Wholesale Antiques — Buy

By midnight, the first four pallets were processed. His back ached, and his fingertips were raw from cardboard burns. He looked at the black pallet standing in the corner like a monolith.

"Got a fresh pick from an estate in Vermont," Silas said, wiping his hands on a rag that was darker than the floor. He pointed a heavy thumb toward the back of the dim warehouse. "A whole library and the contents of a private museum. The family just wanted the land cleared. I’m not breaking it up, Arthur. Take the lot or leave it."

Arthur did the math again. The risk was higher, but the margin on the first four was fat enough to cover a total loss on the last two. He nodded. "Load 'em up." buy wholesale antiques

He stood up, walked to the back door, and turned off the light. He didn't price the cabinet. He didn't catalog the vials. For the first time in his career, Arthur had bought something that he was not going to sell.

He pulled the top left drawer. It was stuck. He gave it a sharp tug, and it flew open with a dry screech. By midnight, the first four pallets were processed

He looked at the empty glass vial on his workbench. Then he looked at the thousands of sealed ones still resting in their dark mahogany beds.

He sat on a wooden stool, exhausted, a single bare bulb swinging above him. He took out his pocketknife and slit the yellow plastic of the first pallet. "Got a fresh pick from an estate in

By nightfall, the box truck was backed up to the alley behind The Reliquary . Arthur worked alone, his breath blooming in the chilly air as he used a crowbar and a hand truck to wheel the heavy pallets into his back room. He saved the mysterious black-wrapped pallet for last. It was, as Silas had promised, incredibly heavy. It took every ounce of Arthur's strength to lever it over the threshold.