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Daniel Moore moved into a small third-floor apartment in an old city building on Mercer Street. On his first day there, he arrived with boxes and a rented van, carrying his things inside and starting a new life in the building.
The next morning, he found a small brass key outside his door. A note was tied to it. It said, 'Apartment 7. Before Friday. Don't tell anyone.'
Daniel checked the plaque in the hallway and the paper directory by the stairs. The building listed only apartments 1 through 6, with no sign of a seventh apartment anywhere.
He tried the brass key on his own lock, then on the mailboxes. It fit neither place, so the key still had no clear use.
Daniel took the key to the front desk and showed it to Ellis Carter, the elderly doorman. When Ellis saw it, his face went pale.
Ellis held out his hand and asked Daniel to give him the key. He said it might be a bad joke and told Daniel not to make trouble.
Daniel could see that Ellis was frightened, not just annoyed. The old man kept watching Daniel's hands and the note as if he feared what Daniel might do next.
Daniel asked Mrs. Patel about Apartment 7. She told him there was no Apartment 7 now, but old plans had once shown a basement service room with that number.
Mrs. Patel also said that a tenant named Lena Carter had disappeared from the building years ago. The disappearance came after Lena complained about the owner and after a police visit.
She said Ellis and Lena used to talk often. After Lena vanished, Ellis stopped talking about her at all.
Daniel searched archived city property records on his laptop. In the records, he found an old floor plan that showed a locked basement room marked 7.
He also found a later renovation plan that kept the basement room off the public list. The records suggested the room was sealed, but not removed.
The Friday on the note matched the day a cleanup crew was scheduled for the building. Daniel understood that the note was tied to something that was about to happen very soon.
He went back to the lobby and asked Ellis again about Lena Carter. Ellis refused to answer and told Daniel to leave old names alone.
When Daniel mentioned the note, he noticed Ellis glance toward the basement stairwell. That made Daniel sure that Ellis knew more than he was saying.
Daniel decided to look for the hidden room before Friday. He kept the brass key instead of giving it back.