"No," Elias whispered, standing up. "It is the slow, methodical erosion of another person's sanity. It is a whistle that doesn't know its own tune. It is gum that sounds like a wet boot in a swamp. It is the destruction of a three-thousand-dollar hairspring."
Elias closed his eyes, counting to ten. A magnet on a mechanical watch was like a flamethrower in a library. "Just... go to lunch, Toby. For three hours." "No," Elias whispered, standing up
"Almost, Mr. E!" Toby chirped, followed by a wet, clicking sound as he popped a piece of gum. "Just making sure I get into the nooks. And the crannies. Can't forget the crannies." Snap. It is gum that sounds like a wet boot in a swamp
"Toby," Elias said, turning slowly in his swivel chair. "Do you know what 'annoy' means?" its bass-heavy music thumping a single
"Toby," Elias called out, his voice a low vibration of restrained irritation. "The solvent. Is it applied?"
He had only been searching for five minutes when a small, rhythmic sound started up from the street outside. A car was idling, its bass-heavy music thumping a single, repetitive note that shook the very glass of his storefront.