Nobody had lived in the house for years, so the water and power had long since been shut off.
Middle of the night.
I went room to room alone with a flashlight.
Floorboards, wall tiles, under the bed, behind the closet.
I tapped and knocked at everything.
Looking for any false panel or hidden compartment.
I was deep in the search when my phone suddenly rang.
It startled me. I saw it was Phyllis and picked up with a low hello.
"Theo, where did you go?"
"It's too hot, I couldn't sleep. Came out to get some air."
"You're lying. I saw the contract. The money for our big condo, you actually spent it on that run-down second-hand house?"
There was no hiding it now, so I admitted it. "Yeah. Babe, listen to me, this house—"
"Theo, is your brain waterlogged or what?"
"My parents put up all that money."
"And you buy me a second-hand house for our wedding home?"
"How am I supposed to face the girls?"
"I really can't do this with you anymore."
"First thing tomorrow I'm going to the hospital to abort it."
"We're completely done!"
Before I could explain,
Phyllis hung up.
I almost called back to explain.
Then I thought better of it and let it go.
Nothing I said would matter right now.
Once I found the money hidden in this house,
she'd forgive me.
So I threw myself back into the search.
About ten minutes in,
that child's voice came to me again.
"Check the bathroom, mister."
I froze for a second.
"Who are you?"
No answer.
"I already searched the bathroom. Are you messing with me on purpose?"
Still nothing.
Nothing for it. I made myself go back to the bathroom.
Aside from the washbasin and a yellowed, stinking squat toilet,
there was hardly anything of value in there.
I went over the floor and the walls all around again, carefully.
Solid, all of it.
Fast.
I lost my patience.
"Damn it, you really are just messing with me?"
Just as I was about to leave the bathroom,
a faint, barely noticeable cold draft slid past overhead.
The vent had been broken for ages.
So where was this air coming from?
I looked up, puzzled.
And my eyes lit up in an instant.
Could it be...
Was there something in the exhaust vent?
I hurried to grab a chair and pried off the vent cover.
Then I shone the flashlight and stuck my head inside.
But apart from an even thicker stench,
there was nothing.
Just as disappointment settled in, my phone accidentally knocked against the tile beside me.
Thud!
A crisp, hollow sound rang out.
