Chapter 7 - The Hidden Door
I stared at the live feed from the tactical team's helmet cameras on the monitor.
They were tearing the garage apart, moving heavy toolboxes and sweeping for hollow floors.
Nothing.
Then, I remembered something Lily had said back at the hospital.
"He put her in the dark room under the garage."
Not the basement.
The dark room under the garage.
"Wait," I grabbed the radio microphone. "Look at the drainage grate in the center of the garage floor."
The camera panned down to a heavy, cast-iron grate used for draining motor oil.
"It's bolted down," the SWAT officer replied.
"Unbolt it," I urged. "Greg is a mechanic; he would build a mechanic's pit and hide a door down there."
The sound of power tools echoed through the audio feed as they removed the bolts.
They lifted the heavy grate, revealing a dark, concrete pit beneath the floor.
"I have a secondary steel door down here," the officer called out. "It's locked from the outside with a heavy padlock."
They brought in the bolt cutters.
A loud snap echoed through the speakers.
The heavy steel door groaned open.
"Police! Announce yourself!" the officers shouted into the darkness.
May you like
There was only a weak, muffled whimper in response.
My heart stopped beating as I waited for the camera to pierce the gloom.
