Myra looked down at the oversize watch on her wrist with the glow-in-the-dark numbers. One hundred and seventeen seconds later, she said, “Now!”

The dogs went silent, running to their mistresses and panting as though to say, What now?

The Sisters looked at one another.

“I suppose we can hold out longer than the person in the cable car. We need to make a decision here,” Nikki said.

Annie waved her gun. “Unless there are seven people in that cable car, I’d say we outnumber our visitors.”

“Feds? CIA?” Alexis demanded.

Myra shook her head. “Bert would have let us know if anyone at the Bureau was looking at us. I was thinking more like Secret Service, but even that’s a bit of a stretch. It is entirely possible some hunter, some stranger, stumbled over the hidden switch and is just exploring for a look-see.”

Annie made an unladylike sound. “If you believe that, Myra, I am going to strangle you with this string of hot dogs.”

“At least then we wouldn’t have to eat them,” Myra quipped.

For the first time, the two dogs seemed to get the scent of the wieners wrapped around Annie’s neck. As she broke off the weenies and handed them out, she was suddenly their new best friend.

“How long are we going to stand here in the boiling sun?” Yoko asked as she swiped at her forehead with the inside of her arm. “I say we let the car come all the way up but stop it before it hits the pad. Let the passenger swing over the side of the mountain. We’ll still be in control.”

Myra thought about that for a moment before she looked at Annie and nodded. Kathryn flicked the switch that turned the power back on. They all held their breath as the cable car started upward, the gears protesting at the status change.

Myra looked down at the dogs quivering at her knees. Their ears were flat against their heads, the fur on the nape of their necks standing straight up and bristling, their tails between their legs. A trifecta that could only mean trouble.

Up high, a fluffy cloud bank sailed past, momentarily blotting out the orange ball of the sun. Someone sighed.

Annie looked at her fellow Sisters and liked what she was seeing. Then she looked at their hands. Steady as rocks. She took a moment to wonder how loud the sound would be this high on the mountain if all seven guns went off at the same time. Pretty damn loud, she decided.

Myra licked her lips. “Turn off the power now, Kathryn.”

Kathryn turned the switch. The sound of the cable car’s grinding gears screeched so loud that the dogs howled. The Sisters rushed to the platform and peered over the side. But all they could see was the top of the cable car and the grille on the side. The identity of the occupant was still in doubt.

“How about if we announce ourselves?” Annie whispered. The others looked at her, their eyes questioning. “You know, a shot over the bow, so to speak. In this case, I think I can shave it pretty close to the grille. If you like, I can shoot off the lock. Of course, if I do that, the person inside could fall out. Not that we care, but we should take a vote!”