“It’s the beauty of digital photography.”

There was a brief moment of silence and then all four of them gasped.

“Look!” Michelle was the first to speak. “Norman caught a hand reaching for the knife!”

“Is it Brandi’s hand?” Hannah asked, turning to Andrea. “You notice manicures and things like that.”

“I think so,” Andrea said, but she didn’t look convinced. “It looks like she’s wearing Pearl Blush nail polish, and that’s what Brandi was wearing, but it’s a really popular color right now. And she’s got her hand tipped, so I can’t see if she’s wearing her ring.”

“Michelle?” Hannah turned to her youngest sister.

“I think it’s her, but I couldn’t swear to it.”

Hannah sighed. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t cut it in a murder investigation. The only thing we know for sure is that a woman wearing pink nail polish picked up the knife.”

“But she could have put it back down again,” Andrea said.

“That’s right. She might have picked it up to have a closer look. Let’s see the next shot, Norman. Maybe that’ll tell us more.”

Norman put the next photo up on the screen. It was a second shot very similar to the first, but the time code read two seconds later. He zoomed in and let out a holler. “The knife’s gone, and there’s nobody else even remotely close to the dessert table. Whoever that woman was, she took it.”

“What’s this?” Hannah asked, getting to her feet and pointing at the screen. “Is that her leg, walking away?”

“I don’t know what else it could be.”

“Brandi was wearing silver boots,” Hannah reminded them. “Can you pan down to her calf, Norman?”

“Sorry, no. the lower half of her leg is hidden behind that plant in the foreground. I can zoom in a little more on what I’ve got, but that’s it.”

“There’s a spot on her leg,” Andrea commented, staring intently at the zoom of what they assumed was Brandi’s thigh.

“Let me see if I can enhance it a little more,” Norman offered, fine-turning some controls on his camera. “How’s that/”

“It’s Brandi!” Michelle shouted, getting excited she hopped up and down in her seat.

“How do you know that/” Hannah asked. “You have to be certain, Michelle.”

“I am certain. Remember when I told you that I saw her tattoos? Well, that’s the first one she ever got. It’s a tiny little brandy snifter.”

“She’s right. Somebody gave us a set of four just like that for a wedding present, and it’s a distinctive shape.” Andrea turned to Hannah. “Do you want me to write down that Brandi stole the knife at seven forty-two and walked off with it?”

”Absolutely. Let’s see what you’ve got next, Norman. And let’s keep a sharp eye out for Brandi going into the kitchen.”

“This could do it,” Norman said, as he put up the next shot. “It’s a shot of Edna and her workers by the Christmas tree, but someone’s going through the kitchen door in the background.”