Your eyes fixate on the doorknob. It seemed like Dennis did not want you to go down there. Perhaps you misread him and he was just trying to help you find the restroom. You lift your hand to grab the brass knob, pausing with you fingers hovering over it, reluctant to actually touch it. WHAM! Another thud breaks the silence and jerks you out of your daze. Michelle is standing at the end of the hallway, frantically motioning you to join her. You steal one more glance at the basement door and begin down the hallway.
The house is silent once again and both of you are afraid to break it. She stands nervously in the center of the room, chewing on a fingernail and watching the stairs. You begin inspecting the living room. On the fireplace mantle, there are photographs of a family. The Meinheits? There are two small children, a mother and a father who is not Dennis. Looking around the room, you see similar pictures on the walls and tables. By the door, you find a small table with mail stacked on it. You glance at the top piece; it is addressed to Richard Meinheit. You look around you before picking the stack up and begin thumbing through it; all of the mail is addressed to either Richard or Diana. You place the mail back and step toward the adjoining room.
The living room light barely reaches this other room. You scan the walls for a light switch but cannot find one. Taking small precautionary steps, you enter the room. You bump into something waist high. There are four sides to it and the center is open. Reaching down, you feel one of the sides and find it is mesh. You follow the side down to the inside bottom and feel a blanket. Your fingers bump into something that rattles and you realize it is a playpen. You check a few more objects, touching a rubber toy and a doll that feels rather cold considering the temperature of the house.
You retract your hand and reach into your pocket for your lighter, realizing it is stowed away in your cigarette pack in the car. You leave the playpen and walk back into the living room. Michelle has a watch and you ask her what time it is. She whispers that it is just after midnight and Dennis has been upstairs for at least 20 minutes. You stand next to her, bored. You could easily have checked out the basement or gone outside to get your cigarettes by now. Instead, you have wasted 15 minutes, not including the five in the bathroom, wandering between two rooms that provide no clues. Your gut still tells you something is not right, but you have not figured it out. Now you are afraid there will not be enough time to check the basement. You could always go outside to retrieve your cigarettes and do something about the car.
If you check out the basement, turn to page 31.
If you tell Michelle to cover for you and proceed outside, turn to page 29.
