“I’ll have it ready at seven, as soon as the store closes,” Carlita promised before making her way back to the apartment.
Rambo, Carlita’s dog, met her at the door. “I bet you’re ready for a walk.” She grabbed his leash and hooked it to his collar. “I’m taking Rambo for a walk,” she hollered into the back of the apartment. She heard Mercedes’ muffled response, which she took for an okay, and they descended the steps.
Carlita stepped onto the stoop and began to close the door behind them when the deafening roar of an engine filled the alley. “What in the world?”
Chapter 2
Carlita watched as a chrome-covered motorcycle careened around the corner and sped into the alley. The driver popped a wheelie and then skidded to a halt in front of the stoop.
Two thoughts popped into Carlita’s head. The first was that the blue bandanna; aviator sunglass-wearing rider was smoking a cigarette while carelessly riding. The second occurred as soon as the rider kicked the kickstand and climbed off the Harley-Davidson.
“Yo.”
Speechless, Carlita’s mouth dropped open. “Y-yo to you too.”
The rider took a long drag off the cigarette, dropped it on the gravel and ground it out with the tip of her boot. “I’m looking for Elvira.”
“You’re Elvira’s sister.”
“Dernice,” the woman offered. “You must be Carlotta.”
“Carlita,” Carlita corrected.
“Carlita.” The woman nodded. “Your accent is a dead giveaway. Now I know why Elvira said she thought you was part of the New York mafia. You got the look and voice for sure.”
“Elvira told you I was part of the mafia?”
“Yeah, but it don’t bother me none. If you are, you are.” Dernice shifted her gaze. “Elvira said you kicked her out.” She jabbed her thumb toward Elvira’s building. “That her place over here?”
“How did you know?” Carlita asked.
“The jumbo-size motion detector is a dead giveaway. My sister is off the deep end when it comes to security, if you know what I mean. That and she told me she recently installed a commercial-grade motion detector, so she could keep an eye on her property.”
“I’m not surprised,” Carlita mumbled and then spoke louder. “That’s Elvira’s place, but I’m not sure if she’s home.”
Carlita watched as Dernice made her way around her Harley and approached Elvira’s alley door. “Are you going to leave your motorcycle blocking the alley?”
“Are you kidding? I’m parking it inside, but first I have to find out where Elvira wants me to put it.”
Elvira’s sister rapped on the back door and it abruptly opened. “I finally made it.” The woman slipped inside and the door quickly closed behind her.
“Oh my gosh!” Carlita tugged on Rambo’s leash. “I think we just met Elvira’s twin.”
By the time Rambo and Carlita returned home from their walk, the motorcycle was gone. She could feel eyes on her as they strolled down the alley to their back door, certain that Elvira was watching her every move.
She wouldn’t put it past the woman to have installed cameras on every corner to keep track of everyone who entered and exited the area.
Although there wasn’t much Carlita could do about it. Elvira’s place was private property, but she did wonder if the property owner knew what his new tenant was doing. Knowing Elvira, the answer was most likely a no. But it was no longer Carlita’s concern, and for that she was thankful.
With dinner on her mind, Carlita sifted through the cupboard, and then perused the contents of the freezer, deciding a homemade pizza she’d frozen a couple of weeks earlier would be the perfect meal.
She pulled the pizza from the freezer and set it on the counter to thaw while she heated the oven. Next, she pulled a packet of fresh frozen basil from the freezer and set it next to the pizza.
Deciding a tossed salad would go nicely with the pizza, she chopped a head of romaine lettuce and sliced some red onion. After mixing them in a salad bowl, she sprinkled a few Castelvetrano olives on top.
Several years back, Carlita had created her own Italian dressing and the entire family - including Vinnie - loved it. It was her go-to dressing. No store bought mixes for the Garlucci family.
After mixing the salad, she stuck the bowl in the fridge, the pizza in the oven and then wandered out onto the balcony. Her eyes were drawn to Elvira’s back door, and once again, she got the eerie sensation she was being watched.
Carlita briefly pondered the idea that it might have been safer if Elvira had remained a tenant. She also wondered where Dernice had parked her motorcycle and how cozy the living quarters were now that Elvira, Dernice and an unknown number of temporary tenants were living under the same roof. One big happy family. “Better them than me,” she muttered under her breath.
“Hey Ma. Whatcha doing?” Mercedes joined her mother on the deck and wiggled onto an empty chair. Grayvie, Carlita’s cat, followed Mercedes out and climbed onto her lap.
“Wondering how Elvira, her new roommates as well as her sister, Dernice, are going to get along inside the apartment.”
“Dernice?” Mercedes’ eyes widened. “I thought I heard a loud rumble earlier. Don’t tell me Dernice finally arrived riding her Harley.”
“She did and she’s quite a character, I’ll give you that.”
“If she’s anything like her sister, I can only imagine,” Mercedes groaned. “I should make up some excuse so I can run over there and meet her. I know.” Mercedes snapped her fingers. “We got a couple pieces of her mail we can take over.”
The timer on the oven chimed. “Let me take the pizza out of the oven and we’ll make a quick run over there.” Carlita hurried to the oven, slipped a potholder on and then opened the oven
