“They're having a look around for a missing person,” I told him so the cops could hear.
They split up, one cop stood in the entrance area and gazed up at the stairs, while the second cop wandered into the living room. “What’s in there?” the first cop asked, pointing to the games room door.
“The games room,” I answered, then flung the door open. “Be my guest.”
The second cop returned from the living room, took out his phone, and swiped for a number, then swiped off and poked his head into the games room where the first cop was and said, “Her phone has been switched off.”
“Interesting,” the second cop responded. “It was ringing earlier.”
I glanced at Nicolae, assuming they were referring to Adina’s phone, which he took from her.
They wandered around the ground floor, into the kitchen, second living room, and bathroom, then walked upstairs to peer into the bedrooms. They were upstairs for about ten minutes, then returned empty-handed.
There was nowhere else left to search, and as they maneuvered toward the front door to leave, Cop One asked, “Where’s your basement?”
We hesitated and tried to avoid looking at each other because it might reveal our guilt. Silence fell as the cops’ expressions grew suspicious at our lack of response. “Is access to the basement outside?” Cop Two asked, pointing to the door.
“Yes,” Nicolae was the one to cut the pressure as my nerves were going to hell in my gut. I kept trying to think of an excuse or something to deter them, but it would only seem even more suspicious. It was clear to me that they had information about the basement.
They walked outside as I mouthed, “What the fuck?” to Sickle because there was no way out of this shit, apart from saying that we misplaced the key, but they could still bust the door down. The color was draining from Sickle’s face as heat prickled the back of my neck. I considered running, and I wondered if Sickle was considering that too.
“Where’s the key?” I heard one of the cops ask loudly as he stood outside the door. “Anyone got the key?”
I looked back at Nicolae, who shrugged, surrendering to the situation, and revealed the key from his jeans’ pocket. “Got it,” he replied, approaching them and preparing to take the heat for it.
After all, it was his idea to trap her down there. We’ll get a good lawyer, the best money can buy, who will argue that it was a college prank, and Nicolae will get off with a slap on the wrist. I guarantee our mother will fight like a pitbull terrier to have her favorite son cleared.
He unlocked the locks, pushed the door, and the cops poked their heads inside. “What do you normally keep in here?” Cop Two asked.
“Motorbikes,” I heard Sickle’s unenthusiastic reply.
“Someone sleeping down here?” Cop One asked, obviously spotting the mattress.
“Nah, it’s storage,” Sickle replied as our roommates were hovering about curiously, having no idea why the police were there.
The cops disappeared inside, and I pulled Nicolae aside and whispered, “Tell them it’s a college prank.”
“She won’t go along with that story,” he whispered back.
The police reappeared, and I expected them to have Adina with them. “Alright,” Cop One said to Nicolae, “if you hear of Adina Boleyn’s whereabouts, please contact the campus police ASAP. We are concerned about her welfare and mental health.”
Nicolae was stunned, but he hid it well and closed the basement door as the police thanked him for his assistance. But as soon as their patrol car was gone, he flung the door open again and disappeared inside, while I stood at the top of the stairs.
“She’s not here,” he said, combing his fingers through his hair, distressed. Then he stalled as a realization came over him. “Who has the other key?”
