A dragonfly pendant was face up on the counter. Small rubies were in place of it's eyes, and the dragonfly itself was made of gold. As I turned it over, a bit of writing was scribbled on a sliver of paper.

I stared, confused at the message. Whoever had placed the pendant on the counter had been in here after I captured that girl. It had to have been. I can clearly see the kitchen counters from the stair rail and the pendant would have been in my direct line of sight. And it couldn't have been the girl. She only knows French (I should know, I have insight on everybody at my school. I even know where she keeps her lock to the secret box in her closet).

I clutched the pendant and turned around, surveying the bottom floor. The house is pretty wide open, so I can almost see everything from the kitchen. I checked everywhere somebody could possibly hide, I even went through the upstairs. No one. Whoever had been here certainly wasn't here anymore. And they were smart. If I had found them, I could do unspeakable things. No one would find out. With a...