Chapter 2 - The Door with the Key
Mateo carried Sofia upstairs and called his sister Elena, who lived nearby. He asked her to stay while he spoke to Vanessa, then called the pediatric clinic's after-hours line. The nurse advised him to bring Sofia in the morning and to seek immediate help if he believed she was unsafe.
"Does Uncle Rick lock you in the pantry?" Mateo asked gently.
"Sometimes. There's a hook on the outside. It gets dark, and I can't get out."
"You did the right thing telling me."
Sofia searched his face. "Vanessa says I make things up for attention."
"I believe you."
When Vanessa entered the room, she looked at Elena, then Mateo. "Why is your sister here?"
"Because Sofia told me what you've been doing."
Vanessa folded her arms. "I disciplined her. That's all."
"Locking a child in a dark pantry isn't discipline."
"I never locked her in there." She turned to Sofia and forced a smile. "Tell your father you misunderstood."
Sofia buried her face in Elena's sweater.
Mateo stepped between them. "Don't pressure her."
After Elena took Sofia to Mateo's room, he checked the pantry. A new brass hook had been screwed into the outside of the door. The metal was bright against the old wood.
From upstairs, Ricardo called, "Stop digging, Mateo. Some things are better left where they are."
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Mateo turned toward the sound. Ricardo had not denied the lock. He had warned him away from it.
That was when Mateo understood the pantry might not be the only thing in the house someone wanted to keep closed.
