Evie moaned. "You see? You see what I've had to put up with my entire life?"
I opened the box, ignoring the songs.
"This is exquisite. See these tiny teeth? The pins in this rotating cylinder touch the teeth to make the sound. Usually there's a key that winds the spring mechanism, but I don't see a key or even a space for it…"
"There's no key," Evie said. "It winds itself, but only when it feels like it."
I blinked. Of course it did.
"Fae," Jack said, frowning. "Things always get tricky when you're dealing with the Fae. Even their artifacts. Tess, on second thought—"
The music box started playing "The Chicken Dance."
"I feel sure I have a hammer in my office," Jack said mildly.
The music screeched to a stop.
"Please," Evie begged.
I hesitated, but then I heard Eleanor's voice rising shrilly from my back room and realized I didn't have time for this right now. So the box made snarky musical commentary. At least it wasn't dangerous…
I aimed a narrow-eyed stare at Molly's groupie. "It isn't dangerous, is it?"
She shook her head. "Not unless you count to my emotional state. Did I tell you about the first time a boy came to visit me at my house and the box started playing 'The Safe Sex Song' really loudly? I thought I'd have to change schools to escape that humiliation."
"There's a safe sex song?"
Faith Hill's golden tones rang out of the box while we contemplatedthat.
"The Way You Love Me."
Evie clutched her head. "You see? Yousee?"
"Fine," I said, knowing I would regret this as much as the Earless Goat Incident, but unable to stop myself. "But I know some collectors who'd like this, so if I take it on consignment, you'll get a better price—"
"No!" She was practically hyperventilating. "That won't satisfy the terms of a Bargain."
I could hear the capital "B" and had second—third? fourth?—thoughts, but it was probably too late for that.
"Okay, let's write this up. I'll give you a hundred dollars for it—"
"Five is fine. Even one dollar, really."
"I'll give you a hundred dollars for it," I repeated firmly. "Now let's do the paperwork."
She kept apologizing while we filled out the forms. "I'm sorry. I know I'm weak, but I just can't take one more day of this."
"We R Who We R."
"Shut up, box," Jack, Evie, and I all said at the same time.
"I Know You Want Me."
I had to laugh despite my misgivings. "Ke$ha and Pitbull. At it knows some music made in this century. It might be fun to sing along with when I clean the shop."
Jack flinched.
"The Sounds of Silence."
