Chapter Four

Hugging a tenant was certainly not in the How To Be a Landlord manual, if there was any such thing. But he'd been so bereft, how could I not? When I rented the unit to Lane, he'd been very worried about having a pet. And now that he had her, Cat-terine was family to him. He'd found nearly a half dozen apartments in his price range that either had a no-pet policy or charged such a large additional monthly fee—and hefty extra deposit as well. He'd confided that he didn't know if he'd ever find a new home where he could have a fur baby.

It didn't help that the reason he'd moved was a new job, making him coming into this place without any knowledge of the various neighborhoods and which landlords to watch out for. Rent control was not a thing in our area, and some people took advantage of that fact. I told him that Gramps often said he'd had to clean up a lot of messes made by people and by very well-cared-for animals. He had not charged anything extra to those with a pet or two, and neither did I.

I hadn't seen much of him since he moved in, nothing more than a wave or hello in the hallway, but once or twice I had passed him with Cat-terine in a backpack with a clear panel so she could see out. Adorable—both of them!

"It's going to be okay." I patted his back gently, knowing I should step away but not wanting to. Not while his shoulders were still shaking with suppressed sobs. "We'll find her. I promise. She can't have gone far."

He tipped his face up to me, eyes glossy. "I've looked everywhere. She must have gotten out of the building and probably someone picked her up. Or maybe she got hurt."

"No." I brushed a single tear that fought its way free to trail down his cheek. "She's here somewhere. So the door was never left open, correct?"

"Y-yes." He nodded. "But she must have found a way because I looked everywhere."

"Windows?"

"Open, some of them. But the screens are still in place."

"Good." I stepped back and fished in my pocket for the old-fashioned handkerchief I carried with me. A Gramp's thing. "It's clean." I held it up to his nose. "Blow."

He did, with a honk, then moved farther away, covering his face with a hand. "I can't believe I did that. Is that a real hankie? Like in the movies?"

"That's what they're for." I shrugged. "My gramps said that gentlemen carry them and they are good for the environment. He hated piling the landfills with disposable everything. Also, if you have a cold, a soft cotton hankie is way easier on your nose."

"You would make a great salesman for handkerchiefs." His smile was wobbly but there. "Do you really think we'll find Cat-terine?"

"I do." Turning him in the direction of his unit, I gave him a small push. "We will begin at your place and expand our search if needed."

He didn't reply, but neither did he disagree, leading the way down the hallway. "I can't think of anywhere I didn't look."

"Then we'll have to retrace your steps. After all, Cat-terine is a moving creature. For all we know, she was following you the whole time." I waited while he opened his door and then followed him in. "Show me where she would normally be at this time of day?"

"When I get home, she is always waiting for me right here inside the door or on her favorite towel. Nowhere else." He pointed to a spot on the floor. "But today she wasn't there." He walked into the living room. "So I thought maybe she was sleeping in her basket by the couch or over here by the chair." He led me from place to place, explaining how she liked to be at each one various times of the day. "But I checked all her spots. And now you've seen them all, too." He held his hands up in the air. "No Cat-terine. We need to go look outside." He turned toward the door to the hallway.

"Wait a minute." I had an idea.

Lane faced me again, his cheeks still marked by a tear or two, but he was ready to launch out the door. "Aren't you coming with me?"

"No. I think we need to look here again, but this time without going for just the places you expect to find her. For example, did you check the bathroom? Behind the shower curtain in the tub maybe?"

"No!" He darted off down the hall but soon returned. "She wasn't there."

"It's just a start. Let's each take a room and we'll search all the unlikely places instead of the likely ones."

"Like closets and under the sink…I didn't look there!" He pivoted, but I reached out and took his arm.

"Wait. How about you take the bathroom and bedroom and I'll take the kitchen and living room? Just so we have our assignments."

His eyes held a light of hope that I prayed I wasn't wrong to put there. "Yes, sir!" He saluted, and I shook my head, lips quirking as he returned to the bathroom. "She's definitely not here. Bedroom next."

I looked under the sofa and behind the low bookshelf, anywhere I could think of while the sounds of drawers thumping closed and items landing on the floor emerged from the bedroom. When I'd exhausted the living room, I stepped into the kitchen. It was not much bigger than a kitchenette but did have a small table and chairs at one end. I opened every cabinet and even the oven, although I couldn't imagine how she'd have gotten in any of them. Each was firmly closed. Standing by the stove, I was just about ready to agree Cat-terine had escaped when I heard it. A squeak or…

"Elio, I hunted everywhere and—"

I shushed him and shook my head.

He stopped and looked around "Did—" This time, he stopped on his own, placing a finger to his lips. How even in distress did he manage to be so cute? And why was I noticing? We had, until I gave him an unprofessional hug, a perfect landlord/tenant relationship.

Another squeak and a rattle. Where was it coming from? Very close… I dropped to my hands and knees and tried to get another angle on the situation. A soft thud, and I found myself shoulder to shoulder, on all fours next to Lane. We crawled around the small space, brushing against one another while we tried to find the source of the squeak and rattle.

Mew.

"Cat-terine." Lane turned in an awkward circle. "I hear her."

As did I, and now I had identified the location where the sound came from. "Stop."

"But she…"

"Is behind the stove." I could see the tip of a tail flicking in cat annoyance through the narrow gap between the stove and the cabinetry. "Any idea how she got there?"

"None." He sounded as mystified as I felt. "How will we get her out? She's scared."

I didn't ask how he knew that, and I hoped he was wrong. But in any case, we had to get her out. And that wasn't too hard. Moving the stove forward a few inches gave Cat-terine enough room to leap up onto the counter. But she was filthy!

"Oh no! Catch her." Lane raced after his greasy cat while I surveyed the area behind the stove that my between-tenants cleaning service had apparently felt no need to do anything about. Ever. Ugh.

Making a mental note to get them back out here to finish the job and to be more proactive in checking behind them, I followed Lane into the living room just in time to see him nab his pet. Now they both needed a bath.

Cat-terine enjoyed her bath about as much as any cat would—not that I had a lot of experience in cat washing. But with her owner in charge and me assisting, we finally had her fluffy and clean again. We were laughing so hard it was lucky we didn't fall in the tub along with her. Then we decided I would order us some food while Lane cleaned up and I kept an eye on Miss Cat-terine so she didn't disappear again.

When we were finally sitting on the couch with our giant burritos, sharing an order of chips and guac, it felt so comfortable to have everything running smoothly again. Lane smelled fresh and clean from his shower, Cat-terine snoozed in her mushroom bed, and I knew I needed to leave as soon as we finished eating.

But I didn't. We just talked about nothing in particular, side by side on his sofa, until Lane fell asleep, his head on my shoulder… There was nothing in that landlord manual about this, but I was pretty sure it was inappropriate to want every evening to be like this.