Of course, the dames Marlowe slapped never reacted with a knee to the groin. When she was feeling more in control of herself and I regained my faculty of speech, I assured her that this wasn't a major problem. Most people get mice in their house at some point. Hell, in rural areas it's pretty much a given. Late fall is always the killing season.
Mice are everywhere.
No one is safe. I wasn't sure that any of this was true, but I poured Rae a stiff belt of single malt resolve and went downstairs to assess the situation. All that was missing was the chalk outline of a body. I checked out the cupboard and confirmed the recon reports. The cupboard I was inspecting was actually more like a crawl-space than anything else.