“I don’t know,” Carlita said. “It sounds risky.”
“Life is full of risks.” Autumn climbed out of the car. “No risk. No reward.”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Carlita groaned as she slid back out of the car. “Let’s get this over with before I change my mind.”
The women strode past the pawnshop. Across the street was the auto repair shop and farther down, the tattoo parlor.
Carlita paused when they reached the door to the tattoo parlor and then pushed the door open. An eerie bell chimed announcing visitors, and it reminded her of a mournful death knell. She shivered as she eyed the interior of the shop. Most of the artwork depicted dragons and skulls, and all of them were watching her.
A faint smell of medicinal odor filled the shop and Carlita wondered if it was embalming fluid.
Autumn, oblivious to Carlita’s discomfort, marched to the counter. “Yes, we were passing by and noticed your shop. Would it be possible to get some prices?”
“Sure.” The man behind the counter slid a black binder toward her. “It depends on the size, coloring and the detail of the work to be done. Which one of you is looking for a new tat?”
“She is.” Autumn and Mercedes both pointed at Carlita.
“I…uh. I’m new to body art,” she stuttered. “I’m only just starting to research tattoos.” Carlita shot her daughter a menacing look. “If I do it, my girls, here, said they’d get one too.”
“I see.” The man nodded. “We offer discounts on multiple works.” He opened the binder and began explaining the procedure and pricing while Carlita tuned him out, wondering how on earth she let Autumn talk her into this.
Tori Montgomery had asked for Carlita’s help and she had willingly agreed, but the extent of her involvement was for Tony to do a little digging around.
Finally, Carlita held up a hand. “You’ve been most helpful…”
“Fang. My friends call me Fang.”
“Fang. We appreciate your time and I’ll give this some thought. Do you have a business card?”
Fang handed her a card and Carlita thanked him for the information before the trio exited the store.
Autumn glanced back inside the shop. “Did you see the inside of that dump? It was filthy. I would never get a tattoo there.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” Carlita said. “I was too busy staring at the skulls and fire-breathing dragons to notice.”
Mercedes ignored her mother’s comment. “We need to walk this way if we plan to circle the pawnshop.”
The women crossed the street to the other side of the pawnshop. A wavy wall of cheap metal siding covered the exterior. When they reached the corner, they hit a dead end, literally.
Autumn shaded her eyes and studied the back of the building. “I don’t see how we’re gonna get back there. The chain link fence butts up to the building. There’s no access.”
“That’s gotta be illegal,” Mercedes said. “I would think there would have to be an ingress and egress. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Let’s circle around the other side.”
The women retraced their steps, passing by the front of the pawnshop to the other end of the block and then turned right. Fortunately, there was a partial alley, ending at the pawnshop.
“Bingo.” Autumn pointed to the back door. “I found my way in.”
Mercedes took a step closer. “It’s padlocked. You’re going to have to pick the lock.”
Autumn blinked rapidly. “This might be tricky.” She stepped over to the door. “This lock hasn’t been opened in decades. It’s almost rusted shut.”
“It’s a fire hazard,” Carlita said. “This place is a major code violation, unless they have lax safety laws in South Carolina.”
Autumn brushed her hands on the front of her jeans. “I’m ready to swing into action. Let’s head back up front for your medical emergency. I’m going to hang out around the corner and after you go inside, I’ll give you a thirty second start before coming back here.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Mercedes shook her head.
Mother and daughter retraced their steps and stood in front of the car while Autumn hovered near the corner, peeking around the side of the building. She gave Carlita and Mercedes a thumbs up.
“We don’t need a medical emergency,” Carlita said. “Think about it. If I hit the floor, Al, the pawnshop guy will call 911 and the cops will arrive, along with the fire department and an ambulance. It’s too risky. Al already told us he was working alone. I say all we have to do is go back inside and keep him busy waiting on us.”
“True,” Mercedes nodded. “Not to mention if other customers show up, he’ll have his hands full.”
“I plan on making sure his hands are full, even if we’re the only two in there.” Carlita nodded at Autumn. “Let’s go.”
Mercedes and Carlita marched into the store and Al looked up from the counter. “You again?”
“Yeah. I might want to buy another one of your metal lawn art pieces since my niece paid me the money she owed me.”
Mercedes’ eyes darted around the store and her heart skipped a beat when she found a set of drums in the corner, right next to an electric guitar. “Did you see the set of drums? I wonder if we can fit them in the trunk of the car.” She zigzagged past several display shelves. When she reached the drum set, she hopped on the stool and picked up a set of wooden sticks. “Do you mind?”
She didn’t wait for Al to reply and began beating on the drums with both sticks. She smashed the cymbals and her ears started to ring, but Mercedes didn’t dare stop. “I’m a little rusty!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. “How do I sound?”
She continued pounding on the drums
