“That isn’t what I asked.”

He stared at me.

Behind us, Mrs. Harper suddenly dropped the stack of towels she was carrying.

I turned.

She was staring at the vent.

And the fear on her face told me someone in that mansion knew exactly what I had just noticed.

The Secret Beneath the Vent

She was staring at the vent.

And the fear on her face told me someone in that mansion knew exactly what I had just noticed.

“Mrs. Harper?” I said.

She bent quickly to collect the towels.

“I’m sorry.”

“You dropped them.”

“I know.”

Her hands were shaking.

Vincent noticed it too.

“What is it?”

“Nothing, Mr. Moretti.”

“That didn’t look like nothing.”

Mrs. Harper swallowed.

“I just remembered something I need to do downstairs.”

She hurried away.

I watched her disappear around the corner.

Then I looked at Vincent.

“Has she always been nervous around the boys’ rooms?”

“No.”

“Has anything changed recently?”

He hesitated.

“Why?”

“Because she reacted to that vent before you did.”

Vincent looked at the ventilation grate.

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then a child’s voice came from behind the door.

“Dad?”