George peered through the glass in the door before he unlocked it and stepped through. Loretta coughed and covered her nose, watching Gemma do the same.
When she looked back at Karl, he was breathing normally. He looked upset, but he made no move to protect himself. Before she could ask why, George ducked back in.
"Come on. It's all clear," he said. "I'm sorry about that smell. If you don't get used to it, I can bring gas masks. That's the ’sters, though, not the house. It's clean enough."
The air seemed to get thicker as Loretta walked toward the door. She wanted to grab Gemma and turn around and get her out of there. Neither of them could possibly tolerate whatever made that smell.
"Oh, it's perfectly lovely!" Gemma exclaimed.
Loretta was surprised enough when she followed her grand
