Chapter 5 - The basement
Police searched the house under a warrant that evening.
I was not allowed inside.
Good.
I would have touched something.
Argued.
Ruined something.
The basement beneath Jason’s house was partly finished.
I had been there dozens of times.
Television.
Old sectional.
Toy shelves.
Laundry room.
Small utility area.
A half bathroom.
The stairs ended near a heavy door that separated the finished space from the furnace and storage section.
I had never considered it dangerous.
What I did not know was that Rachel had installed an exterior sliding latch high on the stairwell door.
She told Jason it was to keep Maya from wandering downstairs unsupervised.
That explanation made sense if the latch was used while everyone was upstairs.
The question was whether it was also used when children were downstairs.
Police found:
Two blankets on the basement couch.
A toddler cup.
Snack wrappers.
A plastic training toilet.
Leo’s school backpack.
Maya’s spare pajamas.
A night-light plugged into the wall.
None of those objects proved imprisonment.
Families use finished basements.
Then police found something more useful.
The home alarm system recorded the basement-door sensor.
Not whether a physical latch was closed.
Only whether the door opened.
On several evenings when Jason was away, the door stayed closed from early evening until morning.
Could the children have simply slept downstairs voluntarily?
Possible.
Investigators needed more.
May you like
Leo’s interview would matter.
So would Rachel’s explanation.
