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They left the Professor in his laboratory, checking
some wiring. Hector sat at the workbench eating his
way through a small mountain of sandwiches that Lea
had made. She had experimented until she found something
he liked, finally settling on cheddar and slices of
tomato, with a dash of Heinz salad cream. The food was
not to her taste, and she was sure that wine accompanied
cheese better than Coca Cola, but Hector would not be
deterred.
Back at Lea's house they spent some more time searching
fruitlessly for the lost ring but soon they had to give
up. As always, the homework was piling up and they worked
in tandem to share the burden. Michael worked on a list
of French grammar questions, making two sets of answers
and carefully adding random errors to each.
Lea opened a Biology book and then set it on the desk.
"I'll be right back," she whispered. "Got
to pee."
Michael glanced at the clock and then picked up the
phone. "I ought to let Fred and Wilma know I'll
be late."
As he waited for an answer he pondered their situation.
They had four hours of homework to get through and little
more than an hour to do it all. Meanwhile they were
spending valuable time with the Professor and Hector,
neither of whom seemed to appreciate their presence.
It was easy to question the wisdom of their actions.
His father would certainly question that wisdom if he
found out what was going on, making it imperative that
he did not.
After three rings his mother answered and, even as
he told her where he was, his thoughts were with Hector.
Where had he come from? The notion that this was all
an elaborate hoax had settled in his mind and would
not go away.
Lea returned just as he hung up, flinging the door
open. "Come and look!" she called. "Bring
the light."
She had a clockwork torch just like his. He grabbed
it and followed. He found her staring into the drain
hole in the sink. "Just what are you doing?"
"Give me the light." She cranked the handle
and shone it down the drain, moving her head back and
forth. "Look. There."
Michael took her place and tried to see what had caught
her attention. "It's the ring," she explained.
"I saw something shiny down there. I think it's
the ring. Do you see it?"
"No," Michael confessed.
"You aren't looking properly."
"I'm looking, believe me." Suddenly he saw
a glint. "Hey, wait. I saw something."
"Is it the ring?"
"I don't know. Could be."
"You're the only person who uses this bathroom,
right?"
"Yes."
"We need to take that piece of pipe off."
He pointed to the U-bend. "We can do it tomorrow
after school. Don't use the sink until then. You can
use the bath instead."
"OK," she agreed. "That'll work."
She looked tired and drawn. "Relax, it'll be alright.
C'mon, let's get this homework done. We both need an
early night."
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