Timepiece: An Hourglass Novel (11 page)

“I thought universities were supposed to encourage free thinking.” I didn’t break the stare. He was either testing us or playing us. Either way, I didn’t intend to lose.

“Testing a hypothesis and getting a concrete result is challenging even when the research can be proven.” He removed a small metal object from his inside jacket pocket. It was flat on the bottom, and a sharp curve of metal arched over a tiny gargoyle— like a handle. He held it carefully as he used it to push the tobacco down. “The abstract idea of a person with preternatural abilities doesn’t fit into pure science. But too many believed the abstract was a possibility.”

“You did,” Em said.

“I believe in the abstract and the concrete.”

I decided to stop wasting time and show my hand. “Then why didn’t you follow Teague when she left for Chronos?”

The smell of sulfur filled the air when he lit a wooden match, touched it to the tobacco, and took a few puffs. “I wondered when that was coming.”

“We’re interested in the truth,” I said.

“Are you?” He dropped the match into an ashtray shaped like a turtle. Obviously crafted by little hands, it seemed out of place on his monstrous desk.

“That’s all we want. We thought … we hoped we could get it from you. Will you tell us?” I asked. “The truth about Chronos?”

“That’s a little tricky,” he said, puffing once more, “because the truth is mixed in with the legend.”

I frowned. Waited.

“Chronos’s biggest desire is to be part of something that’s as ancient as time itself.” He stared at the pipe until the fire went out. “And I find it hard to believe that Liam Ballard’s son is questioning me about that something, when his father knows far more about it than I do.”

My jaw dropped. “How did you know who—”

“You have your father’s build. You even have his way of listening, taking things in without giving anything away.” He struck another match and relit the tobacco. “And then, of course, your mother’s famous blue eyes.”

The last observation sideswiped me. Em must have sensed it, because she took control of the conversation again.

“You said Chronos wanted to be part of something as ‘ancient as time itself.’ What does that mean?”

Dr. Turner took a long draw on his pipe.

“Please tell us?” Em leaned forward, placing her hands on the edge of his desk.

“Again, these are answers you should be getting from Liam.” Dr. Turner exhaled, filling the air with the aromatic scent of vanilla.

“You say that like it’s simple.” I laughed derisively. “He doesn’t tell me anything. I don’t even know what questions to ask.”

“Then I most certainly have to respect Liam’s choices, as he’s your father.” He almost sounded regretful. “But I can say that when Teague left Bennett University, the … scope … of her interests narrowed.”

“What did she focus on?” I asked.

“I can’t tell you any more about Teague.” He turned a very direct gaze on me. “Except … no man—or woman—is an island.”

“Okay.” Em looked from Dr. Turner to me and back again. Frowning, she took her hands off Dr. Turner’s desk and leaned back into her chair. “If you won’t tell us about Teague, can you tell us about Jack Landers?”

“Doesn’t he work with Liam at Cameron? Or did that change last year after the … accident?” He was feigning innocence. I’d have known by his wide-eyed expression even if I hadn’t been able to feel it.

“It changed.” Our cover to explain Dad’s “death” was that he’d survived the explosion, but with a head injury that caused amnesia. We didn’t have a solid cover for Jack. “So have you seen him? Jack?”

“Is he no longer employed at Cameron?” Dr. Turner ignored my question as well and took another deep puff on his pipe.

Stalemate. “Maybe you should ask my father.”

“Touché.” He raised one eyebrow. “Of course, if I did ask your father, I’d have to let him know you’d been to visit. Asked lots of questions.”

“Fine.” The old man played a serious game of hardball. He knew my questions had crossed a line. “No. Jack is no longer employed at Cameron. Or by my father.”

“I see.” He lowered his pipe to the turtle ashtray. “No. I haven’t seen him lately.”

All we’d managed to establish is that neither of us knew where Jack was, but Dr. Turner was feeling satisfied. I was left feeling I’d given something away and not gotten anything in return.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t offer you more information.” Dr. Turner stood and picked up a briefcase from beside his desk.

“Wait!” Emerson jumped to her feet. “That’s it? That’s all?”

“I don’t have anything else to tell you, and I have a lecture to give. But …” He stared at me for a long moment. “Are you doing any sightseeing while you’re here?”

“Sightseeing?” I asked.

“I suggest it. You go to London, you visit Buckingham Palace. You go to Egypt, you visit the pyramids.” He looked at us pointedly.

“We’ll take that under consideration,” Em said.

“I hope you do.”

We left, and I followed Emerson around the corner out of earshot of the office.

“Do you think he really has a lecture?” she whispered.

“I think we got a little too specific with our questions.” We walked down the stairs and toward the parking lot.

“Why was he saying those things about sightseeing and staring at us like that?”

“I don’t know, but it was weird.”

“He knew about Teague. I wish we’d asked him about Poe,” she said. The wind blew her hair in her face, and she reached up to twist it around her hand. “I wonder if his name would’ve gotten a reaction.”

“I’m kind of glad we didn’t. We gave a lot more than we got.”

“I keep expecting to see Jack.” She let go of her hair and wrapped her arms around herself. “I wonder if there’s safety in numbers, or if he can steal memories from two people at the same time.”

“I’ll keep you safe, Shorty.” I put my arm over Em’s shoulders and pulled her to my side for a quick squeeze. “We’ll find him.”

“Damn, I hope so.” She growled under her breath. “I just realized I haven’t had coffee in two hours.”

“Oh no. We’d better do something about that real quick. I’d hate for you to get irritable.”

Her response was an elbow to the stomach.

Michael and Lily came into view. They were both sitting on the bumper of the SUV, and they looked miserable.

“Oh no,” Em said.

Fear. Dread. Defeat.

“Hurry.” I walked faster. Since my legs were so much longer, Em ran to keep up.

“What’s going on?” Em asked. Lily stood up, and I could tell she’d been crying.

“We got into the records. No details about Jack,” Michael said, sounding defeated. “Everything was gone.”

“That’s not so bad,” Em said, giving Lily a quick hug. “It’s what we expected, right? We have the high school stuff to work from, and Lily can look for the pocket watch.”

“Lack of details isn’t the only problem.” When Lily’s voice hitched, I realized just how close she was to crying again. She brushed away the forming tears.

Michael explained. “When we got back, we tried to find the pocket watch on the map. We’ve been trying for twenty minutes.”

Lily dropped her hands. “It’s gone.”

Chapter 21

I

“I’m sorry.” Lily’s guilt filled the space around us.

“Stop.”

She leaned back against the elevator wall and met my eyes in the mirrored doors as they closed.

“Lily, we’re looking for a desperate man who doesn’t want to be found. You’ve chosen to be involved because of your friendship with Em.” I pushed the button for the lobby. “Finding him doesn’t rest solely on your shoulders.”

“But it’s like he fell off the map. He
did
fall off the map. How did he disappear so fast?”

“I don’t know, but we aren’t at a dead end. We have the high school information, and we can still look for people who might have known Jack way back when. And there are other options.”

The doors slid open, taking Lily’s direct gaze with them. I stopped at the concierge desk on our way through the lobby to get directions to the closest coffee shop. Both Lily and Em had insisted on a non-chain. Supporting local business enterprise, etc., etc.

“Down the street, intersection of Union and South Second,” I told Lily, and then followed her through the lobby. She had on jeans and some kind of flowy white shirt with brown embroidery on it. It didn’t show any skin or fit tightly, but I could see the outline of her curves through it.

“Are you going to be warm enough?” I gestured toward the shirt, but I didn’t really look at it. Or her.

“Worried I might catch a cold?” There was a hint of a tease in her voice.

“I was raised to be a gentleman.” I still didn’t look at her. “And I follow through. In most circumstances.”

“I’ll be fine. It’s not that far. What’s the name of the place we’re looking for?”

“Cockadoos.”

“Cockadoos,” she repeated.

“That’s what I said.”

The Peabody lobby was grandiose almost to the point of excess. Lots of marble and shiny wood. Intimate groupings of chairs, and jazz playing in the background, softened it just enough to keep it welcoming.

“What’s with Memphis and the bird fetish?” Lily pointed to the splashing fountain full of ducks as we walked past. “They get escorted down here every day on a red carpet, and then go back up to their penthouse. Ducks. Have a penthouse. On a roof. I don’t get it.”

Cold air rushed through the doors as we stepped outside.

Lily rubbed her arms briskly.

I started unbuttoning my shirt.

“Wow, really? Right here on the street?”

“Shut up. You’re cold. My shirt is flannel, and warm, and I have a long-sleeved T-shirt on, too.” I pulled my arms out of the sleeves and held it out for Lily as if I were helping her into a coat. When she didn’t react, I shook it a little.

“I’m not leaving you in a T-shirt and nothing else in this wind. I’ll be fine.” She waved it away and started walking again. “Let’s just hurry.”

“Lily.” I didn’t move.

She turned around. “I’m not going to win, am I?”

“No.”

Giving me a half smile, she walked back and slid her arms into the sleeves. “Thank you. That was very … nice.”

“Sometimes I do nice.” I shoved my hands into my pockets. “Let’s move. I’m cold.”

She swung out a too-long sleeve and hit me on the arm. I broke into a half jog.

“Okay, I take it back,” Lily said, stopping short once we arrived at our destination. “The bird thing totally works.”

The outside of the café had quaint tables, a bright blue awning, and a neon sign with a picture of a rooster. Inside, we found yellow walls, exposed brick, and comfortable-looking places to sit.

We stood in the to-go line instead of taking a table. I ordered a double espresso for Em and Mexican hot chocolate for myself. Lily ordered a mint tea, and then watched every move the barista made, seeming satisfied with the results.

I paid, Lily grumbled at me for paying, and then we stepped back outside.

“What other options did you and Em come up with for finding Jack?” Lily asked. “Did Dr. Turner tell you something?”

“Not exactly.” I sipped my hot chocolate, grateful for the kick and the heat of cayenne.

“Don’t waste time being cryptic.” The wind blew her dark hair over her shoulders. It was out of the messy bun, sort of half up and half down. It softened her. “We’re all on the same team, with the same goal.”

“He didn’t really give anything away, but some of the conversation seemed odd. I asked him about Teague and Chronos, and then Jack, and he suggested we go sightseeing.”

“That’s weird.”

“And he mentioned an island. Maybe he meant Mud Island. The Pyramid, too.”

“What if that was a hint? Do you think we should try to look for Jack there?” she asked.

“Maybe. Or …” Em’s coffee delivery sloshed around inside the cup as I came to a stop. “Maybe we should focus on looking for Chronos and Teague there.”

Lily removed the bag from her tea and dropped it into a metal trash can on the street. “Would he have given you their location that easily?”

“I wouldn’t think so, but he didn’t claim any affiliation with anyone. Maybe he dislikes Teague and Chronos as much as we do. He didn’t leave the college with Teague.” I shrugged. “There might be some animosity there.”

“It’s worth a try. We’ll hurry back and look at the map.” She replaced the plastic lid and blew into the tiny hole to cool off the liquid.

I was avoiding looking at her lips when I saw him.

Poe, head down against the wind, on Union Avenue. He jaywalked across the street.

I handed Emerson’s espresso to Lily. “Go back to the room.”

“Where are you going?” She followed my line of vision.

“That way.”

“Why? Who is he, Kaleb?”

I downed the rest of my hot chocolate. “His name is Poe.”

Terror.
Em had told her about Poe. A truck lumbered down the street, blocking my view. Once it passed, he reappeared.

“I know exactly who he is, and I’m coming with you,” Lily insisted.

“No way.” I couldn’t justify dragging her into an unknown situation, and I never wanted anyone else I knew to end up with a knife at her throat. “I’ve seen what he does to innocent bystanders.”

“And I’ve heard.” She nailed me with a look, standing her ground. “Good thing I’m not innocent.”

I shook my head. “Go back. Tell Em and Mike what’s going on. I’ll call as soon as I know something.”

“I’m coming with you.” She dropped Em’s coffee and her tea into the trash, and then pointed down the street. “You don’t have time to argue about it, either. You need me because Poe’s already gone, and I know exactly how to find his boots.”

“Damn.” I looked both ways, and then we did some jaywalking of our own across the street. “Once I see him, you’re going straight back. If I were just a little bit closer, I could track him by his emotions.”

We stepped up onto the curb simultaneously. “You can do that? Track by emotions?”

“I can if I’m close enough to a person, physically or emotionally.”

She ducked into an alley, gesturing for me to follow her. “How does that work?”

“No one ever feels one emotion—everything is layered. For example, pure hatred is impossible. It’s either tinged with vengeance or sorrow, or something. Pure anything is impossible. Every person has a different … flavor.”

“You feel people’s emotions by tasting them.” She didn’t sound convinced.

“Kind of.”

“What does Poe taste like?”

“The one time I met him? Despair.”

She thought for a moment and then shrugged. “Better than gym shorts.”

I laughed, in spite of the situation.

“Why can’t you track Jack, then?” she asked.

“There are a few reasons. I’m not close to him physically right now, but I was never close to him emotionally. And my dad and I both think Jack could’ve found a way to block me.”

“Why?”

“I thought I couldn’t feel what he and Cat were up to because I wasn’t paying attention. Dad says he’s sure Jack had found a way to keep me from reading him. It would’ve been very difficult for Jack to operate otherwise. I’d have known something was up.” I tried to make myself believe it on a daily basis. If I’d known, things would be different now. We reached the end of the alley. “Which way?”

“Do I get to come with you?”

“Lily.”

She lifted her chin in defiance. “Either agree or you can sniff around for Poe’s
despair
.”

“Okay, okay. Which way do we go?”

She turned left. We were facing the Mississippi River.

And Poe was climbing onto the Riverfront trolley.