Every frozen container.
Soon the concrete floor around me was covered.
When the freezer was finally empty, I leaned inside.
There was a seam running around the white plastic bottom.
I pressed down.
The panel moved.
There was something beneath it.
A hidden compartment.
My heart began hammering.
I walked to Dad’s old workbench and took a flathead screwdriver from the pegboard.
Then I slid it underneath the false panel.
“Don’t.”
I spun around.
Vanessa stood at the bottom of the stairs.
She wore jeans, an oversized gray sweatshirt, and no makeup.
She looked exhausted.
Terrified.
“How did you know I was here?”
She ignored the question.
Her eyes moved from the soup containers to the screwdriver.
“Please step away from the freezer.”
“What’s underneath it?”
She swallowed.
“Something your mother asked me to protect.”
“From whom?”
Vanessa stared toward the basement window.
Then whispered,
“Your brother.”
