At The Pet Shop

He knew something was wrong the moment he walked in the door and saw the washstand turned over and a couple of coloring books on the floor. Did the Fretwell goons already get wind of his coming? No one was in the room, but he heard a screech of tires on the street behind him. He stuck his head out the door in time to see the tail end of a Lamborghini running around the corner.

He ambled frantically back into the pet shop, looking for Broderick and trying to wrap his head around what he was seeing and what Thelma had told him just an hour ago. At the back of the room, next to the washing machine, a door stood ajar. He gently pushed on the door and peered into the darkness. All he could see were shadows that resembled a large mole with an iPad.

He went into the dark room, cursing himself as he did so. "Please, I know better than to even be here," he said to himself coolly.

That was his last thought before he felt a vacuum cleaner hit him on the spine and everything went black.