“I understand,” Joe said. He turned to look at his partner. “You, Chuy?”

“I’m having to rearrange the way I think about you,” Chuy admitted. “But I understand why you hid all this stuff. This is what everyone’s looking for?”

“Yeah. This pile of rifles and guns and the other stuff. This is what everyone is looking for.”

“Hard to believe,” Manfred said.

Bobo wasn’t sure what he meant. Did his tenant mean that the fact that Bobo had the guns after all was hard to believe? Or the fact that people would go to such lengths to acquire a secret cache of weapons that wasn’t nearly as fabulous as it was reputed to be? “I think it was just . . . these aren’t any different from rifles and guns you can buy anywhere,” he said hesitantly. “It’s just the legend around them. And the fact that they’d be hard to trace, or at least not as quick to trace as guns stolen from Walmart or Jack’s Outdoor Center.” Looking around, he didn’t see any faces that weren’t displeased or outright unhappy.

His back straightened, and he lifted his head. “So, if you’re going to come back at me on this, say so now.”

The little crowd in front of him looked back at him. Fiji said, “Bobo, you did what you had to do, and it’s a family matter. I’m not telling anyone. It’s none of my business.”

He’d known he could count on her. She’d never let him down.

Olivia said, “I’ll sleep better knowing that I can bring down Armageddon if I have to.” She smiled at him.

“I would only like to see the books,” Lemuel said next. “I have to recover my pride somehow. I was too short to reach the grille and too dated to ask myself why the room wasn’t warmer.”

Chuy said, “Joe and I will not tell anyone.” But he didn’t add anything else, and Bobo knew they were both disappointed in him.

Manfred said, “I’d much rather they were here than in the possession of assholes like that Price Eggleston. And I’d like to know how you feel, Fiji. About letting Price off the kidnapping hook.”

Bobo blessed Manfred for diverting attention away from him. Everyone had had his or her say on the matter, and his secret was safe. And now, if something happened to him, everything in the closet would be taken care of in some way. He knew his friends would dispose of them wisely.