“What Elvira knows and what Elvira does are two completely different things.”
Carlita laughed. “You got that right.” The teakettle began to whistle. “Would you care for a cup of tea? I’m trying a new flavor. It’s gingerbread cake, something Mercedes found online.”
“I’d be delighted.” Glenda settled onto one of the dining room chairs while Carlita poured the hot water and grabbed two teabags. “I see you pulled a construction permit for the building next door. Are you getting ready to start on your restaurant renovations?”
“Yes.” Carlita had been in the planning stages of her Italian restaurant, Ravello, for weeks and was ready to pull the trigger and have Bob Lowman and his construction crew begin the interior demolition. All she needed to do was pawn a few of her larger gemstones to fund the first phase of the project.
It was on Carlita’s to-do list, but with Paulie’s visit, the pawnshop’s business picking up and now Tori’s request for assistance, not to mention the upcoming holidays, she’d been too busy to pawn them. Of course, she’d thought about taking them with her to Beachy Bargains, kind of ‘kill two birds with one stone’ plan, but decided against it.
Not only did she not want Autumn to become suspicious of the value of the gems, she didn’t want to send up any red flags with Beachy Bargains, especially since Tori had already recently visited to sell a few of her own larger stones.
Tony had offered to sell the gems in their pawnshop, but Carlita was worried that someone might be keeping an eye on them and looking for the gems, someone from the “family,” so she decided against it.
Carlita and her children would have to plan a trip to a bigger city, maybe even Atlanta, to sell the number of gems needed to fund the new project. It would take some planning since it would be an overnight trip.
With the holidays looming and business booming, she was beginning to wonder if she wasn’t taking on more than she could handle. She needed more of her children around, or if that wasn’t going to happen, they needed to hire more employees.
“Are you attending the highly-anticipated holiday soirée?” Glenda asked.
“If you’re talking about Tori Montgomery’s Merry Masquerade party, then yes.” Carlita clasped her hands. “I was over there for tea a few days ago and helped her with some of the minor party plans. It’s going to be fun. Are you coming?”
“Yes. Although Tori and I don’t mingle in the same circles, all of the Savannah Architectural Society members were invited and of course, none of us would miss this for the world. Tori hasn’t had a party at Montgomery Hall in years,” Glenda said. “I wonder what made her change her mind.”
“I don’t know, but I’m glad she did.”
The women sipped their tea and chatted about business and family. Finally, Glenda stood. “I need to get going. If Elvira’s car is still parked in the alley, I’m going to pound on her door until someone opens it.”
Carlita walked Glenda out of the apartment, down the stairs and onto the stoop, but when they got there, Glenda’s car was the only one parked in the alley.
“She slipped through your fingers,” Carlita joked.
“Like the slippery weasel she is.” Glenda rolled her eyes. “I guess I’ll save that battle for another day. Thanks for the tea. It was delicious.” She gave a small wave as she slipped her sunglasses on and slid behind the wheel of her car.
Carlita waited until Glenda’s car had turned onto the road before returning to the apartment. She set the dirty cups inside the sink and reached for her cell phone. There was a message from Tori.
“Hi Carlita. Tori here, returning your call. Someone attacked Byron last night when he was locking up the courtyard.”
Chapter 6
Carlita quickly dialed Tori’s cell phone.
“Hi Carlita. You got my message?”
“Yes. Poor Byron. Is he going to be okay?”
“Yes. Whoever hit him, knocked him out, but he was already coming to before the ambulance arrived. I insisted he make a trip to the hospital to be checked out. He’s upstairs in his room resting, but I’m concerned.”
“Do you think the attack is somehow related to your damaged gate and the recent robbery?” Carlita asked.
“Yes. Something is going on around here and I don’t like it. After the incident with the gate and William’s stolen weapons, I brought in a couple of extra security guards, but it hasn’t seemed to help.”
“Maybe it’s one of them,” Carlita said.
“I don’t think so. I had their backgrounds thoroughly checked before they ever stepped foot on the property.” Tori changed the subject. “You said you visited Beachy Bargains Pawn Shop and may have stumbled upon something.”
“Yes.” Carlita breezed over the events leading up to Autumn’s investigative endeavor, how she found the array of weapons inside Mr. Goldstein’s office and managed to snap several pictures of the items. “If you give me your email address, I’ll forward the pictures for you to take a look at or if you want, I can text them to your phone.”
“Oh, thank you, Carlita. I knew someone of your caliber would be able to help uncover some clues. I…I mean someone as street smart as you and your family.” Tori paused. “What I’m saying isn’t coming out right, is it?”
“It depends on what you’re trying to say,” Carlita joked.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“No offense taken. We are who we are, plus with our pawnshop experience, I can see why you asked for my help,” Carlita added graciously.
Tori sounded relieved. “Yes. You’re wonderful to help me and I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”
“Now that you mention it,
