Friday Evening
Harrington House
Molly arrived home in time to brush off Elise’s fussing over her and welcome the Hendersons checking in for their weekend reservation. When asked about the bandage on her forehead, she said, “A minor mishap on the stairs. Nothing to worry about.”
As soon as she could excuse herself, Molly removed the documents and the latex gloves from the cupboard, secured them safely in her apartment closet, and locked the door. Elise followed her and sent her back into the apartment to lie down with explicit instructions not to move until Elise called her for dinner.
After an early dinner, Molly retrieved the documents and summoned Elise, Kevin, and Tommy to the kitchen, where she had spread a sheet over the island and unfolded the building plans.
Tommy gave Molly a quizzical stare. “Did you find these before or after I saw you this morning in the library?”
Sheepishly, Molly said, “Sort of both. I found the secret drawer but heard you coming down the stairs before I could fully open it. So, I closed the drawer before you were at the bottom of the stairs.”
“Oh yes. I remember. You offered me a souvenir pen.”
“It’s a nice pen,” she said, smoothing the blueprints and the sketch out on the island, securing the corners with salt and pepper shakers and other kitchen items.
Tommy leaned across the island. “Hey, I’m sorry about what happened to you today. If I hadn’t left when I did, perhaps you wouldn’t have been hurt.”
“Don’t even think that. If you had delayed your departure, I might not have retrieved these documents before all hell broke loose on the terrace.” She wriggled her fingers into the latex gloves. “Since this is an old document, we should handle it carefully.”
“Good idea,” Tommy said.
“I need some gloves, too,” Kevin said.
Elise opened a drawer and placed a box on the counter. “Here you go.”
Kevin pulled on the gloves. “The plans are dated 1921, but there’s been updates since then.”
“There’s no electrical on these plans,” noted Tommy. “You have electricity in there, correct?”
“Yes,” Kevin said. “But that was done well before we lived here. I haven’t rewired anything out on the porch.”
“These were not professionally drawn like your other blueprints,” Tommy said. “No title block on the drawings, and then there’s this additional rough sketch.”
Molly tapped the document with her forefinger. “Perhaps an architect did this off book. After all, it was supposed to be a secret room.”
Kevin shrugged. “We’ll never know. I couldn’t find any records between the original plans dated 1906 and when we moved in, when our parents upgraded the electric and plumbing in the early 2000s.”
“Our mother insisted on air conditioning,” Molly said.
“I don’t blame her. In the summer, it gets muggy along the river.” Tommy scratched his head. “But somewhere in there, they switched from coal to oil.”
“Our grandparents did that, probably in the fifties,” Kevin said.
Elise slipped her hand into the crook of Kevin’s arm. “Isn’t that enough speculation of who did what and when?”
“Sorry,” Kevin said as he refolded the documents. “We got carried away.”
Elise laughed. “Construction geeks.”
Molly led the way into the butler’s pantry and opened the basement door. “Are you ready?” She gestured for Kevin to lead the way.
“Hell, yeah,” Tommy said with a huge grin.
“How’s your head?” Kevin asked. “Do you feel up to this? You’ve been through a lot today.”
“I’m fine,” Molly said with a wan smile. “I don’t want to put this off any longer.”
Kevin flipped on the light at the top of the stairs. “Here goes nothing.”
He descended the steps and pulled the string to the bare lightbulb at the bottom of the stairs. The dim glow bathed the room in shades of gray and pale yellow. Tommy gestured for Molly and Elise to precede him down the stairs. The furniture Molly had moved into the center of the room earlier in the day cast dark, angular shadows on the opposite wall.
Tommy stood in the corner where the furniture had originally been stored—his arms wide. “This is where the summer porch is connected to the dining room. There’s no basement under that addition, right?”
Kevin turned on the light over his workbench and deposited the folded plans. “The porch is on a slab.”
Molly crossed the room. “This is where the coal bin was,” she said, pointing to the rectangular metal plate that had sealed the opening shut. “You can see where the chute used to be.”
“We saw that from the outside,” Elise said. “It’s next to the porch, behind the bushes.”
Tommy removed his gloves and ran his hands over the concrete wall. “There would’ve been a door or some kind of entrance somewhere around here. Otherwise, the room would be full of coal dust. My grandparents had a coal furnace, and it was super sooty.”
“That’s true. According to this, the secret room should be along that wall,” Kevin said. “They would have built it out as part of the summer porch and hidden it behind the coal bin. If I remember correctly, when I was a kid, the area where you’re standing was walled off. I remember an oil furnace in there and a big oil tank outside.”
“I remember,” Molly said. “They tore that out when our parents installed the new heating and air conditioning system.”
“The only way we’ll ever find out,” Kevin said, “is to tear out this wall.”
“The whole wall?” Molly said. “No way. There will be no more demolition.”
Tommy peered at the wall, hands on his hips and nodding his head. “I have an idea. Let’s drill a hole and shine a light. Maybe we’ll see something.”
Molly crossed her arms and shook her head. “We just paid to have the basement treated for dampness.”
“But not this section,” Kevin said, “because of the porch.”
“What if you tear it down, and there’s nothing behind it but dirt?” Molly asked.
Kevin placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s the only way to know for sure, and we wouldn’t have to tear the entire wall down to figure it out.”
Tommy patted the wall. “So that’s it?”
“Yes,” Molly said. “Don’t even think about taking a sledgehammer or a drill to that wall.”
“Why did you search for the plans?” Kevin asked. “You want to leave the possibility of a secret room hanging? Why the change of heart?”
“Maybe I’m a little scared of what we’ll find.” Molly put her hands on her hips. “Let’s say we investigated, and although the plans show our great-grandfather may have contemplated building the secret room, we’ve found no evidence of its existence. That’s our story.”
“What if there’s a dead body or a stack of money?” Kevin asked. “We could use the money.”
“Or one-hundred-year-old moonshine,” added Tommy. “That could be worth lots of money.”
Elise chuckled. “Hundred-year-old rotgut will only yield a super bad hangover.”
“What if we drill the holes high on the wall and see if we hit dead air?” Kevin said. “Then I’d seal them right back up until we figure out something else.”
Molly stopped and looked at her brother, her eyes softening. “Can you do that?”
“Yes, I think so.”
Kevin went to the workbench and retrieved his electric drill. He opened the box of drill bits and selected the one he wanted.
“I need more light,” he said. “Bring those old lamps you have stored over there and put them on the table.”
While Elise and Molly gathered the shadeless lamps from the storage area on the opposite side of the basement, Tommy removed the chairs that Molly had stacked earlier that morning.
Carrying a lamp in each hand, Elise remarked, “Want to use one of these to replace the lamp that Lauren shot? We’ll need to get a new shade, of course.”
“Perhaps. I liked that lamp. Why’d she have to shoot that one?”
“I doubt if she was aiming specifically at the lamp,” Elise said.
“She was aiming at me.” Molly shivered, realizing how close the bullet had come to hitting her.
They set the lamps on the table, and Kevin tossed Tommy an extension cord that he connected to the lamps. When all but two lights didn’t come on, Molly said, “I’ll get some replacements from upstairs.”
“Wait, I’ll get them,” Elise said.
“I’m fine,” Molly said over her shoulder before climbing the stairs and rushing through the kitchen to the supply closet. She twisted at the sound of the front door opening, and a wave of dizziness washed over her. Sinking to the floor, she held tight to the box of lightbulbs, hoping not to break them.
She heard people talking and assumed her guests were coming in from dinner, but then she heard a familiar voice.
“Molly?” It was Tony.
“In here,” she called as she tried to stand.
“Molly, what are you doing on the floor?” He took the lightbulbs and helped her up. “Are you hurt? You’re so pale.”
“I got a little dizzy. The doctor said I might have some dizziness.” She held onto his arm.
“You should rest. Where are Kevin and Elise? They’re supposed to be taking care of you.”
“They’re here,” Molly said. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to check on you. Last I heard, you were staying overnight at the hospital. I was surprised when you were gone.”
“The doctor discharged me—with a little persuasion. And thank you for dropping by.” She looked down the hall. “Did the guests go upstairs?”
“Yes. I got here at the same time. They let me in. That’s okay, right?”
She smiled. “Yes, of course. You’re welcome anytime.”
His face broke into a wide grin, but it quickly faded into concern. “Again, where are Kevin and Elise?”
She took his hand. “Come with me.”