She ran out and gingerly picked it up, arm extended from her body as though a wave of insects might come scuttling out from underneath. There was nothing she could see. No scuttling movements. But now her heart was jumping, and she felt utterly vulnerable. Naked with bare feet: what was she thinking? But she had to go and check the hall too, in case Bronson had missed any horrors lurking near the front door.
Tiptoeing over the damp carpet, she crept forward. This was like being in a horror movie, and she was the soon-to-be-victim creeping around the serial killer's house, knowing he was somewhere inside. The hall was much darker than the living room, and she had to steel herself to get close enough to peek around the living room door. But there was nothing there either. No bugs or rats. Had Patrick not been able to get any after all?
"Looking for something?" Bronson's voice came from right behind her.
She let out a shriek of surprise and whirled to face him. Her heart was beating hard.
"Bronson-" She broke off, staring at what he held.
"Look what I found." He held up a large white-and-brown rat, one hand cradling its body while the other supported its rear. It seemed happy enough to be held, though its nose twitched and it looked curiously around.
"Cute little guy," said Bronson. "There are two more in the kitchen. Not sure how somebody's pet rats got in here though." He raised his eyebrows at her. "Do you have any idea?"
Lacey swallowed. Patrick must have had difficulty capturing wild rats, because this one had clearly come from a pet store. "Um." She could feel her face turning red. "It's a mystery."
"I'm guessing this was what the noise at the door was about? You thought some rats running around might make me move out?"
"They weren't supposed to be pets." She gave up all pretense. "And there should be cockroaches too. Only I can't see any of those, so maybe the pest control guy couldn't get them either. If you see any lady bugs or walking stick insects wandering around instead, we'll know where they came from."
He laughed. "Well, it was a good try. Now we'd better find a box for them, and something for them to eat. They can go back to the pet store in the morning."
Lacey sighed. "I'll put some clothes on, and borrow Crystal's dog carrier."
"Or we could put them in the fish tank with your invisible turtle."
"What are you talking about? Myrtle's not invisible." Shaking her head, she went into the bathroom to wash. Then she dressed, and managed to avoid having to explain everything to Crystal, only because her neighbor was about to get into bed. By the time the rats were collected and settled in the dog carrier with an old towel and some food and water, she was almost ready to see the funny side. If it weren't for the fact that she was going to lose her home because all her plans had failed so dismally, the whole rat debacle might even raise a chuckle.
Bronson eyed her over the rat cage, then pulled her into his arms to kiss her. "What's next?" he asked. "Are you planning to bring in bed bugs?"
"That would have been a good idea, if I'd thought of it."
"How about spiders?"
She shuddered. "I don't mind rats, but spiders have way too many legs. I'd have to move out."
"Not spiders then." His arms tightened around her. "Any other ideas to get me out?"
"Not yet." She chewed her lip. Surely there had to be something that would spook him. "What if I scattered some dead bodies around? Would that make you run for the door?"
"Depends who you kill." He put one finger under her chin and tilted her face up to his. "I'm enjoying myself too much to leave, Lacey. Being here with you has been far more fun than I could have imagined."
Her stomach suddenly felt all fluttery. The way he was looking at her made her bones melt. "It's not supposed to be fun." It came out a little hoarse.
"So far I've liked every minute, rats and all."
"Don't get too comfortable. There's only one way for this week together to end, and that's badly. One of us is going to lose, and it can't be me." She swallowed, her stomach churning. "Sleeping together was a mistake. It's going to make things more complicated."
"No, it won't." His hand went to her cheek and he stroked back her curls, tucking them behind her ear. "We're adults who have our eyes wide open. We both know what's going to happen, and we won't kid ourselves that what's happened between us will make any difference. I like you, Lace, but at the end of the week, I'm still going to pull the Baxter down and go back to my life."
"Renovate the Baxter and go back to your life," she corrected. But that didn't make her feel any better. It was the ‘go back to your life' part that was making her stomach go funny. The thought of him walking out of here forever.
Gazing into his eyes, her heart was beating too fast. She was starting to think she'd made a worse mistake than she'd realized. What if at the end of the week, she didn't want to let him go at all?
Fifteen
The next day, Bronson found himself in Crystal's apartment, helping her unhook her hanging decorations and take her photos off the wall. She'd all but dragged him over, but now he was enjoying himself. Of course, he had more than enough of his own work piled up. Lots of documents to read and figures to review. But still, he found himself whistling as he wrestled with ancient hooks that had rusted into place years ago.
"You sound happy." Crystal wiped dust off one of the photos he'd managed to work free from its rusty fastenings.
"I suppose I am." His mind went back to his night with Lacey. They'd made love so many times he wouldn't have thought he'd be able to do it again. But this morning, he'd proven that belief wrong. Lacey had finally left the apartment late for an appointment, but with a light step and a contented smile on her face.
"She's a peach, isn't she?" Crystal wrapped the photo and tucked it into one of her moving boxes. "I'm going to miss that girl so much, you have no idea."
"She'll miss you too."
Crystal put a candle into the box. "We can still see each other, but it won't be the same as having her next door." She shot him a sideways look. "Good luck getting her out of here, by the way. Day the wrecking ball comes, before they start swinging you'd better check she hasn't barricaded herself inside."
"Surely once everyone else has moved out, there'll be no reason for her to stay on."
Wolf let out a bark as though to disagree, and Crystal shook her head. "Wishful thinking, I'm afraid. Lacey's been on plenty of protest marches, and she knows how to stand up for herself. When she's got an idea in her head, she won't let anything stop her."
Bronson reached up to unfasten another picture from the wall, and flakes of rust floated down with it. It had to have been damp in here for years for the metal hooks to have deteriorated so badly. It was a miracle all the tenants weren't long-dead from pneumonia.
"Look," said Crystal. She'd wandered over to the window, and he put the picture down to move beside her. "Saturday morning," she said. "See everyone going to the Glebe Market?"
Sure enough, there was a stream of people headed toward the other end of Glebe Point Road. Families, teenagers, and older people alike. Though it was still cold, the sun was out and some of the teens were in T-shirts.
"I'm going to miss it," Crystal said. "Best market in Sydney by far. Have you been?"
"Never."
"The music starts at twelve. Lacey can show you around. She's been going since before she could walk, and everyone knows her."
The last thing he'd ever thought of doing was going to a Saturday market to hunt through boxes of musty old books or chipped trinkets. But watching a group of twenty-somethings talking companionably as they ambled toward it made him wonder if he might actually be missing out on something. At this time on a Saturday morning, he was usually tired from a long night at his club, and easing into the day's work. The people below him looked like they were having a lot more fun. He could picture Lacey walking along with them, laughing and calling out to all the people she knew.
Around here, it was very different to where he lived in Vaucluse. His apartment looked out over the water, but this view of the bustling street was growing on him. Glebe did have a kind of charm.
His phone rang, and he stepped away from the window to answer the call. It was Carla.
"I wanted to let you know that the payment to the demolition team went out last night," she said. "They've confirmed the Baxter will come down at the end of the month."
"Good."
"Are you sure you're going to win this bet? It's non refundable if you have to cancel. And losing that much money would really sting."