The Clockwork Fairy Kingdom Read Online Free PDF Page A

it, as his client had suggested. Denise had never filed for a divorce
or even sought a restraining order. She’d just taken the kids and run, which
made her a kidnapper and a homewrecker . His client
had reassured him that he just wanted to get his family back together. Robert
was doing the right thing by reuniting this man and his children.
    Robert spent the afternoon wiring a tiny camera to the
passenger-side door handle of his car. He took pride in covering the wires,
hiding them as they ran from the door to the steering column. He tested it a
couple of times, making sure that with the push of a button he could get a
series of shots.
    At 2 A.M., Robert timed his drive, going along the route
twice. He took into account as many variables as he could. It was easier to add
time, go around an additional block or two, than to make up time if the bus was
early or fast.
    After a precise 248-minute nap, a lucky number if there ever
was one, Robert awoke, shaved, showered, and then hit the road. His luck held
that morning—just as he turned down the main highway, the bus came up
behind him. It slowed a couple of times, making stops right where Robert
thought it would. He turned down Spring Road just as it had started up again.
    Robert passed the intersection of Spring and Fowler at 7:57
A.M. The button camera worked perfectly. He got multiple shots of the three
people standing at the bus stop: a young woman with dark hair and a fine,
upturned nose, pale in the morning light with a sprinkling of freckles across
her cheeks; a young boy, tow-headed, with blue eyes that matched the sky; and a
young girl, as dark as her mother, but brighter, more joyous.
    After turning down the main highway, Robert pulled to the
side to let the bus pass him. He was tempted to keep going, to use this string
of luck and go straight to the betting parlor. However, he prided himself on
being a professional, so he called his client using the pre-paid cell phone his
client had provided for him, for this one task.
    “I found them.”
    ***
    Dale had put away the machinery in the morning, carefully
loading all the screws and parts he’d removed from the primary piece into empty
yogurt containers. He missed the glass jars he’d had at their old place—he’d
attached the tops of the jars into the bottom of a shelf, then screwed the jars
back into the tops. That way he could see what was in a jar without having to
open it, and all the small nuts, screws, wire, and bolts were easily
accessible. The yogurt containers were cheap but they weren’t as convenient.
    That morning, it didn’t matter to Dale that he rode the bus
alone, with only his sister, and that no one said hello to Dale in the hallway
before homeroom. Instead, he thought about the machine. Why had it started to
glow? What about it was phosphorus? There must be a compartment for storing the
energy...
    “Dale!”
    Dale looked up. His cheeks grew warm. Mr. Henderson had just
called his name—twice—for attendance. “Here,” he said sheepishly.
    “Already on summer break?” his homeroom teacher asked,
teasing gently.
    Dale just shrugged. It had been hard coming into this school
so late in the year, with barely a trimester left. He’d wished his mom had
agreed to homeschool them; he could have gotten so much more done. However, she
had to work as well.
    The plastic seats made Dale’s thighs sweat. He tried to pay
attention to the announcements: the finals schedule, parent-teacher
conferences, summer school, as well as the big school picnic. However, he kept
squirming, as well as tracing gear paths in his head. Mr. Henderson had to call
him to order a second time.
    Dale wasn’t sure how he made it through all his classes
without someone threatening detention. Luckily, the teachers cut all the kids
slack because summer break started next week. Because of winter weather and
school cancellations, they only had two more days of school the following week.
    Finally, last period arrived, along with