Page 68 of Last Girls Alive

“Yeah.”

“How do you know if those stairs are safe?”

“They’re still standing,” she said, and began to climb.

McGaven let out a sigh as he reluctantly followed.

Katie strained her eyes to be able to see the outline of the stairs. There was no handrail and the darkness was unsettling, made you feel like you were floating in a deep abyss. She used her cell phone’s flashlight application and slowly moved forward. Finally, she arrived at the top where there was a thin door with a simple piece of stained wood that turned one way to lock it and the other to unlock. When Katie opened the door, she found herself in a hallway just across from a large bedroom.

“I don’t know why I’m following you,” said McGaven with a look of relief once on the second floor.

“Because you always have your partner’s back.” She looked around at the other rooms and realized that the room across from the secret passage was separated from the rest of the other bedrooms, buffering it from noise. “This would make sense, if what Tanis Jones told us were true about Candace having sex with Keller. The other girls might not have known or heard anything.”

“So this is just a special entrance for their sexual encounters.”

“Looks like a possibility. But…”

“I know that look.”

“I’m sure there’s more to this house and the foster home than we know. We need to talk to Tanis again.”

“And pressure Shelly. Maybe talking with the DA, we can dangle early release for more information?”

Turning to McGaven, she said, “Maybe.”

“Seen enough? I don’t think there’s anything here that will blow this case wide open.”

Katie took another look around the second floor and agreed. “There’s nothing here.”

“Maybe another secret room?”

“I thought of that. I don’t think another room, but you don’t build a secret staircase unless you’ve got something to hide. Why would the Slovnicks build this? What’s the significance?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know for sure…”

“I agree we need to talk to Tanis again.”

“Let’s go.” She headed toward the regular staircase.

“What? Not back down the dizzying stairs made for little people?”

She laughed. “I still want to check out the metal storage containers before we leave.”

“I’m right behind you.”

Katie walked out the front door of the mansion and the cool air was a welcoming change from the musty house. She thought about what the secret passage might have been used for and how they managed to keep it such a secret—or did they?

“We need to see all the reports from the social services, or at least everything they have,” she said.

“I keep playing phone tag with the social worker, Jerry Weaver.”

“Maybe we need to set up an appointment? Might want to see if he can send us copies or drop them off?”

“I was going to, but wanted to actually speak to the guy and get his impression about this place.”

They jogged down the hill and over to the large metal containers. Two of the containers were secured with double locks. The third one was closed but there wasn’t a lock.