With that, Kennedy was asleep.
Ryan sat quietly, thinking about Kennedy’s words, and reflecting on the fact that Caitlin had implied much the same thing in her text message.
I’m watching Kennedy. Are you?
Ryan’s gaze fell on the silver pendant, lying safely just as Kennedy had placed it.
I’m watching Kennedy…watching Kennedy…
Ryan’s spine straightened. How? How was Caitlin watching Kennedy? Not figuratively, but actually.
She’d chosen those exact words, so they were no coincidence. And it was counterintuitive to believe she’d used them to throw FI off track, make them believe the text was coming from the killer. No. She was conveying a message to them, one she wanted to keep hidden from the killer’s probing eyes.
With a flash of insight, Ryan realized how obtuse he’d been when the truth was staring him in the face.
“Idiot,” he muttered under his breath. He picked up the heart-shaped pendant that Kennedy wore every waking minute, turning it over in his hands and carefully studying its intricate design. Two layers of delicate mesh, with the letter K in the center. The letter was made up of tiny pavé diamonds. The center diamond, where all the arms of the letter met, was larger than the others.
Almost as if it were a camera lens.
Ryan grabbed his cell phone, making sure that Kennedy was sound asleep before he texted his sister.
Fee—I need to FaceTime with you now. Can you free up and get to your workshop? Could be urgent. R
Not thirty seconds later came the responding text.
Ready and waiting. Call.
Ryan did just that, easing silently out of Kennedy’s room, pendant in hand, and shutting the door partway. He leaned against the adjacent wall, squatted, and slid to the ground until he was in a sitting position, his back braced.
Then, he initiated the FaceTime.
A moment later, Fiona’s face showed up on his iPhone screen.
“What’s going on?” she demanded. “I was just about to call it a night.”
“Shh,” he whispered. “I’m in the hall right outside Kennedy’s room. She finally fell asleep. I don’t want to wake her.” A pause as he considered the fact that the killer’s henchman might be listening. Fine. Let them. The worst that could happen is that they’d realize he’d figured out Caitlin’s communication device. He’d deal with that fact when it became necessary.
“Ryan?” Fiona pressed.
“Sorry. We’ll keep our voices low, but loud enough so we can still hear each other. We’ve got ground to cover.”
Fiona turned her palms up in question. “Am I supposed to understand what you’re talking about?”
Ryan shook his head. “No. You’re supposed to help me figure something out. Consider it a jewelry consult.”
He held up the pendant, bringing it as close to the screen as possible. “Are you on your tablet or your laptop?”
“My laptop.”
“Good. That’ll give you the broadest visual. Sorry we can’t do this in person, but obviously, I can’t take the chance of disappearing for hours with Kennedy’s precious possession, which, these days, is her only constant.”
Fiona nodded, eyeing the necklace. “Can you make the image sharper somehow?”
“Yeah.” Ryan applied one of his special filters to do just that. “Better?”
“A lot.” Fiona’s practiced eye studied the face of the pendant. “What do you need to know?”
“Anything you can tell me about how this was made. Also, if you see something unusual or different.”
