“You’re kidding.” Glenda cast a glance behind her, in the direction of Portsmith who stood talking to a group of business owners. “She’s kind of a pain in the rear, but I can’t imagine she would come right out and accuse you of stealing the painting when she’s never even met you.”
“She also seems to know a lot about the police investigation. She knows the cops searched my property this morning not to mention me being caught on camera snooping inside the museum.”
“Snooping inside the museum?” Glenda smiled.
“It’s not funny,” Carlita said glumly. “Elvira talked me into taking a look around. The surveillance cameras caught me going into a storage area which prompted the cops to issue a search warrant and search my property.”
“It seems as I missed a lot.”
“Yeah. Lucky you.”
“I wouldn’t worry about Elizabeth. The business owners can override her decision. If you want to be part of the haunted tour, I’m certain the group would be more than happy to include you.”
“Thanks, Glenda.” Carlita eyed the woman over her friend’s shoulder. “She’s looking this way. Maybe she’s the one who lifted the artwork. Motive and opportunity.”
“The painting is valuable. Elizabeth would have plenty of connections. Opportunity is there. Perhaps the authorities are taking a closer look at her,” Glenda said. “As far as Elvira, one of these days she’ll get what she deserves.”
“Ma evened the score with her last night,” Mercedes said.
“She ticked me off, so I zapped her with one of her own Tasers.”
Glenda burst out laughing, and even Carlita smiled.
“One of Elvira’s employees pulled a Taser on me. When I called Elvira out, she told me I was making a big deal out of nothing - how it was only a small zap, so I made her eat her words. She went down like a sack of potatoes.”
“I would’ve paid anything to have seen it.” Glenda patted Carlita’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about Elizabeth. Like I said, if enough business owners are interested, you’re more than welcome to join the tour.”
“Thanks, Glenda,” Carlita said gratefully. “And thank you for thinking of me.”
“That’s what friends are for.”
Carlita and Mercedes returned home. The rest of the day passed slowly, despite Carlita working a shift at the restaurant. She kept one eye on the clock, waiting for Astrid to finish her workday.
Elvira was adamant Astrid was not involved in the painting’s theft despite knowing the woman was lying about her identity.
Admittedly, there were a few holes in the theory Astrid was the culprit. She would have to be familiar with the layout of the museum. Whoever swiped the painting was either very lucky or somehow figured out a way to avoid being caught on the surveillance cameras.
How was it possible…unless - going back to it being an inside job. Someone knew something about the surveillance cameras, which helped the thief avoid detection. She remembered Elvira mentioning a power outage. Perhaps the outage was a part of the plan.
Carlita finished her shift at the restaurant with enough time to freshen up. At ten minutes ‘til nine, she and Mercedes made their way to the alley.
Elvira was already waiting for them. “Right on time. This way.”
They walked to the other end of the alley before turning right and making their way to the corner. “We wait here.” Elvira eyed the vacant lot across the street. “They’re finally going to do something with our neighborhood eyesore.”
“Yes.” Carlita gazed at the bulldozers ready to start tearing down the dilapidated structure and ramshackle fence. “They unloaded the dozers at daybreak. I thought we were having an earthquake.”
“I wonder what they’re putting in,” Mercedes said.
“Hopefully, not another restaurant,” her mother replied.
“We gotta clear the area so that Astrid won’t see us.” Elvira motioned for them to gather in the doorway of Carlita’s corner storage unit.
Elvira, who was closest to the sidewalk, inched forward, just far enough to keep a visual of the street. The trio remained hidden for what seemed like forever, and Carlita shifted several times.
Elvira glanced over her shoulder. “You got a problem?”
“Problem?” Carlita shifted again.
“Ants in your pants.”
“My feet are sore. I was working at the restaurant and have been on my feet for hours now.”
“This was your idea,” Elvira said. “I wouldn’t be complaining.”
“I’m not complaining. You asked me why I keep moving.” Carlita closed her eyes and began counting, a regular occurrence when she had contact with Elvira for prolonged periods of time.
She smiled as she remembered the Taser incident and opened her eyes. “I see you’ve recovered from your small zap last night.”
“Don’t remind me. I owe you one,” Elvira said.
“No. I owe you a dozen more zaps for the grief you’ve put me through.”
“Shh.” Mercedes held a finger to her lips. “I see someone coming around the corner.”
“Astrid.” Elvira’s arm shot out. She nearly clotheslined Mercedes and her mother, forcing them back against the wall.
Carlita resisted the urge to bite her.
Elvira lowered her arm. “She’s heading toward her tent.” She motioned them out of the covered doorway as Astrid rounded the corner and turned onto the alley.
The trio tiptoed along as they followed behind.
“I see flashes of light. She’s moving around inside her tent.” Elvira grew silent. “The light went off.” More silence. “It looks like she turned in for the night.”
Elvira straightened her back. “See? I told you that you were barking up the wrong tree, wasting your time on a person of non-interest. Besides, it won’t matter after tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“Like I said before, Astrid only planned to hang around until she had enough cash to get to Paris. She told me earlier she has the money now. She made it sound like she was desperate for cash and would be hanging around for a
