It's the police!
Have the police finally found her?
...No, that's not right.
It shouldn't be.
If the police had discovered she was here, they wouldn't have sent just two men; these two arriving now must be on a routine search.
Look, the man leading the way looks like one of the village officials, which explains a lot.
With that in mind, Purple Summers's initial excitement quickly dissipated.
She had witnessed Cherry's methods, so she knew very well that even if these people found her trail, they might not live to report back.
Nathaniel Summers cleaned up the toys and children's picture books from the cartoon floor mat, letting Cherry move the mat aside to reveal the metal movable panel underneath—tied with a rope, it opened to reveal an underground entrance.
Purple Summers saw half a ladder.
She looked on in surprise.
