6:15

Elias’s apartment above the shop was mostly bare-bones: a space heater, a tattered couch, a stained mattress on a rusty frame; a footlocker, stacked washer and dryer, a battered old wardrobe… certainly sparse as far as furniture was concerned. But one thing existed in abundance: clocks.

Cuckoo clocks, antique wall clocks, novelty clocks… and one gorgeous grandfather clock. Sam was reminded of the fancy clock on the wall of his garage downstairs. She wondered where the fascination came from.

Elias emerged from the bathroom carrying something wrapped in a towel, which he placed on the bed. He opened his footlocker and pulled out a shirt and pants. “These… won’t exactly fit you but they’ll work for now, until I can get your clothes dry,” he said, handing them over. “You can change in the bathroom but the facilities don’t work. If you need to go, there’s a working bathroom downstairs.”