But as he got into the role, Hale found to his surprise that this character was the embodiment of his true personality. Playing the part was like coming home. He had indeed grown fascinated with watches and clocks and time. (He’d also developed an abiding interest in the Delphic Mechanism; stealing it at some point in the future was a distinct possibility.)

The Watchmaker . . .

Charles Hale was himself simply a timepiece. You could use a watch for something joyous like checking contractions for the birth of a baby. Or heinous: coordinating the time of a raid to slaughter women and children.

Time transcends morality.

He now looked down at what sat on the seat next to him, the gold Breguet pocket watch. In his gloved hands, he picked it up, wound it slowly—always better to underwind than over-—and carefully slipped it between the sheets of bubble wrap in a large white envelope.

Hale sealed the self-adhesive flap and started the car.

There were no clear leads.

Rhyme, Sellitto, Cooper and Pulaski were sitting in the lab on Central Park West, going over the few things found in the perp’s Brooklyn safe house.

Amelia Sachs was not present at the moment. She hadn’t announced where she was going. But she didn’t need to. She’d mentioned to Thom that she’d be nearby, if they needed her—at a meeting on Fifty-seventh and Sixth. Rhyme had checked the phone directory. That was the location of the Argyle Security headquarters.

Rhyme simply couldn’t think about that, and he was concentrating on how to continue the search for the Watchmaker, whoever he might be.

Working backward, Rhyme constructed a rough scenario of the events. The ceremony had been announced on October 15, so Carol and Bud had contacted the Watchmaker sometime around then. He’d come to New York around November 1, the date of the lease on the Brooklyn safe house. A few weeks later, Amelia Sachs had taken over the Creeley case and soon after, Baker and Wallace decided to have her killed.

“Then they hooked up with the Watchmaker. What’d he tell us, when we thought he was Duncan? About their meeting?”

Sellitto said, “Just that somebody at the club put them together—the club where Baker put the touch on his friend.”

“But he was lying. There was no club. . . .” Rhyme shook his head. “Somebody put them together, somebody who knows the Watchmaker—probably somebody in the area. If we can find them, there could be some solid leads. Is Baker talking?”

“Nope, not a word. Nobody is.”

The rookie was shaking his head. “That’s going to be a tough one. I mean, how many OC crews are there in the metro area? Take forever to track down the right one. Not like they’re going to be volunteering to help us out.”

The criminalist frowned. “What’re you talking about? What’s an organized crime posse got to do with anything?”