The smell is probably coming from the remnants of whatever Strange brought home to eat before he disappeared, or that open bottle of rancid milk on the counter. Or it could be from the abundance of poisonous plant material littered around the place. Generally, despite Childermass's attempts to tidy up, the place is in even shittier condition than the last time Lambert saw it, which was already worse than the time he saw it before that.

Mostly, it's a place where a sad, friendless man has had a year to fully embrace what a disaster, with a bonus side of cat hair on the cushions. It's actually all a bit sad. However, one thing is clear:

"He's not here." Lambert exhales, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall by the light switches he's flicked on. "Great. Now what?"