Chapter 21: The Answer Required

Callum photographed the dead bolt from six angles. Sau-lin was tempted to point out that it stayed dead from all of them. He added a scale marker under the keeper and took a seventh photograph. The cellar smelled of wet brick and old fire. His work light stood on the floor between them, casting the bricked shaft and its hidden iron box into sharp relief. Beyond the temporary barrier, the node under the light well pressed cold into the room. Callum recorded the final measurements in his notebook. His handwriting had deteriorated from precise block capitals to a slant that would have embarrassed a pharmacist. "Are you finished?" Sau-lin asked. "Here." He capped his pen. She stood on the stairs while he packed the brass brush, folding rule, probe, camera, and chalk. He returned each tool to its proper loop, although the probe required three attempts. When he fastened the…