I packed the big suitcase first.

But the top latch simply would not close over the final row of bags, so I tucked those few extra ones under the mattress, thinking I would pop back today to collect them.

I never dreamed you would strip the bed so fast.

And there it was, the entire sinister mystery, resolved into the most mundane logistics imaginable: a suitcase latch that would not close over one row too many.

That was the whole reason a portion of the terrifying stash had been left hidden beneath my mattress rather than packed away in the car.