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Iris and Oliver stared at each other for a moment, their expressions inscrutable "Okay, I missed that part What did puss have to say for itself?" Oliver asked

"?‘Schr&ouer’ That’s all it said"

"Let’s not take the cat thing too literally The spell took you to a place where language is less effectual than sye the symbol tried to convey to you"

"Yes," I said "Schr&ouer’s cat It’s like Oliver said: Maisie’s been locked in a state of flux"

"Perhaps you can spell it out for the kids at the back of the class?" Ellen asked as she approached us, carrying a tray filled with glasses and a pitcher of sweet tea Over her shoulder I could see Eh the kitchen"Quietly?" She set the tray down on the table near us and began to pour We joined her Ellen gloith vitality She sported a fresh bob haircut and had been experiliether and was beginning to overco her son and husband on the same day She had decided to reopen her flower shop, and had even begun scouting around the City Market for an open space And she had put alcohol behind her, although I noticed that Oliver had surreptitiously whisked away the bottle of scotch he’d been clutching If only she could put Tucker in her rearview mirror once and for allShe beah I was her husband Erik’s daughter by her own sister All the same, as badly as I wanted to believe in her, I knew that sweet Ellen was just as capable of deceit as the rest of my relatives "So?" she raised her eyebrows and asked, an i her request

"Cat in box Neither dead nor alive, but in a state somewhere between the two possibilities, until an observer opens the box The observer plays a role in deterlass of tea

"Maybe I am a touch too blonde," Ellen said, "but I don’t see what this cat has to do with our Maisie"

I sood to hear her refer to Maisie as ours "Whoever gets to Maisie first will free her froht now she is nowhere No when Just a point a possibilities The observer won’t merely free her, he or she will determine from the many possible outcomes what happens next for her"

"But hoe et to Maisie first? With all this talk of nowhere and no when, for heaven’s sake?"

"I don’t know What I saw see cats and a black-and-red door hanging in thin--"

"Black-and-red door?" Ellen interruptedlouder than she’d intended She hushed herself, glancing back toward the kitchen "What did it look like?"

"It looked like any other regular panel door It had red panels, but the rest of it was black"

"Why?" Oliver asked "Does thatto you?"

Ellen looked fro on Oliver "Yes," she said "Tillandsia" She lowered her eyes "Tucker and soe house out in the country to use for gatherings It’s just past Rich e passed you in Colonial"

I said nothing, but she looked directly at er part of Tillandsia It’s only"

"It’s only what?" Iris asked, her voice steely