The snow had stopped three days ago, but icicles still hung from the eaves in Queens like strings of transparent crystals. Lin Mo had just replaced the brake pads on an old Chevrolet. The white vapor from his breath dispersed instantly in the cold air, and his reddened fingers curled in the grease. The garage's rolling metal door stood slightly open, letting in a gust of cold wind that swept up snow dust from the floor and stung his ankles like tiny needles.
"Lin! Lin!" Old Mrs. Martha's shout rushed in with the cold air, her cane striking the icy ground with hurried taps. Her knitted hat sat crookedly on her head, snowflakes clinging to the silver hair beneath it. She clutched a floral scarf tightly in one hand. "Snowball! Snowball is gone!"
Lin Mo straightened up and wiped his hands. "Wasn't Snowball napping by your fireplace?" Martha's calico cat was the tyrant of the neighborhood. Last time, it had dragged Grandma Gretchen's ball of yarn onto the roof, forcing Peter to climb up and retrieve it after half a day.
"I only turned around to add a piece of coal to the stove, and when I looked back, the cat was gone!" The old woman's voice trembled with panic as her cane jabbed small pits into the ground. "There are paw prints on the windowsill. It must have jumped out! That damned cat, where could it have run off to in this freezing weather?"
Lin Mo's heart sank. It was minus five degrees today. The icicles on the eaves could be used as weapons. A cat getting out in weather like this was no joke. He grabbed an old padded coat from the corner and threw it on. "Don't worry. I'll help you look."
"I'm coming with you!" Martha