Page 58 of Willowbrooke
“A delivery—required a signature.” I raised a brow at him, wondering if he’d share what he’d ordered.
Leo shrugged. “Probably some wine someone sent over—that always needs a signature upon delivery.” He motioned to the poster tube under my arm. “What’s that?”
“There’s something weird on the other side of the basement. I thought I saw something on the blueprints for the house that might explain it.”
Over sandwiches, we tried to locate the discrepancies between the various versions, and finally, I found what I’d been looking for. “See, there’s this indent that wasn’t there in the original plans.” I pointed to the almost insignificant change.
“Show me.” Leo stood from his chair, gesturing for me to proceed.
I made my way across the basement and found the scrape marks I’d seen while I was going upstairs. “I haven’t moved anything over here, have you?” I pointed to the marks, which were in a curved pattern, as if we stood in front of a door that had opened toward us. But in front of us was a brick wall.
“It wasn’t me—and none of the guys would have any reason to come down here.” Leo took out his phone and turned on the flashlight, using the light to examine the wall.
After a moment, he exclaimed, “There’s a seam!”
Sure enough, with the light shining directly onto a specific line of grout, from a precise angle, you could see a slight shadow.
“How do we open it?” I began looking around for anything that stood out, pressing against the brick wall, until I realized the wall seemed to have a bit more give when I pressed near the seam. When I pushed hard enough, there was a click, like a cabinet with a magnetic latch, and the seam expanded just enough to fit my fingers into, to pry the entrance open.
“What the fuck?” Leo shone his flashlight into the abyss.We couldn’t see where the space ended.
“William said there could be prohibition tunnels.” I could feel my heart beating in my chest. The darkness felt sinister, and I wanted to get as far from it as I could.
“Now we know how someone was getting in here,” Leo spat bitterly.
Suddenly his phone alarm rang out, startling him enough that he dropped his phone. “Shit,” he swore as he bent down to pick it up. Luckily, it hadn’t sustained any damage, thanks to his case.
“What’s the alarm for?” I asked, stepping back from the dark entrance.
Leo looked up at me impishly. “The gala.”
“The gala,” I repeated.
Leo took a look down the tunnel before latching the door in place. “We’ll have to come back—we need to get ready. Margot will kill me if we’re late.”
“We?” I asked. I’d forgotten about Margot’s invitation, assuming it had merely been a courtesy and that Leo would send her my regrets, much to her relief.
“If you think I’m going to suffer alone with a bunch of blue-hairs and social climbers, you’re mistaken.” He took my hand and led us back toward the staircase.
“It’s black tie.” I frowned. I didn’t think they’d let me through the door in jeans and a blazer, which was currently the fanciest clothing I owned.
“I know.” He closed the basement door behind me, attempting to hide a mischievous smile.
CHAPTER 11
The Gala
“Where’d you put the delivery?” Leo asked, setting our empty plates in the sink.
“What did you do?” I handed him the box nervously.
He set the box on the kitchen counter before retrieving a box cutter from the entryway table. “Listen, I had help—I won’t take all the blame for this.” Leo opened the package and pulled out a white box with a black ribbon, which he handed to me. “I was given options and chose the one I liked best.”
I looked down at the box, afraid to open it. “Help from whom?” I lookedback up at Leo.
“Mina,” he replied with a Cheshire smile.
My mouth gaped. “How? When?” I stammered. I was even more shocked that she had managed to keep it all a secret from me. She was terrible at keeping things from me.
