Page 67 of Last Girls Alive

“It’s creepy in here,” said McGaven.

“You can say that again, but… don’t please.”

They reached the wooden stairs and headed up, into the house—taking each step gently in case the old wood splintered or gave way under their weight.

Katie reached the top where there was a big door; she pushed but it wouldn’t budge. She shoved harder—the same result.

“Need some help?” he said, smiling.

She pushed again, resulting in a splintering sound. “I think it’s stuck, not locked.”

“Here,” McGaven said. Stretching up to his full height, he pushed. The door budged an inch. He shoved. The door opened with such a force it slammed open and then shut again.

Pushing it open again, Katie began to move forward into the old house.

McGaven took her arm. “You packing?”

“Of course. You?”

“Yep.” He let go of her arm. “Keep alert,” he said softly.

She nodded and stepped onto the threshold which creaked and groaned beneath her feet. She stopped. Then continued into what appeared to be the kitchen.

Most of the appliances, refrigerator, and built-in shelves had been removed. There were a few open places in the floor where she could see down underneath the house. They were on the first floor where there was a living room, parlor, and a big open area that fitted the fireplace.

Katie remembered the building plans and made her way to where the stairs were located.

“What are we looking for?” McGaven asked.

“I’m not sure.” Slowly moving through the hall, making sure that there weren’t any obvious safety issues or booby traps, she saw a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. It seemed like an odd place to have one. The shelves were empty and the overall condition was better than most of the house.

Katie ran her hand along one of the shelves—it was smooth and solid. She repeated it on a different shelf with the same result.

McGaven was lagging behind.

Judging the distance between the stairs and the back of the built-in bookshelf, Katie estimated it to be three and half feet. Staying focused, she searched for anything that wasn’t supposed to be on the bookcase. A weird scratch, hole, button, lock, and then… she found a slide mechanism beneath her fingers underneath the second shelf.

“Gav,” she said. “I think I found something interesting.” She slid the apparatus which made a dull clunk followed by an echoing sound within the wall.

A breeze drifted in and instantly the smell of the outdoors lingered for a moment. It gave her a chill.

“What is that?” he said.

“I think it’s a secret…” She pulled the bookcase toward her and the entire wall moved with a loud creak. “Entrance or room,” she finished.

“Like in an old mystery novel,” he said.

“Something like that.” Looking at the staircase around the corner which was quite narrow, she said, “I think it was used for people to sneak between the first and second floors without anyone knowing.”

“But, it’s close to the stairs. Why?”

“I mean, in the middle of the night. The stairs are open and make a lot of noise when people walk up and down, but this staircase is enclosed and would be fairly quiet.” She began to go up the secret staircase.

“Wait.”

“What?”

“This house was condemned, right?”