“Where is he?” I asked. “Liam, where is he?”
The sound of fire consuming the lab filled the silence between us. I looked up into his face, lit by the flames. His eyes relayed the truth he wouldn’t speak.
“No.” My knees gave out, and I slumped forward. Liam caught me under my arms and slowly lowered me to the ground. “He jumped out a window, something. He promised me before we came back that we’d be fine. He has to be safe.”
“Sweet girl.” Liam sat down on the ground beside me, his arm around my shoulders to keep me upright. “Once I knew you were breathing I scouted the front of the building. He couldn’t have escaped through the back—that’s where the explosion came from. Michael isn’t there. I don’t think he made it out.”
o;I’m sorry.” I wanted to comfort him, but I didn’t know how.
“So am I. And confused. Grace is very strong. I don’t see my death sending her over the edge that way, making her that desperate. Considering how much she loves Kaleb, I know he would have been her first thought. Her every thought.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“I wish I had an explanation.” We were quiet for a moment. “Kaleb told me about you and your wife, about how amazing you were together. I’ve never heard anyone my age talk about their parents the way he talked about you two.”
“We’re a very happy family. Or rather, we were.”
“Michael is positive you can get it all back. I’m sure he’s right.”
“Thank you, Emerson,” he said kindly, but he looked like he was in pain. “Please, tell me about my son, what he’s been up to. Michael tried to sugarcoat it.”
“I don’t think you have to worry. I get Kaleb. I understand where he’s coming from. I lost my parents, too, and when you think you don’t really have anyone left you … maybe you don’t make the best choices.”
“These choices—would you consider them to be irrevocable?”
“No, not all of them. They can remove tattoos.”
“Tattoos?”
“Don’t you think Michael should be back by now?” I asked. “John Doe—the cadaver—isn’t that heavy.”
He squinted, looking up at the clock, and I watched as fear marred his features.
I swung around.
Neither of the clock hands had moved since Michael left the lab.
Chapter 45
You don’t have anything in here that would tell us what time it is?” Scrounging around on his desktop, I tried to find something that would give me the correct time. “No cell phone? No watch besides the one on your arm?”
“I tend to lose things like cell phones and watches. And they’re destroyed by time travel. I’ve been doing quite a bit of research lately.” He opened a drawer in his desk, treating me to a view of at least half a dozen watches with cracked faces. “No good.”
Research. A computer. A computer would have a clock. “Cat mentioned your mainframe. Where is it?”
“It’s down at the moment. That’s what I was working on when Michael showed up,” he said, pointing to the corner. The mainframe didn’t look like any other computer I’d ever seen. It had multiple screens, keyboards that displayed strange-looking symbols, and a central processing unit the size of a suitcase. Liam knelt down and started pushing buttons and wiggling cables.
A computer disk in a clear jewel case sat beside the largest monitor. The information Cat asked us to retrieve. It was slim enough for me to slip it into my inside jacket pocket. After that, I opened the bottom right desk drawer to grab the disk with the formula for Kaleb’s meds. It was exactly where he said it would be. I tucked it into my pocket as well, keeping it on the inside, closest to my heart. I didn’t think about what that meant.
Liam was still working on the CPU.
“I’m going to look outside, see if he’s on his way back.”
I opened the door. Nothing. The grounds were quiet, still sparkling in the moonlight. I stood on my tiptoes to look across the yard. Even though I was shivering in the cold, I wouldn’t step into the warmth of the lab. I’d just decided to search for him when Michael stepped around the corner of the main house. Exhaling in relief, I waited until he was past the patio and then ran to help him.
“I got back as fast as I could. What’s going on?” he asked as we approached the lab.
“It’s the clock. It’s broken. We don’t know what time it is.”
He uttered a curse under his breath as the door opened and Liam stepped out. Michael stopped him when he tried to take the cadaver. “No. Take Emerson and head for the car. I’ll be there as soon as I set everything up. Just go!”