Timepiece: An Hourglass Novel

by Myra Mcentire

  “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

  held open the elevator of the Peabody Hotel for Lily. We were on a mission that originated from offering to brew Emerson coffee with the maker in the hotel room. She’d thrown a shoe at us. “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 l
ooking 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.

  Chapter 22

  W

  e ran, working our way through the crowd, and managed to get onto the same trolley car as Poe. He headed toward the front and slid into a red leather seat. I followed Lily to the back. “What’s he doing?” I asked softly.

  She held on to one of the silver standing poles and swung to the left a little. “Not enjoying the ride like everyone else. He’s looking at his phone, texting.”

  “Now that we’re on here,” I asked her, “what’s your plan for when we stop?”

  “Just act like you know what you’re doing.” She said the words through her fake smile while pretending to point out the window at something in the water.

  I grinned back, sure it looked more like a painful grimace. “How about you act like you know what you’re doing, and I’ll stand behind you?”

  Her body tensed, and her eyes darted to the side. “Crap.”

  I’d turned my back to hide from Poe, and I didn’t like what I could feel coming from the other end of the trolley car. “Is he looking at you?”

  She gave me an imperceptible nod.

  I put my hand on her waist and tried to look possessive. “Laugh, not too loud, but like I just told you a secret or said something inappropriate.”

  She did, and for a quick second, I wished the situation were different. That I’d made her laugh like that for real.

  Poe might not have noticed Lily before, but his spike of interest told me he definitely had now. “Damn.”

  “What are you getting from him?” She shivered slightly. “Something about his eyes … he’s scaring me.”

  “Good.” I pulled her closer and spoke just above her ear, into her hair. It was as soft as it looked, and smelled like grapefruit. “You should be scared. He’s not a nice guy.”

  We rode through six stops, people climbing on and off the trolley, the muscles in my shoulders growing more knotted by the second. Poe didn’t look in Lily’s direction again.

  When the driver reached the seventh stop, Lily grabbed my hand.

  “Showtime.”

  We followed thirty feet behind him.

  “The Pyramid Arena,” I said, when I realized where he was going. “But it’s closed. Totally empty since the Grizzlies moved to the FedExForum.”

  “The Pyramid might be closed, but the parking lot is hopping. Looks like some kind of festival. And can you smell that?” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Barbecue. We never had lunch.”

  There were at least twenty red-and-white-striped tents set up in a semicircle. Just over a football field’s length away, workers were setting up a stage, complete with speakers and lighting.

  “What do we do now?” Lily asked, staring at the closest barbecue stand.

  “Watch, wait, and follow.” We still held hands. I pulled her away from the food, even though my stomach was grumbling, too. “We’ll eat later.”

  Taking a slow stroll around the perimeter of the activity, we kept at least twenty-five feet between Poe and us. When he broke away and headed toward the Pyramid itself, we hung back and watched.

  He completely ignored the huge statue of Ramses the Great at the entrance and took the stairs to the building two at a time. Lily and I rushed to the base of the statue, watching as he pushed through a main door and disappeared inside.

  “How are we supposed to follow him?” I asked. “That’s not the kind of place you can sneak into. Every single sound will be amplified.”

  Lily ignored me and walked up the stairs to the entrance, pushing open the main entry door as if she owned the place.

  “All righty.” I followed.

  She let the door shut softly behind me before turning to the left. “He went this way.”

  “You’re following his boots again, aren’t you?”

  She grinned.

  “You take risky to a whole new level.” My whispered words echoed off the concrete walls. “And you’ve got some serious cojones.”

  “Yes, I do.” When she pulled up short, I almost barreled over the top of her. She held a finger up to her
lips and pointed. A sign on the wall said executive offices.

  No one in sight. My heart beat so loudly I was certain anyone in the building could hear it. Lily remained cool and composed.

  Impressive.

  She took my arm and dragged me down the hall, looking into each open door, finally ducking into one. It turned out to be a well-appointed office, empty of people, with a perfect view of the Mississippi River. And Mud Island.

  “What are you doing?” I asked. “Why did you stop here?”

  She pointed. “Because of those.”

  The far wall was full of backlit shelves, every single one featuring hourglasses.

  A few were made of glass and sand, simple, exactly like the kind you could buy in a department store. Others were more detailed. Etched glass, bases carved out of wood or formed from metal. The sand inside several had a different reflective quality from anything I’d ever seen. It shone like crushed diamonds.

  One hourglass, carved from ivory, completely drew me in. I had a strong desire to touch it, but some instinct made me recoil from it at the same time. I stepped as close as I dared.

  Discovered the spindles that connected the top and bottom of the base weren’t ivory but bones. What looked like human bones.

  The base was formed from carvings of tiny skulls, each one with black, gaping eye sockets and a wide-open mouth. The mouths seemed to be moving. Seductive whispers in my head grew louder and louder. I raised my hand to touch. So close.

  “He’s coming.” When Lily took my arm, real voices overtook the imaginary ones. She opened a narrow slatted door, pulled me inside, and shut it behind us.

  Five seconds later, Poe and a dark-haired woman walked into the office.

  Lily leaned against the wall in a half-sitting position. A stack of boxes ended at the back of her knees. She couldn’t stand up straight. I didn’t know how long we’d be stuck in the closet, but she couldn’t hold that position forever, especially if we needed to run once we got out.

  The woman’s voice was unnaturally soft, yet there was no mistaking her disdainful tone. “I thought this was your specialty.”