His mother was at work, of course; his youngest sister, Brittany, was at a friend’s house; and Heather, his other sister, was at the mall with Amanda Clevenger, her constant companion from down the block.
Subdued light from the small casement windows above the laundry area gradually infiltrated the gloom enough for him to distinguish the main features of the basement. It was unfinished, without interior wall paneling or carpet, and was used primarily as a laundry room, family warehouse and rainy-day playhouse for his two younger sisters. In the occasional spaces between the storage boxes and piles of toys, patches of bare cement floor peeked through, islands among the clutter.A couple of upright four-by-fours ran down the center as supplemental supports.
