“Slow?”
“Light traffic. Not a lot of cars parked out front. That sort of thing.”
“My business is doing fine,” Carlita said coolly.
Sandy Sue arched a brow. “I was in there the night before last for dinner. It was deader than a doornail.”
Carlita forced a smile as she held out the empty paint can. “Best of luck on your new restaurant. If you could please return this to the construction manager, I would appreciate it.” She turned on her heel and strode off.
Mercedes hurried after her. “She was baiting you.”
“Yes, she was,” Carlita muttered under her breath. “Something tells me Mrs. Jarvis doesn’t give two rips about whether her hired construction workers dumped their trash in our dumpster.”
Mother and daughter stepped onto the sidewalk. Something told Carlita to turn back. She did, and it was just in time to catch a glimpse of an object whizzing by her head.
Chapter 3
Carlita instinctively ducked. “What was that?”
“I don’t know,” Mercedes said. “The construction supervisor is holding something. It looks like a slingshot.”
“Seriously?” Carlita stumbled on a chunk of rotting cabbage core. “I think I found out what it was.”
She snatched it off the ground and held it up. The core was still moist. Carlita could see the construction manager standing next to the dumpster. He gave her a thumbs up. “Nice shot, huh?”
Disgusted, she threw it down. “What kind of person does that?”
“We could call the cops for assault,” Mercedes said.
“And put an even bigger target on our backs? At least the construction phase is wrapping up and the crew will be gone soon.”
“And we’ll be stuck with Sandy Sue.”
Carlita remembered what the woman had said. “Jarvis mentioned she was at Ravello’s the night before last.”
“Checking out the competition, I’m sure. We should find out who waited on her.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
The women returned to Ravello’s. It didn’t take long for Carlita to track down the server, McKenna, who had been working that evening.
Carlita and Mercedes pulled her aside. “You waited on a woman the other night. Her name is Sandy Sue. She has long, gray hair, and it may have been braided.”
McKenna slowly nodded. “Does she have a scratchy voice?”
“She does.”
“I remember her. She and her husband both ordered the dinner special. They ate most of it and then complained. They were cheap wads.”
“Cheap wads,” Carlita repeated.
“You know…cheapskates, tightwads.” McKenna shifted her tray. “Why? Did they call and complain?”
“No. The woman owns Sandy Sue’s Bar-B-Que. We think they were in here, checking out the competition.”
“Oh.” McKenna’s eyes widened. “That explains why they were asking so many questions, how long Ravello’s has been in business, if I could recall the health department ever being called in.”
“You’re kidding,” Mercedes said.
“I thought it was kinda odd, but then after they returned what was left of their food, I figured they were wondering if anyone had ever gotten sick. I told them ‘no.’”
Carlita’s mouth set in a grim line as she thanked McKenna for the information. She and Mercedes exited through the front door and stood staring at the restaurant across the street. “Something tells me Sandy Sue’s and Ravello’s are in for a rocky relationship.”
“I’m sorry, Ma. Try not to worry about it.”
After a quick stop at the pawn shop to fill Tony in on their confrontation with Sandy Sue, they returned home.
Carlita plugged her phone into the charger and realized she’d missed a call from Pete. There was also a text, reminding her that he planned to swing by with Gunner, his parrot.
She had offered to watch Gunner while Pete traveled to Atlanta for a three-day business trip. He was hoping to expand his pirate-themed business and perhaps venture south to St. Augustine.
Since he needed boots on the ground, not to mention cash in hand, Carlita’s boyfriend had lined up meetings with several interested investors.
He arrived before noon, and Carlita invited him to join them for lunch.
“I don’t want to impose.”
“You’re not,” Carlita insisted. “I threw together some sandwiches and even made an extra one in case you decided to join us.”
While they ate, she told him what had happened, starting with the notice from the city about the construction waste, the construction supervisor sling-shotting a cabbage core at them and last, but not least, her discovery Sandy Sue and her husband had visited Ravello’s.
“I heard she’s raising a ruckus down at city hall. Something about the zoning. She already wants to expand, basically creating two income streams on a single parcel of land. I believe the name was Sandy Sue’s Backyard Bar-B-Que, some sort of pavilion to host large events.”
“Great.” Carlita took a big bite of her sandwich and mulled over Pete’s news. There were certain times during the day that Walton Square’s streets were congested. She couldn’t imagine the place doubling in space. Parking would be a nightmare. “I hope it doesn’t go through.”
“From what I heard, it hasn’t. Glenda Fox might know more since she’s part of Savannah’s Architectural Society and in charge of approving structures or improvements inside the city limits.”
“You’re right. That’s an excellent idea.”
“Gunner is handsome,” Gunner squawked. “Gunner is hungry.”
“You just ate.” Pete pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and set it on the table. “I jotted down some notes. Gunner’s a cunning fella. If you’re not careful, he’ll eat you out of house and home.”
“Room view,” Gunner said.
“Oh, and Gunner likes to be near the window. I’m sure the living room will suffice. He can watch Elvira coming
