"I just want to let you know that we have finished compiling our list of everyone who is still here," Blake reported to Hotch via his cell phone. "We have also completed preliminary interviews with everyone, including the parking valets and the hotel employees. It doesn't appear as if anyone saw anything pertinent to our investigation. JJ, Reid, and I are now waiting for further instructions."
"Did you get the list to Garcia so she can start checking everyone out?" Hotch asked. "I know she is already working on hotel employees so she should probably start on the valets next, and then guests, and finally people from The Bureau. She also needs to compare your list to the original guest list to see who has already left."
"And, Blake," Hotch glanced around to make sure Rossi was still on the other side of the conference room. "Could you ask Garcia to check out Amanda and Lena, too? I know she did a quick check on them while we were in Alaska, but I need her to make sure that neither of them is the target."
"Understood," Blake replied. "After all, Amanda was about to get into that car with Rossi. Now, I need to ask whether we can start releasing people to go home. Some of these people are getting kind of impatient."
"We do have some pretty big names here," JJ spoke up.
"Where is Strauss?" Hotch asked. "That should probably be her call."
"Let me see if I can get her on her cell," JJ suggested. "I'll let you know what she decides."
"If their car has been cleared, send them home," was Strauss' decision. "The majority of these people work for The Bureau. If we need to question them further, we know where we can find them."
When Rossi's phone buzzed, he glanced first at the screen and then at Hotch. "It's Anderson," he announced as he pushed the button.
"Anderson?" he answered. "Is everything okay?"
"Agent Rossi," Anderson responded. "Everything is okay here at your house. However, your friend, Ms. Carlyle, and I have been looking at the necklace you loaned her to wear, and I have some questions."
"The necklace?" Rossi glanced at Hotch. "What about the necklace?"
"Well, it appears that there is something embedded in one of the pedals," Anderson began. "And, I don't know a whole lot about jewelry, but it appears that there is something strange engraved on another of the pedals. It's not like any jeweler's mark I have ever seen."
"That necklace has been in my safety deposit box for years!" Rossi exclaimed. "Although, I must admit, I never really examined it. Sit tight – I'm on my way home!"
He closed his cell phone and turned to Hotch. "Did you hear?" he asked.
"Yes!" Hotch told him. "Do you want someone to go with you? If the guests haven't started leaving yet, I'm sure we can find someone here who knows about women's jewelry."
"Maybe we had better find someone who knows about bugs, too," Rossi suggested.
It didn't take long to locate an agent with the necessary expertise, and Rossi was soon heading home accompanied by Agent Williams, who had extensive experience with the recovery of stolen jewelry. At the last minute, on the off chance that the engraving might be a cryptogram of some sort, Rossi also decided to take Reid along.