4. Toby

4

TOBY

O ne week later…

Heller arrives right on schedule with several bundles in his arms.

"Come right this way," I tell him, leading him through the living room and down the stairs.

"Hey, Heller," Max says from the kitchen sink, where he's doing the dishes.

Heller lowers his head and follows me to the basement without answering him. He's acting very suspicious. I don't know why.

I lead Heller into the bedroom.

His eyes scan the stacks of books on the perimeter of the room and lined up in the two book carts by the door. "Wow. That's a lot of books." He glances at the globe by our bed and the quiet sign on the nightstand. "And other stuff. Did you take that from a library?"

"Of course. This is the Library."

Heller pauses for a long beat, then nods. "Right. I can see that."

Max appears in the doorway. "Is everything okay, Heller?"

Heller sets his packages on the bed. "Everything's fine."

"What are those packages?" Max asks.

"Nothing," he says. Which is a lie. I don't know why Heller is lying.

"They're the weapons," I tell Max.

Max glares at Heller. "Weapons? As in plural?"

Heller winces. "Not all of them are weapons. Some of them are tools."

I open the first box to find an antique knife with a nice handle and leather sheath. This will do nicely. I place it at the foot of the bed.

"Why does Toby need a dagger, Heller?" Max asks, his voice louder than it needs to be.

"I don't know." Heller opens another box and pulls out a metal wrench. "See? This is a tool. And so is this." He grabs a skein of rope out of the same box.

I take both of them and place them carefully next to the knife.

"Toby is collecting weapons? And you didn't tell me?" Max asks, still far too loud.

"Shhh. It's the Library," I remind him, pointing at the quiet sign.

I open the next box, which has a slim black case.

Max drags a hand through his hair. "Please tell me that isn't what I think it is."

I flip open the latch and discover an old-fashioned revolver resting in red satin. The handle is cream, and the barrel is made of gold.

"Oh my God. That's a gun, Heller. You brought a gun into my house without saying anything?"

"It's the revolver," I tell him, closing the case and placing it next to the other weapons. I turn to Heller. "Where is the lead pipe?"

He bites his lip. "The thing about that is they don't really sell lead pipes anymore. They're sort of dangerous."

"Yes, it's one of the weapons. It's supposed to be dangerous."

"Right. It's just… in addition to being an object that can cause blunt force trauma, lead is also poisonous. So I can't exactly get it for you," Heller says.

Max rolls his eyes. "But a revolver isn't dangerous?"

"What about the candlestick?" I ask.

"I'm borrowing a really fancy one from a friend, but he can't see me until tonight. I figured I'd bring these over first, then pop by later."

Max is still glaring at Heller. "You mean, you were going to bring the gun and knife over when you thought Eli and I would be gone, and then come back later with the candlestick?"

Heller swallows uncomfortably. "Um, maybe?"

"Is this somehow related to Clue?" Max asks.

Heller shrugs. "I don't know. Toby gave me a list of things to get for him, so I got them."

"So you just bought Toby a bunch of weapons without asking any questions? Jesus, Heller."

I don't understand what Jesus has to do with any of this. I start picking up the boxes so the Library can return to its former state.

"Toby told me the weapons belonged at the foot of his bed. What was I supposed to do?" Heller asks. "I stole millions of dollars of jewelry for my nest, so I'm in no position to judge."

I give the empty boxes to Heller. "These can go now."

"We have a child living in this house, and there's a gun on the floor," Max says.

"An unloaded gun with no ammunition. I'm honestly more worried about the knife," Heller counters.

Max sighs. "Great. A gun is the least of our concerns. I wish Eli wasn't helping a client right now. I don't know how to deal with this."

I leave them to argue in the Library. Felix needs help in the Conservatory. I have to pass through the Lounge first, which is woefully undecorated.

We have a lot of work to do.