Something about the Romero sisters didn’t add up. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but just being near Leta Romero made chills erupt on the back of my neck. I wasn’t one to trust my intuition, but I did so now, without knowing exactly why.

“You’ve been honest about your sister. She values money.”

“She does.”

“Would you say she values it more than you do?”

“Why is that relevant?”

“Well, I’m assuming the Wolfes are paying you to be here. Am I correct?”

She reddened. “That doesn’t mean—”

“Of course it does. It means you’re willing to do something if it means you’ll be paid. Does that also mean you’re willing to throw your sister under a bus?”

“Charlie—” Roy began.

“This isn’t a courtroom,” I said. “She’s here to answer our questions, and she’s being paid to do so, right?”

He nodded. “Go ahead.”

“I mean no disrespect, Ms. Romero. I’m just trying to get a handle on your reasoning. Why in the world is this something you’d share with your gynecologist?”

“I don’t know. You try thinking of something to say while your feet are in stirrups and a dude is looking between your legs.”

“I’ve been there,” I said. “Every woman has. And I don’t think I’d be talking about a phone call my sister got about a billionaire’s murder while I was being probed. Maybe it’s just me.”

Roy arched his brows and nodded slightly at me. I held back a smile. He liked where I was going, and Leta Romero was clearly uncomfortable.

“Here’s the thing,” I said. “Either you’re making all of this up, and we can easily find that out by looking at your sister’s cell phone records, or you’re telling the truth, in which case there’s got to be a reason you brought all of this up during a pelvic exam.”

She reddened further.

Good. I’d struck a nerve.

“Can we speak to the doctor?” I asked Hoss.

“Manny? You can, I suppose. I can’t guarantee he’ll talk.”

“He’ll talk,” Roy said.

Money. Roy would offer money, and Manny would talk.

“He’s a friend of my brother’s, and he doesn’t want to see any of us implicated in this mess,” Roy continued. “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse. He gave us her name, didn’t he?” He nodded toward Leta Romero.

“Yeah, and I could have his medical license for that,” Leta stated.

“You could, but I’ve paid you enough, and your attorney here”—he nodded to Hoss—“had you sign an agreement stating that you would not go after Manny’s license in consideration of our payment to you.”

She reddened again. Roy was telling the truth.