Chapter 45
Karl wanted to hold his breath when he stepped outside, but he knew it wouldn't help. Dry grassy weeds brushed against his knees, broken only by an old flattened path from the door to around the edge of the yard. He tried to imagine how his mother or anyone else at the Ministry of Decorum would react to such chaos. The spiraling brick columns were closer than he liked, even knowing some of the ’sters were loose out here.
"You were right about one thing, Georgie. The smell is about a thousand times worse out here."
"I know," George said. "I'm sorry about that. People swear they get used to it. We'll see."
"The thing about Gemma is if it can be solved, she'll solve it," Karl said. "She'll probably dream it up tonight. Listen, what did you mean about someone living out here dep
