Another mystery among many.

Once done stacking the books, Jake sat cross-legged on the bed and pulled the gold watch out of his pajama pocket. He set it between him and his sister.

“How did those thieves know we had it?” Kady asked. “Did you tell anyone?”

“Of course not! How about you?”

Kady rolled her eyes.

So no.

Her eyes settled back on him. “You’re supposed to be the brains of this outfit. You don’t have any theories?”

“Only that Bledsworth must somehow be involved. Back in Calypsos, lots of people knew we’d found Dad’s watch. Maybe word got out, reached ears here in our time. That’s all I can think of.”

“If so, can we trust Drummond?”

“I don’t know.”

Jake had mixed feelings about the man. He knew Morgan must be lying—or at least was not being totally honest—about how he came to be in the house so conveniently. Yet Jake could not discount his gut reaction. He sort of liked the big guy.

Jake took a deep breath and continued. “Which brings up another question: why did those thieves come here for the watch now? We’ve been back for three months. So why come today of all days?”

Neither of them had a clue. A silence spread over them, both lost in their own thoughts.

Kady finally picked up the watch and turned it around in her fingers. Her gaze grew wistful. “I remember when Mom gave this to Dad. I was only five. He let me sit on his lap and wind it up.”

She opened the case and stared at the watch face. None of the hands moved. After sitting in the cabinet for so long, the watch had run down.

Kady began to turn the stem of the watch, winding up the mechanism. Jake didn’t try to stop her. They’d both done everything they could to manipulate the watch, to see if they could use it to transport them back to Pangaea to continue the search for their mother and father.

But nothing had worked.

They needed to find another way to go back.

Kady stopped winding the stem and let the watch tick away in her hand. Her voice grew as tender as a young child’s. “I remember how he used to carry it in his vest pocket, and I’d place my ear against it and hear it tick. To me, this was always Daddy’s heartbeat.”

Jake saw the pain mixed with happiness in his sister’s eyes.

“Let me,” he said, and took the watch from her.

He placed it against his ear and listened to the soft click of the precise mechanism. He closed his eyes; but instead of his father, Jake pictured the machinery inside the watch. He couldn’t help it. He’d read volumes on watches as a part of his study of horology, the science of the measurement of time.

Jake knew there was something important about watch-making and the movement of time, something just out of his grasp. He continued to listen to the ticking, straining for insight. He pictured the clockworks inside the watch, the precise movement of wheel, shaft, gear, and pivot. And it wasn’t all metal inside the case. To create less friction, watchmakers used jewels for some of the moving parts: rubies, sapphires, emeralds, even diamonds.