By sunset, a few neighbors had joined the search for Bubbles. They opened garages, examined sheds, and looked beneath parked vehicles. One child crawled through hedges where adults could not fit. Nobody found any trace of him. Darkness eventually sent everyone home, but Clara kept calling from her garden alone.
She left the kitchen door open despite the cold night. Henry’s gardening coat lay beside a bowl of fresh food. Clara hoped familiar smells would guide Bubbles home if darkness confused him. Every rustling leaf pulled her from the sitting room, yet each inspection ended with the same empty doorway.