Page 147 of Concealed in Death

“It doesn’t drain?”

“You’d drain it if there’s a problem.”

“Twelve dead, missing suspects equals a problem.”

“Right.” Peabody returned to all fours, turned another switch, and with a gurgle, the water level began to drop.

“Peabodys are handy.” Eve knelt down, shoved up her sleeve, and began to push through the layer of pebbles. “We need a bucket or something.”

“I’ll get a bucket or something.”

Eve continued to dig through the draining water, the smooth white stones. Probably nothing here, she thought. He probably just sat in here feeling sorry for himself and asking the universe why his brother turned out to be a homicidal whack job.

But then her fingers hooked on something. When she tugged it free, she held up a dripping pendant on a silver chain.

Half a pendant, she corrected, like half a puzzle piece inscribed with NASH on one side, BROTHERS on the other.

“Look here, Peabody,” she said when she heard the door open. “A clue.”

“Wow, you made a big fucking mess in here.”

“Quilla.” Damn it. “You can’t be in here.”

“I just want to see. How come you made such a big fucking mess? Was that in the fountain? Why would somebody put their unity necklace in the fountain? It’s all wet.”

“Fountains will do that. Unity necklace?”

“Sure. Some of the kids get them with their BFFs. You know, we’re two halves of the same whole, or we fit each other just right, some crap like that. It’s total lametown.”

But even as she said it, Quilla eyed the pendant as if she wanted one.

“Maybe. Do you wear your own name, or the BFF’s?”

“Duh. The BFF’s. It’s the point, right?”

“Okay. Go away.”

“Come on, everybody’s creeping around out there like they’re afraid to wake up some monster. It’s boring.”

“Go be bored. Peabody,” Eve snapped when her partner came in with a big white bucket.

“Oh hey, you really shouldn’t be in here right now.”

“It’s totally not the Quiet Room, not with you guys in here. Are you going to empty the fountain? I could help.”

“No,” Eve said firmly. “Go.”

“Shit, talk about lametown.”

She sulked her way out.

“This has a match. It’ll have Monty on it.”

“They had unity necklaces. That’s mostly a girl or a couple thing, and kind of on the young side for men.”

“He put Monty’s in here, so he put his in here. That way he could keep them, hidden away, but together. Stanch some of the guilt maybe, symbolize cleansing; we’ll let Mira chew on that one. Bag it.”

Peabody took the pendant, set down the bucket. “Aren’t you going to take the stones out?”