“It must have been someone else,” Yuri said uneasily.

“You’re the spitting image of this guy,” Jack said.

Laurie opened the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. All that was in it was a bottle of vodka and a tray of ice cubes.

“You don’t have much food in here,” Laurie commented.

“My wife ate fast food,” Yuri said. “I ate on the road.”

Laurie nodded. She opened the kitchen cabinets. Not finding anything suspicious, she stepped back and surveyed the tiny kitchen. “I don’t see any home-canning implements.”

“That’s all downstairs,” Yuri said.

Laurie turned to stare at the Russian. “So your wife did do some home food processing after all?”

“She used to,” Yuri said. “Now that I think about it.”

“Is there any of the food left?”

“I don’t know,” Yuri said. “I haven’t looked for a long time. She used to go down there often.”

“Could we see?” Laurie asked. She glanced at Jack, who made an expression of puzzled surprise.

“Why not?” Yuri said. He opened the door and descended.

Laurie and Jack exchanged confused glances and followed. By the time they got to the basement level, Yuri had the padlocked combination steel and heavy plywood door to the entry chamber open. He was inside unlocking the similarly stout door to the supply room.

Laurie and Jack stepped into the entry chamber. Their eyes took in the hazmat suit, the showerhead, and the plastic bottles of bleach. They smelled the distinct odor of chlorine in the air as well as the more subtle odor of fermentation. They heard the sound of the exhaust fan. They looked at each other in bewilderment.

Yuri was standing next to the door to the supply room. He pointed inside. “I think this is what you are looking for.”

Laurie and Jack stepped over to peer gingerly into the supply room. As they did so Yuri slipped behind them. They saw the petri dishes, the agar, the jars of nutrients, and the spare HEPA filters.

“How about stepping inside,” Yuri said.

Laurie and Jack turned to look at the Russian and gasped. Yuri had trained a gun on them.

“Please,” Yuri said in an even voice. “Step inside!”

“We’ve seen as much as we’d like to see,” Jack said airily, trying to sound unconcerned about the sudden appearance of the gun. He took a step forward, ahead of Laurie. “It’s time for us to be on our way.”

Yuri raised the gun and fired without hesitation. Upstairs, he’d been afraid to discharge the pistol for fear of disturbing the neighbors. But in the basement with the circulating fan going, he had no concern. Still, the noise had been deafening in the enclosed space. The bullet thudded into one of the floor joists. Dust rained down from the ancient floorboards above. Laurie screamed.

“The next time I aim,” Yuri said.