The Watch That Sank
Chapter 02 - The Watch That Sank
Five years earlier, Ethan Mercer had supposedly drowned off the coast of Connecticut.
His sailboat was found drifting twelve miles from shore. The deck showed signs of a struggle, but investigators concluded that a storm had washed him overboard. His body surfaced three days later near a rocky inlet.
The report listed accidental death.
The report also listed one missing item.
A two-tone Rolex Grant had given Ethan when he joined the federal fraud task force.
The watch was never recovered.
Adrian had attended the funeral. He stood beside Elena, held her hand, and spoke about Ethan as if they had been friends.
He claimed they had not seen each other in months.
Now Ethan’s watch lay on Adrian’s kitchen island.
Detective Maya Brooks placed it inside an evidence bag while crime-scene technicians secured the penthouse. Guests surrendered names and contact information. Officers photographed the scratches on Elena’s chest and collected the broken chain Adrian had tossed behind the bar.
Adrian recovered his voice.
“This is absurd. Grant could have purchased another watch.”
Grant nodded toward the clasp.
“Turn it over.”
Maya rotated the bag.
On the underside were three engraved letters.
EJM.
Ethan James Mercer.
Adrian’s eyes shifted toward the terrace.
Elena saw it.
So did Maya.
“Where did you find it?” Elena asked her father.
Grant did not answer immediately.
He had always believed information should arrive only when it became useful. That habit once made him an effective prosecutor. It also made him a difficult father.
“This morning,” he said, “federal agents searched Adrian’s yacht under a sealed warrant. The watch was inside a hidden compartment behind the navigation panel.”
Adrian laughed too quickly.
“Anyone could have put it there.”
“The compartment requires your fingerprint.”
“My crew has access.”
“Your crew provided statements.”
Adrian’s attorney, who had been attending the party, stepped forward.
“My client will not answer further questions.”
Maya gestured toward the bruising on Elena’s neck.
“He will answer questions about the assault after booking.”
Adrian looked at Elena.
“You planned this.”
She wished she could say yes.
She wished the humiliation had been theater and the scratches part of a controlled operation.
They were not.
“I knew nothing about the watch,” she said.
Grant looked ashamed.
The officers escorted Adrian toward the elevator. He remained composed until he passed the marble island.
His gaze returned to the evidence bag.
That fear told Elena more than the forged messages had.
At the elevator, Adrian turned.
“You think your brother was a hero?”
Grant moved in front of Elena.
Adrian smiled faintly.
“Ask your father why Ethan was investigating him.”
The doors closed.
Silence spread through the penthouse.
Elena looked at Grant.
“What did he mean?”
May you like
Grant’s face became unreadable.
“That,” he said, “is the reason I did not tell you about the warrant.”
