career in Abe’s extremely capable hands. Trust was now something I could reach out and grab on to, cling to, clutch to my chest and keep safe. Surely I could do the same with four people who trusted him the way that I did. And as Abe sat on the edge of the bed and dialed a number on his phone, I knew the success of this case depended on my doing just that.
Abe placed his phone on the bed, hit the speaker button. Kept his eyes trained on mine when a deep voice said, “Hello?”
“Henry, it’s Abe.” He ran a hand through his hair, exhaled. I gave him a nod and a smile. There was a lot of noise in the background of the call, a shuffling.
“How are you, sir? How’s vacation treating you?”
“Well,” Abe said, “I guess that’s why I’m calling you. I don’t even quite know where to begin, to be perfectly frank. I, uh… I need your help, Henry.”
“You need my help?” Henry asked.
There were sounds of a scuffle, voices. Then a bright and cheery voice came on the line. “Abe?”
“Freya?” Abe’s brow creased. Softly, like an afterthought, the sound of a robotic intercom voice echoed from the phone. Now boarding American Airlines flight 5703.
“Wait, where are you?”
“Hilarious story, boss,” she said. “We’re at the airport. All four of us. The cardboard cut-out we’d made of you wasn’t the same, so we figured we’d surprise you in London.”
“I’m sorry, what now?” Abe’s voice was shocked, surprised.
The phone must have changed hands—Henry, back on the line. “Sir, what Freya is trying to say is that you happened to have hired four of the most brilliant investigative minds this world has ever known. Forty-eight hours after you left on vacation, we started to suspect why you were really there, obviously. For a human lie detector, your lying ability is total shit. All due respect, of course.”
I covered my mouth with my hand—a laugh trying to force its way out.
“Respect noted,” Abe said, looking almost flustered. “And what exactly did you realize?”
“That you’re there for him,” Henry said. And even I could feel the emotion rippling through the phone from across the Atlantic Ocean. “And we’re not going to let you do this alone. We’re a team, remember?”
Abe glanced back at me. “And who taught you this?”
“You, sir.”
Abe swallowed hard, nostrils flared. He stood, breaking our eye contact, and paced across the room with his phone. “So am I to believe all four of you are at the airport right now?”
“Our flight leaves in a few hours, bound for Heathrow Airport,” Henry said. “We should be arriving at The Langham Hotel around breakfast time. Figured you could catch us up to speed over tea and scones. Oh, and we closed The Black Stallion case and put a pin in the others. It’ll be a little chaotic, but if you need the four of us in London for a couple weeks, we’ve all committed to it.”
More scuffling. Freya again. “Next time, hire shittier private detectives, and we won’t detect your lies. Also, London in October is literally the worst time to go, and Sam told us two months ago there were reported Bernard sightings there. Frankly, I’m offended you didn’t think we’d put it together.”
Abe had a small, secret smile on his face. He still held the phone out so I could hear but was now standing at the glass doors, overlooking the city. Without his knowing, I admired Abe Royal on the phone with his team and admired the awed respect and admiration evident in the voices of Henry and Freya. Gentle teasing, teamwork, a mutual regard for one another. Codex would fly to the ends of the earth to support this man—a feeling I understood since I felt extremely compelled to do the same.
“Abe,” Henry said quietly. “You know we’re happy to do it. We’ll be there. I’m guessing its big if you’re calling?”
“Yes,” Abe said, voice tight. “An auction. Two nights from now. New private papers from the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle coming up for auction, and the Sherlock Society wants them.”
There was a heavy pause on the other line. “I’m also guessing you know how big of a deal that would be to Bernard.”
“I wouldn’t have made the call if I didn’t think this might be it.” Abe’s voice was low, urgent. I could see the tension in the way he held his body. Through the speakers I could hear a muffled boarding call. “We’ll