Chapter 8 - the recordings behind the locked door)
Noah lost track of days.
Peter tried to keep count by the meals Caleb delivered.
Morning food.
Evening food.
Sometimes only one.
The chamber had no windows.
No clock.
No natural light.
Noah's recorder became his calendar.
File eighteen began with Peter coughing.
File nineteen contained Caleb arguing with someone outside.
File twenty captured Helen saying, "Move them before Graham finds the lower corridor."
That night Caleb entered with two black bags.
Peter stood.
"Where are we going?"
Caleb looked nervous.
"Up."
"Where?"
"Old north cavity."
Peter frowned.
"That's barely ventilated."
"Temporary."
"He's a child."
Caleb grabbed Noah's arm.
Peter stepped between them.
Caleb pulled a gun.
Noah froze.
Peter raised both hands.
"Okay."
Caleb's hand trembled.
He did not look like a man who wanted to shoot anyone.
"Don't make this harder."
Peter nodded.
"You know they're going to kill you too."
Caleb's face changed.
"Shut up."
"You think Helen leaves witnesses?"
"Shut up."
Peter stepped closer.
"You moved money. You changed cameras. You helped hide a kidnapped child. What happens when this ends?"
Caleb pointed the gun at his chest.
"Move."
Peter obeyed.
They traveled through passages Noah had never seen.
Up narrow stairs.
Across a crawlspace.
Behind pipes.
Finally they entered a cavity behind the ballroom wall.
Through cracks in the paneling Noah could hear workers preparing the foundation gala.
Music.
Voices.
Glassware.
The normal world existed inches away.
Caleb chained the access door.
Before leaving, he gave Noah a bottle of water.
Noah whispered, "Why are you helping us?"
"I'm not."
"You gave me extra water."
Caleb looked toward Peter.
Then back to Noah.
"I have a son."
"Then let me go."
Caleb shut his eyes.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because they know where he goes to school."
The door closed.
Peter whispered, "Everyone is trapped by someone."
Noah pressed record.
Hours later, two people entered the corridor outside.
Helen's voice.
And another voice.
A man's.
Noah had heard it before but could not identify him.
The man was furious.
"The police opened the east passage."
Helen said, "It has been handled."
"Graham is getting too close."
"Then we move the boy tonight."
"Where?"
"Vermont."
"What about Shaw?"
A pause.
"No."
The man understood.
"So that's where we are now?"
"We passed that point when Laura refused to cooperate."
Noah's eyes filled with tears.
Peter leaned toward the door.
The man continued.
"Marianne is unstable."
"She is sentimental."
"Same problem."
"She won't speak."
"And Reed?"
Helen paused.
"Jonah is more dangerous."
The man lowered his voice.
"Then remove him."
Noah accidentally gasped.
Silence outside.
Peter grabbed him.
Footsteps approached the door.
The handle moved.
Locked.
Helen spoke quietly.
"Did you hear something?"
The man answered.
"Probably Shaw."
They walked away.
Noah began shaking.
Peter crouched beside him.
"You're doing good."
"They're going to kill you."
Peter's expression softened.
"Maybe."
"No."
"Noah."
"No."
Peter placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Listen to me. If we get one chance, you run. Don't come back for me."
"I'm not leaving you."
"Yes, you are."
Noah cried quietly.
Peter waited.
Then Noah wiped his face.
"My dad will find us."
"I believe that."
"You don't."
Peter smiled sadly.
"I believe your father will tear this house apart with his bare hands if that's what it takes."
Above them, music began in the ballroom.
The gala rehearsal.
Noah looked toward the wall.
Then he noticed something.
The wooden framing near the floor was damaged.
Old plaster crumbled around one section.
He crawled closer.
There was a tiny gap.
Through it he could see red carpet.
The public hallway.
Noah pushed one finger through.
Plaster fell.
Peter stared.
"Again."
Noah pushed harder.
A larger piece cracked.
Someone walked past outside.
They stopped.
Noah froze.
A shadow appeared beneath the gap.
Then the person moved on.
Peter whispered, "That's our way out."
They spent the next several hours loosening the plaster from inside.
But the wall was thicker than expected.
They needed someone outside to hear them.
Noah remembered the knocking.
Three times.
Pause.
Two.
He picked up a short piece of wood.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Pause.
Knock.
May you like
Knock.
Somewhere beyond the wall, footsteps stopped.
