Chapter 22 - No Light in the Windows
"Don't run," Elias whispered. "And don't put the baby down."
His calm frightened me more than shouting would have. I could hear gravel crunching outside the cabin. "Who's out there?" I asked.
"Someone who wants what your mother found."
"She found a job," I snapped. "She said she was going to pick up her paycheck."
Elias's expression tightened. "That's what she told you?"
The handle rattled.
A man's voice called, "County Sheriff's Office. Open up."
Relief surged through me, followed by a terrible memory: the deputy who'd visited two days after Mom vanished had asked whether I knew the password to her laptop. He hadn't asked whether Milo had diapers.
"That's Deputy Crowley," I breathed.
Elias made no move toward the door. Instead, he dragged a loose plank away from the floor beside the stove. Beneath it was a square crawlspace I had never noticed.
"Your mom showed me a picture of this place," he murmured. "Get in."
"There's spiders."
"I know. I'll go first."
He lowered himself into cold darkness, then reached up for Milo. I refused to release my brother, so Elias braced one arm beneath both of us as I slid down. Above our heads, wood splintered.
"June Calder!" Crowley shouted. "We can hear the baby!"
Elias eased the plank back into place. A narrow tunnel sloped toward the woods.
Boots crossed the kitchen. Cabinets banged open. Glass shattered.
"The groceries are fresh," another voice said. "Kane got here first."
Crowley swore. "Find the girl. Harlan needs her before the hearing."
I covered Milo's ear with one hand and his mouth lightly with the edge of his blanket, leaving his nose and face clear. He made a soft, sleepy noise. Above us, someone pulled the refrigerator away from the wall.
Elias touched my shoulder and pointed toward the faint gray light ahead. We crawled through mud until the tunnel ended behind a fallen tree.
When I turned around, smoke was lifting from our kitchen window.
"They're burning it," I whispered.
Elias stood, staring at the cabin. "They're not looking for your mother anymore, June."
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A second vehicle rolled into the clearing. The man who climbed out wore a county badge and carried a red gasoline can.
"They're looking for you."
