you meet the mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever see her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
A man standing nearby spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a boy too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat boy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears back. I only saw him a couple times.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas said his sister took him out of state.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever meet the sister?\u201d<\/p>\n
The neighbor slowly shook his head.<\/p>\n
Carter looked toward the house.<\/p>\n
One child hidden downstairs was already a major crime.<\/p>\n
Now there were names.<\/p>\n
Sophie.<\/p>\n
Hannah.<\/p>\n
An unidentified boy.<\/p>\n
And Rebecca, Emily\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n
Inside, forensic technicians began photographing the living room.<\/p>\n
One technician brought Carter the damaged wedding portrait.<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s face had been deliberately scratched.<\/p>\n
Carter studied it for several seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cFind out whether there\u2019s a missing-person report.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel came upstairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have another child alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe identifies Thomas as her father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBiological?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCondition?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMalnourished. Weak. She may have been confined for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter looked toward Thomas.<\/p>\n
He did not meet her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else downstairs?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren\u2019s belongings. Writing. Clothing in multiple sizes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t starting tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s ending tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked back toward the basement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure we know that yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paramedics carried Lily upstairs.<\/p>\n
Emily sat wrapped in a blanket beside Officer Kelly.<\/p>\n
When she saw Lily, she stood so quickly the blanket fell away.<\/p>\n
For a second neither girl moved.<\/p>\n
Then Emily whispered, \u201cI called.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily began crying again.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily approached cautiously.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry it took so long.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily reached toward her.<\/p>\n
Their hands met.<\/p>\n
Every adult in the room became quiet.<\/p>\n
Thomas looked away.<\/p>\n
Mary followed Lily toward the ambulance.<\/p>\n
At the doors, the child pulled gently on her sleeve.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I ask something?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo I get birthdays now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily looked uncertain.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said downstairs children don\u2019t have birthdays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary took her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll have birthdays.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs many as you grow old enough to have.\u201d<\/p>\n
The faintest smile appeared.<\/p>\n
Then Lily looked back at the house.<\/p>\n
It disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was another room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBehind mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel, standing nearby, turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of room?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you show us?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t see it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaddy covered it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConcrete.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter had just stepped outside.<\/p>\n
She heard the answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did he do that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily stared at the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cA long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas someone inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
The girl\u2019s breathing quickened.<\/p>\n
Mary squeezed her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to force yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lady.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter moved closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat lady?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never saw her good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know her name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe cried.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary watched her carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLots of nights.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaddy brought the other man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily suddenly began trembling beside the second ambulance.<\/p>\n
Mary looked between the girls.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat other man?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily whispered, \u201cThe one Emily isn\u2019t supposed to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did they do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey used loud machines.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt night.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily opened her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lady stopped crying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
The ambulance engine idled behind them.<\/p>\n
Lily continued staring toward the basement windows.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter that Daddy made the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter immediately radioed the forensic team.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo demolition. Nobody touches the rear basement wall until we scan it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooks joined her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think she\u2019s describing a sealed room?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we treat it as one until evidence says otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily was placed inside the ambulance with Emily.<\/p>\n
Before the doors closed, Mary leaned in.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily looked puzzled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told us where to look.\u201d<\/p>\n
The girl glanced at Emily.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s the brave one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary answered quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing scared doesn\u2019t mean you weren\u2019t brave.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ambulance departed.<\/p>\n
Carter walked toward the patrol vehicle where Thomas sat handcuffed.<\/p>\n
She opened the rear door.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas stared ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know about the room.\u201d<\/p>\n
His jaw moved.<\/p>\n
Carter noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re scanning the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas finally turned toward her.<\/p>\n
For the first time since his arrest, he looked tired rather than angry.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou won\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry me.\u201d<\/p>\n
His gaze shifted toward the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took care of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter felt something cold settle in her chest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many children, Thomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to Rebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
His face remained still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to Sophie?\u201d<\/p>\n
Still nothing.<\/p>\n
Carter leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to identify every child who entered that house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at her.<\/p>\n
Then he spoke in a voice so quiet she almost missed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter shut the patrol-car door.<\/p>\n
Near sunrise, specialists arrived with ground-penetrating radar.<\/p>\n
The basement wall was scanned in overlapping sections.<\/p>\n
Mary and Daniel watched from several feet away while a technician studied the monitor.<\/p>\n
Then he stopped.<\/p>\n
Brooks stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
The technician ran the scan again.<\/p>\n
Same result.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a cavity behind this section.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow large?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApproximately eight feet across.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at the thick concrete.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you tell what\u2019s inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot through this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooks considered the wall.<\/p>\n
Then she gave the order.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen it carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first strike of the ram barely moved the reinforced door. Dust sifted from the ceiling. Mary heard Lily cry out from the other side. \u201cYou\u2019re okay,\u201d she called. \u201cThat … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10943"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10963,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10943\/revisions\/10963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}