Chapter 173
"Nothing," he called out.
"There's a basement." I flung open the door in the kitchen, fumbled for the light switch, and booted it downstairs, terrified I'd find Daniel's lifeless corpse.
All I found was a gurgling water tank in a half-finished basement, next to a washer and dryer, its door open. Half of the clean laundry had been dumped in a hamper, the rest still inside the machine.
Rust edged the bottom of the tank and a small yogurt container had been placed under the spout to catch the drips, except it had fallen over. I crouched down to straighten it and a flash of white under the tank caught my eye.
I pulled out a fat black felt pen.
"He's not here," Ari said from the staircase.
I held up the marker.
"Fuck." Ari smacked the wall. "Malik's got him."
"You think he's still alive?" We ran upstairs.
"I have no idea. Malik didn't take the others. He just killed them."
"What makes Daniel different? Assuming he didn't escape?"