Did you call the police ?
Yes. Let's go.
The house was silent. Not a sound. The curtains were drawn. The door was locked. I inserted the key into the lock, then stopped. It would be heroic to get in.
I won't go in, I told myself.
But what if someone was downstairs?
I went to the kitchen window. I leaned over the air vent. I put my ear to it. At first, I could only hear my own breathing. Then a soft moan.
I sat up abruptly.
"He's downstairs," I whispered.
Two patrol cars arrived. They entered quickly. We heard footsteps. A door opened. Then a loud noise came from the ground floor.
Police! Answer if anyone is there!
Silence.
Two minutes felt like an eternity.
Then one of them came out.
Ivan! There's a miner. He's alive.
My legs were wobbly.
What are you doing in my cellar?
She looked at me seriously. She's hiding. And there are signs of someone having been there. We're securing the area.
I walked up to the entrance. I saw the young girl come out. Fourteen or fifteen years old. Her hair was plastered to her face. Her eyes were red. She was trembling.
"Don't bring her back," she said, her voice breaking. "Please, don't bring her back."
Who was this girl really? Who was she running from? And who was using my house as a hiding place?
I took a step forward without realizing it. I didn't understand anything, but something in his gaze tugged at my heartstrings.
"No one will take you anywhere now," the police officer said in a surprisingly gentle voice. "You are safe."
But the girl did not look at him. She stared at the back door, as if she were waiting for it to open at any moment.
"He was there," I murmured as I heard him leave.
The officers exchanged a quick glance. One headed straight for the garden. The other went to the street where the white pickup truck Dylan had mentioned was parked.
Agent Ruiz turned towards me.
"You only open this basement to yourself?"
"No. Never. It's just a storage room. Old boxes, bicycles, tools, nothing else."
"Have you lost a key recently?"
I shook my head. But I stopped. Two weeks ago, I called a plumber to fix a small leak in the kitchen. I left him alone for a while. I didn't think to keep an eye on him.
"A plumber," I said slowly, "two weeks ago."
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