He purred louder. I carried him up the stairs, talking to him, reaching out to push open the door, and--
My hand hit the solid door. Okay, apparently I'd shut it when I came down. That was an old habit from living at home, where my mother would get so flustered over an open basement door, you'd think hordes of bats and spiders were preparing to launch an assault.
I reached for the handle. It turned easily. I pushed. Nothing happened. I pushed harder. Still nothing.
The door was sticking. Old houses. Swollen wood. Whatever. I put TC down, twisted the handle, and rammed my shoulder against it. Pain shot through my shoulder. The door didn't budge. I shone the light in the crack between the door and the frame, then turned the handle and watched the bolt disengage. I ran the light up and down, but there was no sign of anything else holding it closed.
"No need to panic," I told the cat, who was placidly cleaning his ears. "There's no one here, so we haven't been locked in the basement. We're just stuck. Temporarily."
He meowed and trotted back down the stairs.
"Good idea," I said. "Search for an alternate exit."
I had just reached the bottom of the steps when my phone rang. Gabriel.
"What's up?" I said as casually as I could for someone trapped in the basement of an abandoned house.
"I need information from the Meade file. You took it, correct?"
"Right. You asked me to have a look--"
"Yes, I know. But I need witness contact information from it. Are you at home?"
I looked around. "Not exactly."
"It's rather urgent. A new development in the case, and I have to check with the witness before the prosecution does. If you aren't close by, I'll need to go out to your apartment."
"I have a security system now and updated locks."
"Then I'll take the code. You can change it after."
That didn't cover the updated locks, which he presumably could still pick. Hell, I was sure he could disarm the alarm, too--he was just pretending otherwise to make me feel secure.
"I'm close to home," I said as I walked across the basement, looking for doors or large windows. "Just give me--"
The cat yowled.
"Is that TC?" Gabriel said.
"It is. I found him."
A louder yowl as the cat called my attention to something. I hurried toward him. It was a dead mouse. Lovely. He kept yowling even when I patted his head.
"He doesn't sound very happy, Olivia," Gabriel said.
"I know. He wants to get home."
A pause as the cat kept it up.
"Are you sure?" His voice lowered. "I know you miss him, but if he doesn't want to go back with you--"
"Oh, for God's sake. I never wanted a cat in the first place. Do you really think I'd be dragging him home now? Scratching and yowling?"
The cat stopped.
"Thank you," I whispered. Then to Gabriel, "Can I call you back?"
"How far are you from home?"