The Illumination by Karen Tintori Page B

out at them from the cave walls and maybe putting a hex on them.”
    â€œIn Cappadocia.” Natalie nodded. “I’ve been there. But the evil eye isn’t a big deal only in Turkey, Agent Tyrelle. It’s a powerful superstition in a substantial portion of the world. The belief that the evil eye has the power to inflict harm, and the use of amulets like this pendant and those beads you saw to ward it off, dates back even to biblical times.
    â€œIt’s the reason people began painting their eyes back in ancient Egypt. It wasn’t because Cleopatra thought it was glamorous. The Egyptians believed the curse from the evil eye entered the body through either the eyes or the mouth, so both men and women outlined their eyes with kohl for protection as a way of mirroring back the image of the eye. It’s why Egyptian women tinted their lips—to prevent evil from entering through their mouths. Fear of the evil eye permeates the entire Middle East and the Mediterranean, and on into Africa and Western Europe.”
    â€œI’ve got news for you,” Tyrelle said. “It reaches into South Carolina, too. I’ve seen plenty of pale turquoise window shutters down there outside of Charleston, where my grandmother and aunties live. They all paint their shutters blue, convinced that that color has the power to ward off evil spirits. I suppose that’s the same sort of thing.”
    â€œWell, blue’s the key color when it comes to the evil eye,” Natalie said. “In the Arabic world people with blue eyes are often suspected of possessing the evil eye, probably one reason amulets to deflect the eye are predominantly blue as well. Sort of like fighting fire with fire.”
    D’Amato lifted his coffee cup. “Well, we Italians use red to protect us. You should see how many red-ribboned horseshoes my grandmother has hanging in her house in Long Island.”
    â€œJews use red for protection, too,” Natalie said. “There’s a long tradition of tying red ribbons on their babies’ cribs to protect the infants from the evil eye.”
    â€œLike the red kabbalah strings people wear on their wrists,” Tyrelle commented.
    There was a pause as the FBI agent drained the last of his tea. “We’re getting offtrack here. Let’s go back to this pendant. Just how valuable do you think it might be, Dr. Landau?”
    â€œI don’t have enough data yet to give you a figure, Agent Tyrelle. All I know is, it’s not the trinket my sister thought it was.”
    â€œI think it’s valuable enough that someone killed Dana because of it,” D’Amato interjected, “and then tailed Sutherland all the way from Iraq to get their hands on it.”
    Tyrelle shook his head. “Slow down, D’Amato. You’re making some pretty big leaps here.” He leaned back in his chair. “First of all, we don’t know that Sutherland has met with foul play. Maybe he’s just gone AWOL. Maybe his disappearance has nothing to do with Dr. Landau’s sister. On the other hand, maybe it does—but not because they both came in contact with this pendant. Could be the two of them made some enemies in the course of their work, or uncovered some dirt on somebody who didn’t want it exposed—”
    â€œThen explain why the thief in the Devereaux museum was interested in only one thing,” D’Amato countered. “Getting this away from Natalie.”
    Tyrelle threw down his pen. “You’ve got speculation, D’Amato, that’s all you’ve got. Not one shred of evidence. So I’m not clear what you’re looking for from me.”
    â€œJust be a sounding board, Luther. Off-the-record.”
    â€œGo on.”
    Natalie and D’Amato exchanged glances. “Natalie has some legal concerns about this pendant,” D’Amato told him.
    â€œHow so?” Tyrelle’s brows drew together in a frown