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The business phone for Madame Gentry's Reading Room goes to voice mail so Jake leaves a message that he thinks their cat Sam took a ride with him to Michigan and asks for them to call back and confirm his suspicions. While Jake waits to hear back about the cat, John tells Jake that while he was doing renovations on the family cabin he found evidence that the house was used by Al Capone during prohibition for bootlegging, making the family tale a true story. It was owned by a relative of Al's and was used as a pickup point for bootleg alcohol during prohibition. He found the evidence in the cellar when he came across a small hidden storage room that had some prohibition-era whisky, beer, and wine that came from Canada. Jake perks upon hearing this as he asks his brother how much whisky, beer, and wine he found and if it was still good. John laughs and says he hadn't tried any of it but he did look into how much it might be worth and that he'd send the internet links to his phone. Jake began to think that perhaps he should have made a move out to the family cabin long before now.
The brothers finish their conversation with John returning to his home and concerns, leaving Jake with Sam the cat to deal with along with doing an inventory of the resources he now had available. The night is approaching so Jake props open the front door and goes to his car. He decides that once he removes the rest of his belongings he will leave the car open allowing Sam to get lost. As good as Jake thinks this plan is, Sam runs straight into the cabin as soon as Jake opens his car's door. Jake had wanted Sam to run off into the dark winter woods, but Sam seemed to know Jake's plans and made it to the safety of the cabin before Jake unloaded his car. "Well," Jake thought, "I better get a hold of Miss Gentry" without considering what might be involved with keeping a cat indoors during the winter. Mostly Jake is thinking about getting prepared for his interview with Shadow News even though he is more than curious about this stash left behind from prohibition.
The master bedroom downstairs is closest to the bathroom, formerly the pantry, that adjoins the kitchen and dining room. This, along with the proximity to the living room and fireplace makes the master bedroom the best choice for Jake to occupy. It is obviously the room John stays in while he is at the family cabin as it has a number of his personal items and has the rustic decor John prefers. Jake uses one of the boxes he was emptying of his belongings to store John's things in the bedroom closet. More than being the obvious choice is Jake's rivalry with John that fuels his decision to take over the master bedroom, his first act of dominating the house and claiming it as his territory.
Before Jake finishes erasing his brother John's presence from the master bedroom, his phone rings. The caller ID shows a number with a Chicago area code but not in his contacts list. He answers his phone and hears a female voice, "Hello, Jake? This is Jennifer Gentry from Madame Gentry's Reading Room. You called and left a message that you think you have our cat Sam with you." Her voice is melodic, almost musical and Jake doesn't recognize it even though she said her name. The smooth and mesmerizing sound of her voice has Jake entranced as they speak. "Yes, this is Jake and I'm fairly certain that your cat Sam took the trip to Michigan with me." Jennifer responds, "Sam has been gone since you left our shop and he has wandered away before, sometimes for weeks. Have you checked his name tag?" Jake tells her how he saw his collar and tag but he ran into the cabin so quickly, he couldn't actually read it. "Well then, I suspect you are right and Sam has stowed away on your trip. He has a ship's cat breeding," she says with a laugh. "Can you give me the address of your new home in Michigan?"
Jake gives Jennifer his new address, basic directions on traveling there, and how long the trip might take by car. Jennifer repeats the information as she writes it on a notepad. Jake then asks her when he might expect her to pick up her cat when Jennifer explains that it may take a week or two to make arrangements. She easily convinces Jake that she will send him some money and a few of Sam's things so that he can take care of him until she can come and get him. Jake had wanted to refuse, but she sounded so sweet over the phone, something about her voice, its melody and its cadence, made him agree. After the phone conversation, Jake spent some time trying to understand why he went along with her plans. He had to admit to himself that her voice had aroused him and so concludes that he was subconsciously trying to take advantage of a potential opportunity when she arrived to find her cat safe and sound. Then Jake thinks, "Nothing wrong with some extra money for cat sitting, or an extra bonus for being a nice guy." He continued to fantasize about what could happen when Jennifer arrived before he got back to work on the cabin.
Jake was busy settling in until he fell asleep, this time in the master bedroom, his bedroom now. The heat from the fireplace as well as from the woodstove in the kitchen filled the first floor very well and heated the bedroom through the open doorway. Occasionally red-orange lights flickered on the bedroom walls from the fireplace in the living room. The only other light in the room was a red light from the face of a digital alarm clock Jake put on the stand next to the bed. This presented a dark alien landscape bathed in colors one could expect to find during the Martian twilight. He fell quickly to sleep for what felt like a short time before he woke up to feel something land on the bed with a thump. Startled awake, he looks around the room disoriented by the new environment. He notices the alarm clock and realizes he has only slept for a few hours and puts his head back down on the pillow. He hasn't had time to drift off to sleep before he feels something on the bed that is taking steady steps up onto his legs. Jake is paralyzed by this thing creeping up his body as a flush of fear rushes from his head to his toes. It's almost on his chest, he restricts his breathing and then stops breathing altogether. It continues to walk step by step then stops on Jake's chest. It is at this point when his fear drains away enough to decide he would now open his eyes and see what was on the bed with him. Just as he opens his eyes he hears a loud "meowww!" He is jolted by the sound and then realizes it is Sam on his chest who is now purring in a soothing tone.
