Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 66642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“Why did you leave the diner to Sophie?”
The spirit became terror stricken. “Leave Sophie alone.”
Taken aback at Marty’s protective instinct when he mentioned Sophie, Jody felt as if his legs had been swept out from under him. “I was under the assumption you hated Sophie.”
“I love my daughter. Stay away from her!” Marty yelled at him.
“Calm yourself,” Jody told him. “I’m trying to protect her, too. I need to know who from.”
“Why should you care?”
“A lot’s happened since you met your end, old man. I love Sophie, and I’m trying to protect her.”
Marty stared at him closer. “You’re one of the Colemans. I remember seeing you with them when they came to town.”
“That’s correct. I’m Jody. Now tell me what I need to know.”
Marty seemed indecisive; his face set stubbornly.
“Ginny is my sister. She is the only one in this town who gave a damn about you. If you cared enough to get to know the rest of the Colemans, you’d know I’d only want to protect your daughter.”
His face twisted in remorse.
“Ginny was the only good thing in my life, other than my daughter,” Marty revealed. “I left Sophie the restaurant because it was the only thing I could. I lost all my money on the horses. The restaurant was the only thing I had to give.”
Jody steeled himself not to feel sorry for him.
“If you loved her so much, then why did you leave the clock out in the open to be seen?”
“I didn’t know I was going to die before they came back for the clock.”
“Who was?”
“I don’t know. Delormer is someone’s muscle; I didn’t ask. He gave me money to stash it. I did. I was in debt to my eyeballs. I wanted the money he offered more than I wanted to ask questions.”
“What did Delormer look like?”
“Did?”
“If he’s who I think he was, he’s dead,” Jody answered.
“He was an ugly fucker, looked like he had big holes on his face.”
“That’s him,” he confirmed. “You have no idea who he worked for?”
“No. Tell Sophie to get rid of the clock.”
“Why do you care? You’ve made her and her mother’s lives miserable.”
“I saved them.”
Jody spat, “Bullshit.”
“I’m not lying. The clock wasn’t the first time I had dealings with Delormer. He was my bookie when Sophie was just a kid. I owed him money, and he threatened to kill Sophie or her mother unless I paid him back. I kept them moving until I could pay him back. I never could. He brought me the clock and told me if I kept it safe, he would cancel out the debt I owed him, plus give me fifty thousand cash. When he came back for the clock, I was going to try to make amends to Sophie… my time ran out.”
“Yes, it did. Now you have Sophie tangled in the mess you created,” Jody said grimly, his voice dropping to a whisper.
Marty asked frantically as his image began to disappear, “What are you going to do with the clock?”
“What you didn’t have the balls to do: find out who it belongs to.”
Afterword
Fate’s hands clenched on the balustrade. “So, it has begun.”
“It began a long time ago,” Mother responded. “I told you I would fulfill my promise to you.”
“I would never have wanted you to put yourself in jeopardy.” Fate blinked back tears brought on by a mixture of happiness and sadness.
As always, Mother stood fearlessly firm.
“I will only be in jeopardy if they fail me. They won’t.”
Fate gazed over the balustrade, watching as the three humans hid the medallion. “He is afraid.”
“As they all should be.”
Fate returned her gaze to Mother. “What’s your next move?”
Mother narrowed her gaze on all the pieces involved in the game. “There is one who has been waiting patiently for his reward. I prefer to move another piece, but my rook deserves his.”
Fate frowned. “Aren’t you going to lose the game if you move him too early?”
“No.” Mother gave her a calculating smile. “Can you think of a better incentive to win a battle than love?”