He stepped fully into the basement light, his face pale and his eyes wide with fear.

He was shivering, though the basement was thick with humid heat.

“You shouldn’t be down here,” Carl said, keeping his voice low.

“She’s right behind me,” Derek said, his voice cracking.

“Who?” I asked, taking a step toward him.

“My mother,” Derek said.

He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

“She has Jake’s heavy wrench, and she has the main pressure key,” he said.

“Why would she have the pressure key?” Carl asked.

“She knows the building inspectors are three blocks away,” Derek said.

“She’s going to release the safety valve on the boiler.”

Carl’s face went completely still.

“If she opens that valve while the pressure is this high, the steam will ruin the whole system,” Carl said.

“It will crack the cast iron sections,” I said.

“It will do more than that,” Carl said. “It will flood the basement with boiling water and toxic steam.”

“She doesn’t care,” Derek said.

He held up his smartphone.

The screen showed a live camera feed of the front hallway.