“Like what? I didn’t take anything of his, just Wanda, my clothes and jewelry, a few personal items, but I left a lot of it…” Her words trailed off when an earlier conversation popped into her mind.
Joe’s hand stilled. “What is it?”
She looked up at him. “Dennis wanted me to return a locket that he’d given me for my birthday. At the time, I thought he was just being petty, but now I can’t help but wonder if there was more to it.”
“Do you still have it?”
She nodded. “I was planning to mail it back to him, but I forgot to bring it with me on my last trip to the post office. It’s in the padded envelope on the bar.”
“Do you mind if I take a look at it?”
“Not at all.” Fiona stood and crossed to the bar separating the dining and living areas. She tore open the envelope, took out the necklace, and brought it back to Joe.
He held it up to the light, the oval locket dangling from a small loop attached to the thick silver chain. The front was enameled, with a yellowish background and a garish floral design. “It looks like something my Aunt Annabelle used to wear.”
“Dennis said it once belonged to his grandmother. That’s why he wanted it back.”
“No offense, but it’s frigging ugly. And it weighs a ton.”
“I know.” At the time, she didn’t want to act rude or ungrateful by admitting she didn’t like it. If she had, there would have been hell to pay. “I only wore it a few times, and then I put it in my jewelry box and kind of forgot it was in there.”
“And he never asked for it back until recently?”
Fiona nodded.
Joe unfastened the clasp and opened the locket to reveal an old picture of her and Dennis from that time they went to New England for his cousin’s wedding. “Did you choose the picture?”
“No, it came with that one in it.”
“Do you mind if I take it out?”
“Not at all, but why?”
“Just a hunch.” He removed the picture and set it aside, and then gently peeled off the black felt that was glued to the back. His lips curved up a fraction. “Do you have any tools with a thin edge, like a razor blade or a small screwdriver? If you don’t, I can get one from my apartment.”
“I have an X-ACTO knife. What do you need it for?”
“There’s a hidden compartment but I need something with an edge to pry it open.”
He held the opened locket out for her to see. Sure enough, there was a thin groove along the inner part of the locket that almost looked ornamental. Intrigued, she raced to the kitchen and dug through her junk drawer until she found the small craft knife. She brought it to the couch and handed it to Joe.
“Thanks.” He slid the knife into the groove and carefully pried the metal plate off. There were a few scrapes of metal against metal, and moments later, he extracted what appeared to be a small black piece of plastic. “Got it.”
“What is it?” she asked.
He held it lengthwise between his thumb and forefinger to give her a better view. “It’s a micro SD card, like the ones they use in cell phones and drones.”
She stared at it for a few seconds. “How did I not know that was there?”
“Well, like you said, it was far from your favorite piece of jewelry. I wouldn’t be surprised if it never belonged to his grandmother. He probably bought the ugliest thing he could find in the hopes you’d put it in the jewelry box and forget all about it. He just didn’t count on you coming to your senses and leaving his sorry ass.” Joe turned the card over in his hand. “Whatever’s on this must be pretty important for him to hide it in something of yours.”
Fiona’s thoughts tracked back to the break-in and the drawer of her jewelry box that the burglar had fully closed. “Do you think the person who broke into my apartment was searching for that?”
“It’s a distinct possibility.”
Her heart stuttered. The urge to toss the memory card down the garbage disposal was strong, but not nearly as strong as her desire to learn what information it contained. “Would you happen to have something that can read this?”
“No, but the techs at Six Points do. If you want, I’ll bring it in and have them take a look at it.”
