The cloud-heavy sky darkened as yet another stormy night approached outside the window, Elias Elderman shuffling through the papers on his desk. His meager income didn’t make up for the fast-stacking bills. Elderman rubbed his aching head, fingers running through his silver-streaked hair.
The door opened suddenly, a melancholy ding announcing the arrival of a new customer.
“We’re closed,” Mr. Elderman said, though looking up from his desk in curiosity.
A man stood at the doorway, trench coat cloaking something beneath the crook of his arm. “I won’t eat away too much of your time,” the man assured solemnly, approaching the desk with weary hopelessness.
“Alright,” Elderman sighed. “What is it?”
“I would like you to keep something for me. To…stow it for a while.”
Elderman stared inquiringly at the man now. “Well look ‘ere Mr…”
“Knight.”
“Mr. Knight, I own an antique shop, not a storage shed,” Elderman finished. “Why on earth should I keep this 'ere?”
Mr. Knight looked out the window, brown eyes seeming to scan the nearby shops and sidewalks. They were empty. He let out a broken sigh. “Because I need this hidden,” he confessed, casting yet another wary glance over his shoulder. “Please, it’s incredibly important.”
There was a look of desperation in his eyes, but Elias Elderman was no person to give out charity. “What’s in it for me?”
“Five thousand dollars,” Mr. Knight decided. “I’ll pay you five thousand dollars to keep this out of sight and not sell it to anyone or tell anybody about it. And when I come back to get it, I’ll pay you five thousand dollars more.”
Mr. Knight took out the weathered object from behind his coat, setting it in front of him.
“Y--you’re paying me ten thousand dollars to…to hide a dollhouse?” he asked in surprise.
“Yes,” Mr. Knight said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. “Clearly this is more than a fair deal for you to simply keep it out of other's hands. Do we have a deal?”
“Of course,” Mr. Elderman agreed, though suspicion crept in his mind. “Thank you, sir.”
Mr. Knight nodded, racing out the door and disappearing around the corner. Elderman slid the dollhouse beneath a curtain in the backroom, the little toy soon forgotten.
