Chapter 6 - The Clock That Never Moved
Grandma was taken to Houston Methodist Hospital.
I wanted to ride with her.
Agent Reed convinced me to remain long enough to secure my father’s study.
“If the people who drugged her think she gave you something, they will destroy whatever remains.”
He was right.
In combat, emotion could not choose the next objective.
The phrase inside the clock that never moves led me back to the antique pocket watch on Dad’s desk.
Its hands were frozen at 3:17.
I opened the rear cover.
Nothing appeared unusual.
Thomas examined the watch.
“Your father had this repaired every year.”
“It never kept proper time.”
“Why keep repairing a broken watch?”
“Because your mother gave it to him.”
My biological mother had died when I was twelve.
She believed sentiment was more valuable than function.
Dad had carried the watch every day after her death.
I turned the winding crown backward.
A hidden panel opened beneath the face.
Inside was a memory chip no larger than my fingernail.
We connected it to Agent Reed’s secure laptop.
A video appeared.
My father sat at his desk three weeks before his death.
He looked exhausted.
A bruise marked the inside of his arm.
“Harper, the original will is held by Judge Miriam Cole.”
“I have revoked every power granted to Victoria and Conrad Vale.”
“The estate passes into a protected trust.”
“You and Margaret are the sole beneficiaries.”
“The land cannot be sold for fifty years.”
Dad paused to catch his breath.
“If Victoria produces a later will, it is false.”
“I discovered blank pages bearing my stolen signature in Conrad’s office.”
“I also found evidence that Mason has been using Sterling freight companies to transport illegal pharmaceuticals across Texas.”
Thomas stared at the screen.
Sterling Logistics had been Dad’s largest business.
It employed nearly three thousand people.
Dad continued.
“I attempted to contact federal authorities.”
“Deputy Briggs intercepted the complaint.”
“Conrad controls him through gambling debts.”
“Dr. Raymond changed my medication.”
“Victoria administers it.”
“I do not know how much time I have.”
His voice cracked for the first time.
“If I failed to tell you I was proud of you often enough, that failure belongs to me.”
My vision blurred.
I forced myself to keep watching.
“Do not protect my name by hiding what happened.”
“Protect the people whose lives depend on the truth.”
The video ended.
Reed copied the file to three secure drives.
Lena called Judge Miriam Cole.
The judge had retired to a ranch outside Austin.
Her assistant said she had not been seen in five days.
Conrad stood in the doorway.
No one had heard him approach.
“Judge Cole is elderly,” he said.
“She often travels without notice.”
Reed closed the laptop.
“How did you know whom we called?”
Conrad looked at my father’s pocket watch.
His calm disappeared.
I understood.
He knew about the judge.
He knew about the will.
And he had not expected us to find the memory chip.
Outside, a helicopter descended toward the lawn.
Victoria appeared behind Conrad.
“Mason is leaving,” she announced.
The helicopter doors opened.
May you like
Mason ran toward it carrying the black briefcase.
Inside the transparent side pocket was the missing folder labeled with my name.
