Chapter 13
The air in the basement had gone stale and cold. Teresa had her arm around me and my face was still pressed against the scratchy white cotton of her apron. I could hear Dad's fist hitting the door upstairs, and then I heard another sound underneath it, the ding-dong of the front doorbell that rang right through the house. Dad's pounding stopped.
I held my breath.
Teresa shifted and pulled me a little tighter. Her hand was on the back of my head, covering my ear like she could keep the next part out.
We could hear everything through the wooden door. Dad's shoes on the marble. Melanie's voice, quick and high.
"Thank God you're here," she said. I knew that voice. It was her gala voice, the one she used when someone important was watching.
Then a new man's voice, low and even. "Sheriff Dalton. County. Got a call about a locked interior door with a child inside?"
Teresa's fingers tensed in my hair.
I heard Dad say, "In here. She's in here with our housekeeper. This door's locked from the outside." His voice cracked on the last word.
Footsteps came down the hall toward us. Three sets. Melanie's heels clicking fast, like she was trying to get in front.
The sheriff stopped right on the other side of the brass plate. I stared at that plate. The light from the other side made a thin line all around the edge of the door. I could see his shadow block it.
He knocked once, not pounding, just one firm rap with his knuckle. "Sheriff's department. Anyone inside, can you hear me?"
Teresa answered before I could. "Yes. Teresa Alvarez and Claire. We're here. We're okay."
"Claire?" the sheriff said. "You okay in there, honey?"
My throat was stuck. Teresa rubbed my back and whispered, "You can answer."
I tried. "I'm here," I said. My voice came out smaller than I wanted. "Dad?"
"I'm right here, baby," Dad said through the door. His hand hit the wood again, flat this time. "I'm right here."
Melanie cut in. The sheriff hadn't even moved. "Sheriff, I'm Melanie. This is my home. This is a discipline matter that got out of hand. Claire was acting out, she was being a problem, and I told her to go to her room to calm down. The housekeeper followed her. The door sticks. It must have latched."
I felt Teresa go completely still. Her chest stopped moving for a second.
The sheriff didn't answer Melanie right away. I heard his hand touch the brass hardware. The handle jiggled. It made a dull metal rattle.
"Ma'am, does this door lock from the outside?" he asked.
Melanie answered too fast. "It's an old house. The hardware is old. I pulled it shut and it caught. I didn't mean—"
"Ma'am," the sheriff said. His voice stayed flat, but it got a little harder. "I'm asking if you have a key for this lock. Because I'm looking at a keyhole on this side, and I'm hearing two people on that side saying they're locked in."
Teresa leaned toward the door. "Sir, she locked it. She said we would learn our place. She has the key."
"Teresa!" Melanie snapped. "Don't—"
"Sir, I heard those voices through the wood," Dad said. "My daughter was crying. They've been in there."
The sheriff knocked again, louder. "Claire, Teresa, did either of you ask to be let out?"
"Yes," Teresa said, and her voice finally shook. "I said please. She said no."
I nodded before I remembered he couldn't see me. "Yes," I whispered. Then louder, "Yes. Please let us out."
There was a quiet pause. The thin light around the door flickered as someone moved.
"Sheriff Dalton" spoke clearly, like he wanted us to hear every word. "Ma'am, I'm going to need you to unlock this door right now. If you have the key, produce it. If this door doesn't open in the next minute, I'm going to force entry and we'll sort out how that lock got engaged after everyone is safe. Do you understand me?"
I heard Melanie's breath. Short, fast.
"I'll... I have to find it," she said. "It might be in the kitchen. Or—"
"Then find it," the sheriff said. "Now. I'll stay at this door with Mr. Deaken and the people inside until it's open. What's your name, sir?"
"Deaken," Dad said. "Claire's dad."
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"Mr. Deaken, stay right here with me," the sheriff said. "Ma'am, go get that key. Right now."
Melanie's heels didn't move. The shadow stayed over the light. I pressed my cheek harder against Teresa and listened to Melanie not moving, and the sheriff not moving either, waiting on the other side of the brass plate.
