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“Please?” Wallace said. “I’ll even move out completely. The apartment will be all yours until she rents it out. Think of all the parties you and Chad can have!”

Chad snorted.

“Quiet parties,” Walt added.

Jerome changed from dark to light a few times while he considered. Then he patted Walt on the head condescendingly.“Fine. No tricks.”

“Promise?” Walt said skeptically. She didn’t trust this octopus any farther than she could throw him (and that didn’t seem like it would be far).

“Promise,” Jerome said.

“And stop freaking Mrs. Third Floor out, too!” Wallace said. “She’s been over A LOT. Think of Mrs. Food!”

Jerome made a face.“Look, I’ll do what I can. But I can only be responsible for myself.”

“What do you mean?” Walt narrowed her eyes.

“I mean this.” Jerome reached out one tentacle and thumped on the wall. After a few seconds an unearthly wail drifted through the air.

“What the heck?” Wallace squeaked. “I thought there was no ghost!”

Walt groaned.“That’s the prima donna next door, isn’t it?”

Jerome nodded smugly.“So it’s not just up to me, sweetie.”

Walt lashed her tail in frustration.“Fine. If we can make her be quiet, you’re in?”

Jerome smiled.“Of course.” Then he snickered. “If you can work magic.”

Walt stalked off without looking back.“Wallace? Time for stop number two.”

“Have you seen the cat? She’s not anywhere,” Madison said, looking around the living room for Walt. She’d already been though the apartment twice, and it wasn’t that big.

“Oh shoot. Oh shoot. Oh shoot,” Butterbean muttered as she ran in circles in the living room. She did not have a plan to handle this. Walt had said to cover for her, and distraction was Butterbean’s main covering technique. But for some reason racing around the living room was not working.

Mrs. Food waited for Butterbean to race by as she made her way to the kitchen.“Oh, you know cats. She’ll show up when she’s good and ready.” She stepped over Butterbean as the dog rounded the turn.

“I guess. It’s weird that I can’t find her, though.” Madison stood thoughtfully, stepping out of the way every time Butterbean made the circuit. “Maybe I’ll look in the office again.”

“Good plan,” Mrs. Food said.

“Thank goodness,” Butterbean said, collapsing on the floor as Madison left the room.

The rats burst out in a round of applause.“Way to go, Bean!” Polo cheered.

“Those circles were awesome!” Marco said. “I almost threw up!”

“Thanks,” Butterbean said, blushing. Maybe she’d mix things up a little more next time. Figure eights would keep them on their toes.

Oscar eyed the vent nervously. He didn’t think Madison was going to give up the search. He just hoped Walt would be back in time.

Stop number two was not going well.

“You do realize you’re interrupting my valuable rehearsal time. And can I just add how rude it is to stick your head into someone’s house uninvited?”

The white cat was sitting on a pink satin pillow in the middle of her apartment. Wallace and Walt had crept along the vents until they found the floor vent leading to her living room. And, to be fair, Wallacehad stuck his head through the grate.

“Um, sorry about that,” Wallace said, ducking his head back into the vent.

The white cat sighed.“No, it’s FINE. You’ve destroyed my focus, so you might as well come in.” She stalked over to the grate and swiped at it with her paw. The grate fell down onto the carpet with a thud. “I made a few renovations when I moved in.”

Walt nodded approvingly.“I made the same renovation in our apartment.”

Wallace wrung his hands nervously. Being in between two cats was pretty much his worst nightmare, and he just wanted it to be over. He didn’t know why they were talking about decorating. He cleared his throat. “We came about your… um… singing.”

“Yeah. Cut it out,” Walt said, smiling a tight smile. “Please.”

“Walt!” Wallace squealed. He’d been wrong about his worst nightmare. Being between two angry cats was much worse than being between just regular cats. He wished they’d go back to talking about the decorating stuff.

Walt sighed and then bowed her head a little.“Please,” she said again. “At least for the next few days. We’ve got some visitors coming by next door tomorrow, and well, let’s just say they won’t appreciate your talents.”

“They’re not music lovers, I take it?” the white cat said.

“Those guys? Hardly,” Walt smirked. “What do you think, Wallace? Are they music lovers?”

“N-no?” Wallace wished he could just go home. He didn’t know why Walt was questioning him.

“No. They’re eliminators,” Walt said. “So if you could just—”

“If you don’t mind,” the white cat said, examining one paw. “I don’t have time to listen to you talk about your social schedule. As it happens, I’m fully booked for tomorrow, so I wouldn’t serenade your guests even if they begged me.” She waved a paw at them. “You can go.”

“Um, okay.” Wallace turned abruptly and marched toward the vent. Walt put a paw on his tail and stopped him short. “Or not.”

“Look, cat, this is serious. Do you promise?” Walt looked at the white cat through narrowed eyes. “No singing?”