The Melting Clock

A prank by a flamboyant Spanish artist could cost Toby Peters his lifeAn ax-wielding monk hacks at the door. Toby Peters is on the other side, running as fast as his recently broken leg will allow. Alongside him is Salvador Dalí, dressed in a rabbit suit, insistently muttering “grasshoppers” as they try to make their escape. Dalí insists on being carried across the lawn, so Peters hobbles along with the surrealist in his arms. They get in the car just as the monk chops down the front door. The car doesn’t start, and the monk charges silently, the ax in the air. This is not the strangest thing that has happened to Toby Peters this week. Life has been odd ever since the call came from Dalí’s wife. Peters, suffering from post–New Year’s malaise, was happy to look into the theft of three of Dalí’s paintings. He had no idea that the investigation might end with his face being turned into abstract art.