Two days later, Andrew drove to the cabin alone. It looked worse than he remembered. Moss covered the roof. One gutter hung loose. Inside, dust coated the shelves, and a dark stain spread across the ceiling near the stove. Andrew searched every cupboard, drawer, and storage box. He found fishing hooks, old magazines, chipped plates, and nothing that explained Walter’s strange note.
By late afternoon, Andrew was ready to leave. Then he noticed an electrical cable behind a cupboard. It disappeared through the floor. That made him stop. Walter had always said the cabin had no basement. Andrew moved the cupboard aside and followed the cable with his flashlight. It ran through a drilled hole beside the wall and vanished beneath the floorboards.
Andrew went outside and studied the foundation. The back wall dropped farther into the ground than he remembered. He measured the room inside, then checked the same distance outside. Something did not match. Back inside, he looked at Walter’s old chair beside the window. A faded rug lay beneath it. Andrew dragged the chair away and rolled the rug back. Metal appeared beneath the fabric. It was flat, dark, and fitted directly into the floorl.