she reached back there , trying to ignore the phobia she had about reaching into the sink cupboard , an irrational feeling she always got that a rat lay waiting under the pile of rags , sniffing the air at the scent of her flesh , raising its snout from the rags now , whiskers twitching she snatched the lug wrench out , then rattled it through the rags and cans of cleanser just to be sure , quite aware that her fear was silly , but determined nonetheless , because , hey , that 's why they called them phobias .