“Fine.” Carlita took the empty seat next to Pete.
The room grew quiet again, with only the sound of Elvira’s taps and clicks.
“Sweet!” She whooped loudly.
Carlita jerked back, clutching her chest. “You scared me half to death.”
“Sorry. I was so nervous about messing up and getting caught, I forgot my password for a minute there.”
“More like half an hour,” Dernice whispered loudly.
“I’ll track down the timeframe in question and we’ll be on our way.” Elvira, with a look of concentration etched on her face, hunched over the keyboard.
“I confirmed the approximate time of when Sonny was admitted and fast-forwarded through the surveillance recordings until I found where he was moved to his room.” Elvira crooked her finger in her sister’s direction. “Time for you to assist. You’re the one who will be most familiar with Sonny’s visitors.”
Huddling together, Elvira and Dernice began watching the recordings. Carlita occasionally walked over to check on their progress, which seemed to be moving at a snail’s pace.
Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer. “Do any of his visitors look familiar?”
“Yeah. A few of the riders from the bike group,” Dernice said. “No one that necessarily hits my radar, though.”
“Anyone who was also attending the engagement party?”
“Two of them. We can cross-reference to confirm, but I believe they were at the party, which makes sense. Sonny was taken out on a stretcher. They probably left the party and swung by the hospital to check on him.”
“I recognized a couple of the city council members, a few of the clowns I’ve dealt with over the years,” Elvira said.
“Have you seen us?” Carlita asked.
“Not yet.” Elvira shifted her gaze. “Remember, Sonny went downhill not long after you and I showed up, so I’m thinking whoever it was had to have been there shortly before you and me.”
“Maybe even the visitors who were there right before us, the ones we had to wait to leave so we could go in.”
“Correct-amundo. We should appear soon, within the next half an hour. We’re running out of time.”
The sisters returned to the task at hand, talking in low voices.
Dernice slammed her hand on the desk. “Hang on.”
Carlita dashed across the room.
“Right there,” she said. “Hit the play button again.”
Elvira pressed the play button.
“Would you look at that?” Dernice gasped.
Chapter 23
“Who are we looking at?” Carlita asked.
“Cyclone Courtney,” Dernice said.
“I’ve seen pictures of her.” Carlita squinted her eyes and studied the still figure on the screen, her back to the camera as she entered Sonny Skidz’s hospital room. “I never considered the possibility Courtney might be behind Sonny’s demise.”
“Consider it now.” Elvira leaned back in her chair. “Looks like we caught his killer.”
“Not so fast. Courtney wasn’t at the party.”
