JК
Ыоуве Been Warned :: Patterson James
Страница: 62 из 138”
Chapter 48
“DID YOU KNOW that some female cockroaches mate once and are pregnant for the rest of their lives?”
“Wow,” I say, nodding my head and feigning amazement rather than repulsion.
The guy wipes his nose on his sleeve while making some weird clicking noise in his throat that I’ve never heard any other human make. “No wonder there are so many of the little suckers, right?”
“Yeah,” I say. “No wonder.”
Of course, things could be a lot worse. This guy could be my blind date for the evening. Instead, he’s my nooner. The exterminator. On my lunch break, I meet him at my apartment. Actually, outside my apartment. There was no way I was going back in there by myself.
Anyway, he’s a fittingly creepy-looking man with thick black-rimmed glasses that magnify his eyes. He sort of reminds me of Stephen King, the pictures I’ve seen of him, anyway. Of course, pictures lie.
“Thing is, cockroaches are basically built to survive almost anything,” he says. “Did you know they can hold their breath for up to forty minutes?”
“Interesting. You are full of information, aren’t you?”
He adjusts his spray nozzle. “So, you saw them in the closet here, huh?”
I nod. Yeah, just a couple thousand of them.
“Then that’s where we’ll start.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
As he reaches for the closet door I stand back. I don’t want to look. I don’t even want to be here.
“Hmm,” he mutters, looking around. “Mmm-hmm, hmm, hmm.”
“What?”
“There’s not a single dropping on the floor.” As if correcting himself, he raises a palm. “Not that I don’t believe you, of course.”
I watch as he flicks on his flashlight, shining it against the closet walls.
“What about your neighbors?” he asks.
“What about them?”
“You all get along?” He wipes his nose on his sleeve again. “I’ve had situations where one neighbor sabotages another with cockroaches – you know, letting them loose in vents or through holes they drill. Happens more than you’d think.”
I immediately try to picture Mrs. Rosencrantz, or her Herbert, doing something so wicked. I suppose I wouldn’t put it past them.
We walk the rest of the apartment. Every nook and cranny gets sprayed and resprayed. A few times I even try to tell him that he missed a spot.
“What’s in here?” he asks at the last door down the hallway.
“That’s just my darkroom.” I open the door for him, flipping on the light.
Chapter 48
“DID YOU KNOW that some female cockroaches mate once and are pregnant for the rest of their lives?”
“Wow,” I say, nodding my head and feigning amazement rather than repulsion.
The guy wipes his nose on his sleeve while making some weird clicking noise in his throat that I’ve never heard any other human make. “No wonder there are so many of the little suckers, right?”
“Yeah,” I say. “No wonder.”
Of course, things could be a lot worse. This guy could be my blind date for the evening. Instead, he’s my nooner. The exterminator. On my lunch break, I meet him at my apartment. Actually, outside my apartment. There was no way I was going back in there by myself.
Anyway, he’s a fittingly creepy-looking man with thick black-rimmed glasses that magnify his eyes. He sort of reminds me of Stephen King, the pictures I’ve seen of him, anyway. Of course, pictures lie.
“Thing is, cockroaches are basically built to survive almost anything,” he says. “Did you know they can hold their breath for up to forty minutes?”
“Interesting. You are full of information, aren’t you?”
He adjusts his spray nozzle. “So, you saw them in the closet here, huh?”
I nod. Yeah, just a couple thousand of them.
“Then that’s where we’ll start.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
As he reaches for the closet door I stand back. I don’t want to look. I don’t even want to be here.
“Hmm,” he mutters, looking around. “Mmm-hmm, hmm, hmm.”
“What?”
“There’s not a single dropping on the floor.” As if correcting himself, he raises a palm. “Not that I don’t believe you, of course.”
I watch as he flicks on his flashlight, shining it against the closet walls.
“What about your neighbors?” he asks.
“What about them?”
“You all get along?” He wipes his nose on his sleeve again. “I’ve had situations where one neighbor sabotages another with cockroaches – you know, letting them loose in vents or through holes they drill. Happens more than you’d think.”
I immediately try to picture Mrs. Rosencrantz, or her Herbert, doing something so wicked. I suppose I wouldn’t put it past them.
We walk the rest of the apartment. Every nook and cranny gets sprayed and resprayed. A few times I even try to tell him that he missed a spot.
“What’s in here?” he asks at the last door down the hallway.
“That’s just my darkroom.” I open the door for him, flipping on the light.