"So, you got any more brilliant ideas?"

Amanda slowly put down rolled-up newspaper she was wielding and looked over at where Lee was sitting on the back of the office couch, feet resting on the cushions.

"Well, that might have worked if I'd had any help. Did you see where it went?"

"Do you seriously think I would still be up here if I knew where it went?"

"I can't believe you're still up there at all."

"Look, you know how I feel about them and I have saved you from way worse things. And you're not wearing trousers."

"Excuse me? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because it's not going to run up your legs."

Amanda couldn't hold it in anymore, she leaned back against her desk, shrieking with laughter. 'You think it's going to run up your trouser leg? This isn't a cartoon, you know!"

"It could happen and I'm not taking any chances. You know they freak me out."

"Well, trouser legs aside, I feel like I'm the one wearing the pants in this marriage right now."

In the hallway, just outside the open doorway, Billy and Francine came to a dead stop. Their approach had been drowned out by Amanda laughing. Francine's eyes were round as she clutched his arm and looked up at him, silently mouthing "Marriage?" Billy was obviously having trouble not laughing out loud as he held a finger to his lips.

"Look – you knew at least two things when you married me: no completely dark rooms and no rats."

"Lee it wasn't a rat! It was a tiny little mouse. It's probably just gotten in through the air vents or something. These older buildings have all sorts of ways for them to get in."

"Don't say that! And you don't know it was only a mouse – it could be a baby rat. And if we don't get rid of it, it will bring back its giant rat parents!"

Amanda was still chuckling as she reached into the desk drawer and pulled out some elastics bands. She tossed them to Lee, saying "Okay then, use these around your ankles and then you can hop down from there and help me move furniture until we find it."

She looked up to find Lee staring at her with something approaching real panic. "You're not kidding, are you? You are really not coming down from there?"

"You said 'For better and for worse' and this is my 'worse'," he answered. "Now where do you think the little bugger went?"

Sighing, Amanda walked into the vault and returned with a large roll of duct one end to the wall, she unrolled it across the floor, sticky side up until she reached the far side of the room. "I hope you're willing to do this for me the next time we get squirrels in the attic," she said jokingly

"What? No way! Squirrels are just rats with fluffy tails!"

Amanda looked over at his face, and instantly felt guilty for teasing him. She walked over and rested her hand on his cheek. "I was kidding. Okay, no more rat jokes." As she leaned in to give him a kiss, she saw his eyes go wide and he lost all the colour in his face. Whirling around to follow his gaze, she saw the mouse scurrying across the middle of the room, until it got stuck to the duct tape ribbon. She leapt forward to grab the wastepaper basket and slam it down on top of it, with a cry of triumph, while Lee yelled encouragement from his perch.

Out in the corridor, under cover of the attack, Billy and Francine backed up towards the landing at the end of the hall and pulled the door gently closed behind them. Mrs. Marston looked up at them over her shoulder in confusion as they dissolved into laughter.

"What are you going to do, Billy?" asked Francine as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Oh, I'm going to make them sweat."

"You're going to let me help, right?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way," chuckled Billy. He glanced down in time to see Mrs. Marston carefully turning away with a blank expression. "Mavis Marston! What exactly do you know?"

"I know nothing, William."

He marched down the stairs and walked around in front of her desk, where he stood, arms crossed and a stern expression. Mavis never blinked, her mask only barely broken by the tiniest of smiles that flitted across her face. Francine followed more slowly, uncertain what was going on between the old friends.

"Okay Sergeant Schultz, how long?" he asked.

"How long about what exactly?"

"How long have they been married?" Billy continued to glare at her while Francine watched the showdown, slack-jawed. "Mavis, you know perfectly well I've known about them since at least that Stemwinder fiasco because we talked about it. So spill – how long?"

Mavis studied his face for a moment before sighing and leaning back in her chair. "I'm only telling you this to keep them out of trouble." She glanced up at Francine and then back to Billy "February."

"February? That was almost eight months ago!" Billy exploded. "And you never said anything? Didn't you think I should know that? How can they not get into trouble?"

"California?" asked Francine, not taking her eyes off Mavis.

"Honeymoon."

"Oh, damn it." Both women turned to look at Billy as he sighed."That takes the fun out of turning the screws on them."

They all looked up as the door at the top of the landing opened and Amanda appeared, carrying the waste basket with a file folder over the top of it and humming the theme from the 'Mickey Mouse Club'. She stopped dead as she noticed the trio all staring up at her, then distracted by the scrabbling sound in the basket, she continued down the stairs and walked towards the front door.

"I'm just getting rid of an unauthorized visitor" she said as she walked by the strangely silent group. Stepping out onto the doorstep, she carefully released the mouse into the flower bed and walked back inside.

"Rat patrol, Amanda?" asked Francine, unable to resist it any longer

"No, just a mouse."

"Is that what you and Lee get up to all day? Playing cat and mouse?"

Amanda paused on her way back to the staircase and looked back at her, suddenly on alert. Billy looked down quickly but she could see the grin starting to appear on his face and it occurred to Amanda that Francine was looking very much like the cat who'd got the cream. Deciding silence was the best response, she walked slowly back upstairs, flushing slightly but not looking back at them.

As she disappeared into the upper hallway, Francine turned to Billy and said in a satisfied tone, "Oh no, I think it's still going to be fun."