Chapter 2: The Pit
Caleb led us to an abandoned building behind a chain-link fence, faded "No Trespassing" signs hanging crooked. The place reeked of damp earth and old trash, city traffic humming somewhere in the distance. He pointed to a churned patch of dirt near a collapsed wall. Every step felt heavier as we approached, the air thick with dread.
The officers dug into the loose soil and uncovered a foam cooler—the kind used for pizza deliveries. “Damn, just like the ones from Tony’s,” one muttered.
They pried open the lid. Lily was curled up inside, eyes wide open, mouth slack with terror. The world seemed to go silent, city noise fading to a low hum in my ears.
Natalie collapsed instantly, lurching for Caleb with a guttural cry. Two officers grabbed her arms as she screamed, “You little monster! Give her back!” Her voice was raw, the kind that stuck with you long after.
Caleb recounted the crime, his words chillingly clear. He described finding the pit at a construction site and thinking, “It was deep enough. I just wanted to see what would happen.”
He’d tried first with a stray cat, but when it escaped, he set his sights on children. “Girls are smaller, easier to fold up,” he said, eyes unfocused, as if describing a comic book.
He measured the pit with shoelaces, planned every detail. The officer taking notes swore softly, shutting his notebook with a snap.
Caleb admitted he’d lured Lily by pretending it was a game, giving her chocolate and having her lie in the box. The melted wrappers and tiny handprints made my skin crawl.
He described placing a board over her, then tiles, then dirt. “She kept struggling, so I jumped on the board until she stopped moving.”
The silence afterward was brutal. Even the police looked haunted. Natalie fainted before hearing the full story; paramedics rushed her away, shoes dragging, apron clenched in one fist.
Officers muttered among themselves, shaken. One cop, hand trembling, took a long drag from his vape behind the squad car. The horror of it all was written in every face.