Andrew returned the next morning and searched more carefully. The brass key opened a desk drawer beside Walter’s bed. Inside were receipts for canned food, bottled water, batteries, fuel, and a small generator. Several purchases were in large quantities. Andrew stared at the lists. The hidden space suddenly seemed less exciting and more troubling.
Walter had lived through years when people feared storms, shortages, and power failures. Andrew began to wonder whether the underground room was simply an emergency shelter. The ventilation pipe, steel door, batteries, and stored supplies all supported that idea. Perhaps Walter had built a bunker and never told the family because they would tease him.
Then Andrew found another envelope beneath the receipts. It contained a handwritten set of numbers. Andrew frowned. The numbers looked like a combination. He went back below and examined the steel door. Beside the keyhole was a small dial he had overlooked in the dim light. Andrew climbed upstairs, took out his phone, and called Caroline first. “I need you at the cabin tomorrow, all of you. I’ve found something,” he said.