~3.15~

“Oh, God… does she have a cat or something?” Stephen asked once inside the cluttered single room and exposed to the full effect of the atmosphere within.

“She has a fish,” Michael said.

“How does that explain the smell of pee?”

“It lives in the toilet bowl,” Michael said. He walked over to the toilet and lifted up the lid.

“Seriously, are you writing a book?” Stephen asked.

“Seriously, something like that,” Michael said. “She isn’t here.”

“Obviously,” Stephen said, looking around. The floor was littered with books, magazines, and papers, and pieces from jigsaw puzzles. “There’s not exactly a lot of places to hide.”

“No, what I mean is, the fish is gone,” Michael said. “She hasn’t just popped out for a moment. She took him with her.”

“Or maybe you were wrong about the fish,” Stephen said.

“Come take a look,” Michael said, gesturing him over.

Stephen came and saw the colored rocks lining the bottom of the toilet, the plastic plants and the little castle.

“Damn, and I wanted to have a whiz indoors while we were here,” he said.

“I don’t think she’d notice if you did,” Michael said. “Just try to keep it off the walls.”

“Funny,” Stephen said. “Anybody ever think about getting her a litter box?”

“The question is, where did she go?” Michael asked.

“The smell’s strongest over that way,” Stephen said, pointing to a corner of the room.

“No, I mean, when she left,” Michael said. He looked around, his eyes coming to rest on a bookcase set against the wall about where the door that should have led into the hall would have been. “Hello. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yeah,” Stephen said. “If we move that out of the way, we won’t have to break our necks climbing down the fire escape.”

Michael went over to the bookcase and began examining the books.

“What, are you looking to replenish your stock?” Stephen asked.

“No,” Michael said. “I’m looking for the trigger.”