Story Time

April 5, 2024

After realizing that Travis Hartford, leader of the criminal ring–The Circle of Concerned Family and Friends–is actually disgraced Question Mark police officer Troy Holland, Officer Ron and Violet travel to the Shady Village retirement community and bring Holland to justice. While inspecting Holland’s room, Violet makes a startling discovery: among the many historical artifacts Holland had been selling on the internet, there is a painting by Rebecca Willey which seems to contain a hidden message on the back.

Rushing the painting to Dr. Amodeus Harrington-Willey, Violet makes another important discovery: the invisible final song, consisting of exactly twenty notes, is written on the back! As they are transcribing the musical composition, Amodeus recognizes Violet’s grandfather’s watch as the one that seemed to have gone missing from his family many years ago and that the watch contains the final clue to where the musical composition needs to be played: the Willey Clocktower.

Meanwhile, Officer Ron, after closing the case of his father’s death and the criminal conspiracy of Troy Holland and the Circle, has another momentous challenge to face: to decide to leave town with Holly Peterson or to stay in town and continue his uninspired career as a police officer. After discussing with Holly, Ron decides, for the first time in his life, to begin a new life somewhere else and to embrace the uncertainty of the future.

With Theo Willeys’ help, Violet discovers a hidden room inside the abandoned Willey Clock Tower that contains an organ connected to pipes that run throughout the town. There, she plays the final song. Immediately, the seven Voids slowly fade until they are gone and Time is finally fixed.

Violet finds herself finally able to begin to accept her mother’s death and travels to the woods near the bridge to leave the Disappearing Box containing some of her mother’s belongings there. When she gets home, she discovers a strange new message from a kind of secret admirer, written in an entirely different code–Playfair–and wonders who might have sent it?

As Question Mark struggles to return to normal, the threat of the Order of the Arranger and upcoming New Tomorrow accelerator test put the sense of momentary joy in peril. What unseen threats still loom over this quiet Ohio town?