The Watch in Mind Games: From Murder Evidence to Token of Justice

What Is the Watch and Where Does It Appear?

The watch is a Bulgari timepiece given to Cora Fox by her husband John on their tenth anniversary. It is engraved on the back with the phrase “For All Time” inside a heart. In the novel, the watch appears at three crucial moments:

1. During the murder – Cora is wearing the watch when Ray Riggs stalks and kills her and John. Riggs takes the watch as a trophy.
2. As evidence in the investigation – The watch becomes the key physical clue that links Riggs to the crime scene.
3. In the final psychic game – During Thea’s mind‑game confrontation, Riggs’s obsession with the watch resurfaces, and Thea uses it to draw him deeper into her trap.

How the Watch Changes Meaning

At first, the watch represents Cora’s love for her family—a gift inscribed “For All Time,” symbolizing enduring marriage and maternal affection. After the murder, the watch is stripped of that loving association and becomes a symbol of violent greed. Riggs sees it as a marker of wealth and entitlement; he targets Cora because he believes she is a “rich bitch” flaunting her status. He takes the watch to possess what he thinks he deserves.

Later, as police evidence, the watch transforms into a symbol of justice. Its recovery and use in court help secure Riggs’s arrest and conviction. In Thea’s final psychic battle with Riggs, the watch’s meaning shifts again. It becomes a weapon in Thea’s game—a psychological trigger that reminds Riggs of his crime and of Thea’s power over him. By forcing Riggs to relive the moment he took the watch, Thea breaks his mental resistance and traps his consciousness.

Character and Theme Connections

Thea Fox

Thea inherits the watch’s original meaning indirectly: she fights to reclaim the justice that the watch represents. During the prison confrontation, she uses the watch as a point of entry to Riggs’s memories. She makes him see Cora’s face and the watch’s engraving, which he cannot reconcile with his desire to “smash it.” Thea’s ability to weaponize the watch shows how she turns even the most painful object into a tool for closure.

Ray Riggs

For Riggs, the watch becomes a fixation. In Chapter Nine, he reflects on seeing Thea in the mirror “when he had that goddamn watch in his hands.” The watch haunts him because it ties him to the crime and to Thea’s psychic intrusion. In the final game, Riggs’s confusion over the watch’s color—pink or blue—reveals his crumbling mental state; he cannot keep the details straight because Thea controls the narrative.

Family and Community Bonds

The watch originally belonged to Thea’s mother, connecting her to her parents even after their death. The engraving “For All Time” echoes the novel’s theme of enduring love. When Thea confronts Riggs, she invokes her parents’ love as a contrast to Riggs’s lovelessness. The watch thus ties into the grief and healing theme: Thea does not reclaim the watch (it remains in police custody), but she reclaims the justice it represents.

Justice vs. Revenge

The watch symbolizes the difference between lawful justice and personal vengeance. As evidence, it serves the formal justice system. When Thea uses it in her mental game, she acts outside that system, yet her goal is not revenge but permanent protection of herself and her family. Her final victory—giving Riggs a stroke that traps his mind—is arguably more severe than any court punishment, yet the watch remains a token of that extrajudicial resolution.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does the watch’s physical description—especially the engraving—contrast with the violence it is associated with?
The watch is a luxury item, a gift from a loving husband. The engraving “For All Time” inside a heart suggests permanence and affection. Riggs’s theft and murder invert that message: the watch now represents the end of time for Thea’s parents. The violent association does not erase the original meaning but deepens the irony—what was meant to last forever becomes a symbol of violent interruption.

2. In what way does Riggs’s obsession with the watch reveal his own psychology?
Riggs fixates on the watch because he interprets it as a sign of Cora’s superiority. He thinks, “That watch just screamed: I’m better than you, Ray.” The watch triggers his class resentment and his need to take what others have. His desire to own the watch is not about its monetary value but about controlling a symbol of what he lacks: status, love, and a normal life. His inability to let go of the watch, even in his fantasies, shows how deeply his identity depends on possessing what others cherish.

3. How does Thea use the watch during the psychic game to gain power over Riggs?
During the final confrontation, Thea makes Riggs relive the night of the murder. She draws his attention to the watch by having him see its color shifting—pink or blue—which confuses and destabilizes him. She then forces him to repeat the line “I want that fucking watch,” tying his greed to his defeat. By controlling the watch’s imagery, Thea demonstrates that she owns the narrative of the crime. Riggs cannot escape his own memory of taking the watch, and Thea uses that fixation to inflict a stroke.

4. Does the watch ever stop being a symbol of trauma for Thea? How does the novel suggest she moves beyond it?
The watch itself remains in police evidence; Thea never physically holds it again. Yet by the end, the watch no longer triggers her grief. She moves beyond the trauma by taking direct action—confronting Riggs in prison and winning the psychic game. The watch’s role shifts from evidence to a tool she uses deliberately. Her final embrace of life (her romance with Ty, her game design work) indicates that she no longer needs the watch to anchor her pain. The novel suggests that reclaiming agency over the object—using it mentally—allows her to leave its physical absence behind. She does not need to possess the watch; she needs to possess the story of what it means.