Could one of them have swiped the artwork and then pointed fingers at Elvira?
Carlita scowled at the officer who was digging around inside her desk drawer.
The detective and his officers finally finished searching the apartment. She met them at the front door. “Are you happy now that you tore my place apart and didn’t find anything?”
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” the detective apologized.
“Have you taken a closer look at the museum’s staff? Perhaps this was an inside job. The fact the surveillance cameras happened to be off during the time in question is suspect. Certain staff members were given access to EC Security Services’ application information and could easily make it look as if the security company or one of the employees was the culprit.”
“We’re covering every angle,” the detective said. “We’re even questioning the groundskeeper, Mr. Cagle.”
“Groundskeeper?” Carlita asked.
“Yes. Mr. Cagle and his wife live in a small cottage on the property. They’re getting ready to retire.”
“I see. Now that you’re done here if you’ll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to.” Carlita accompanied the officers to the lower level and into the pawnshop where several more men were wrapping up their search of the business.
Tony stood off to one side. She could see he was aggravated with the unexpected invasion. “I’m sorry, Son. This is my fault.”
“My men are done searching your restaurant and pawnshop.” Polivich joined them.
“Then let me show you the door,” Tony smiled grimly.
Carlita waited for Tony to return. “I had no idea the investigators would show up on our doorstep to search the place.”
“My guess is this has something to do with the missing artwork and Elvira.”
“Your guess would be correct. Of course, they didn’t find anything. I’m going next door to chat with Elvira.”
She apologized to her son again and headed to the alleyway. The police vehicles were gone. Elvira’s rear door was wide open.
Carlita stuck her head inside. “Elvira?” She could hear loud voices coming from the front of the building.
“Elvira.” Carlita wandered through the back of the apartment to the front where the EC Investigative Services and EC Security Services offices were located. She found Dernice and Elvira staring each other down.
“I don’t mean to break up a touching family moment, but I want to have a word with you.”
Elvira turned, her eyes sparking as she stared at Carlita. “I’m still ticked at you. I was having hot flashes all night thanks to the zap you gave me.”
“You told me I was making a big deal of nothing, that it was only a little sting.”
“Yeah, well someone dialed the zapper to the max level. It was more than a sting. My whole body was on fire. It took hours for my nerves to settle down.”
“Speaking of nerves, the authorities searched my apartment and pawnshop, thanks to you. Since you gave me a tour of the museum, and then they caught me on camera sneaking into the museum’s storage area, they think I may be involved in the theft of the painting.”
“Well, I’m in the same boat,” Elvira whined. “If I can’t clear my name, I’ll never get another security job in Savannah.”
“You need to take a closer look at your employees…namely Astrid. How can you be certain she had nothing to do with the theft? You don’t even know her real name.”
Elvira rolled her eyes. “I already told you. She never entered the museum. Her job was more of crowd control. She was familiar with the grounds.”
“Familiar with the museum grounds?” Carlita asked.
“Yeah. Remember when I said I found her digging through the dumpster and offered her the security gig?”
“I remember,” Carlita nodded.
“Well, it was right after Spelling told me I got the job. I was on my way back to the van parked behind the museum. I started to get in when I heard a clunking noise coming from the dumpster. I thought that maybe a stray animal was trapped inside. Instead, I found Astrid digging around, looking for something to eat.”
“So she’s been hanging around the museum.” The more Carlita learned about the woman, the more she suspected that perhaps Astrid was somehow involved in the theft.
“Yes.”
“I think Astrid is hiding something. She claims she’s claustrophobic, but it could be a lie…like she’s lying about her name.”
Elvira tapped the side of her forehead. “I have a finely-tuned baloney radar. Astrid never even raised a blip. If she had, I never would’ve invited her to stay here.”
“Just don’t try to touch her stuff,” Dernice warned. “She about bit my head off when I tried to move her backpack the other day. I thought she was going to come completely unglued.”
“Another reason she may be involved. Maybe she has the painting hidden in her stuff.” Carlita sucked in a breath. “I have an idea, but I need your help.”
Chapter 14
“You need to give Astrid an assignment that takes her away from her tent so we can search her belongings,” Carlita said.
“Bad idea.” Elvira gave her a thumbs down. “She takes the backpack everywhere. I’ve never seen her without it. Not that I can blame her. All of her worldly belongings are inside.”
“And maybe even a priceless painting.”
“The cops already searched the tent. It was clean.”
“We need to follow her, to see where she goes when she’s not working,” Carlita said. “What’s her work schedule look like?”
“Let me see.” Elvira stepped over to her desk and grabbed her day organizer. “She’s working at the shopping mall out by the highway with Bif. She’ll be there until nine when the mall closes.”
“So we have plenty of time to search her tent.” Carlita headed to the door. Elvira was hot on
