My Dad Finished Repairing My Boss’s Pool and Was Refused Payment, Then One Look at the Water Told Him Exactly What to Do
When Dad uncovered the box, he noticed faded writing on the side.
A family name.
He recognized that the house currently standing there had not always existed.
So instead of opening the box alone, he contacted Eleanor.
She had lived on the street for fifty years.
She knew the family named on the box.
The previous property had belonged to a Hungarian immigrant named Tibor, a watchmaker who spent decades repairing watches and clocks.
Over the years, Tibor had built a valuable personal collection.
He died in the late 1990s.
His wife passed away a few years later.
Their son eventually sold the land.
The original house was demolished.
Richard’s current home was built afterward.
And somewhere during all of that, nobody found the collection Tibor had buried.
The pool had eventually been built over it.
“For twenty-two years?” I asked.
Dad nodded.
“What was inside?”
“Twelve pieces. Mostly pocket watches. One small clock.”
Eleanor believed at least one of the watches was extremely valuable.
Years earlier, Tibor had told her he had hidden his best pieces because he didn’t trust banks.
She knew the collection existed.
She just never knew where.
Until Dad found it.
“Why are the police here?”
“Because I called them.”
Dad explained it as though the answer should have been obvious.
