Two floors up, Kitty’s parents lay side by side in bed. Dad was snoring. Perhaps it was this which woke Mum, but it felt like the twentieth time she’d woken that night.
‘Peter.’
Dad made various noises which sounded like a pig trying to get comfortable in its straw.
‘Peter.’
He mumbled, then said, ‘Bad dream?’
‘Peter.’
Suddenly he sat up, in a panic. ‘Burglars? Fire? Flood?’
‘It’s those sticky-traps.’
‘I don’t think I picked up the sticky-trap under the dresser,’ she said.
‘You probably did.’
‘But I’m not sure.’
‘Go down and check if you’re so worried.’
‘I don’t want to.’
‘Why not?’
‘’Cause if Chum… if Chum has got caught in it… You don’t think she has, do you?’
‘How can I know whether the hamster has got caught in a mousetrap?’
‘Go and look. Please.’
‘What if she has? What if the hamster is caught in this – this sticky-trap. Can we get her out of it?’
Mum was silent.
‘I could take her to the vet in the morning, I suppose.’ He groaned again. ‘But I’ve got so much work tomorrow and – what time is it?’
‘Twenty to three.’
‘Can’t we wait until morning?’ he asked. ‘Or should I say – until a bit later this morning.’
‘We can’t let Kitty see,’ said his wife. ‘If Chum’s stuck in the trap, we’ll have to… you’ll have to…’
‘I’ve said – I’ll take her to the vet.’
‘Peter, a vet won’t be any good. You haven’t looked at those traps. They are designed to catch extremely lively rodents. They’ll put their feet on them and never get them off. Never. If Chum’s walked on the trap, she’ll just be stuck on it. She’ll never escape from it. You understand what I’m saying.’
‘Please… can’t we talk about it in the morning?’
‘In front of Kitty? No. You have to go down there.’
‘What – now?’
‘Maybe not now, but before Kitty wakes up. If Chum’s stuck in the trap, you’ll have to… oh, this is awful.’
‘You’re saying I’ll have to kill Chum?’
‘You’ll have to get rid of her before Kitty wakes up. We’ll say she’s just lost, gone missing. We’ll promise her a new hamster… a dog…’
‘Why don’t you kill the hamster? You’re the one who put down the trap!’
‘Oh, Pete, don’t be mean – it’s awful. We’re all in this together.’
‘OK. In the morning, I’ll do something. OK? I’ll go down and make us all a nice cup of tea. And if I find Chum has been caught in the trap I’ll…’
‘Thanks.’ She squeezed his hand in the darkness.
About half an hour later when Mum was asleep, he asked aloud, ‘What? If I find Chum has been caught in the trap, I’ll what? I can’t squash her or drown her or flush her down the toilet… She’s family.’
And he groaned.