The head of the building department required several changes to the plans. When Carlita was beginning to wonder if they would ever get the renovation project off the ground, the plans were finally approved.
As soon as Bob Lowman taped the construction permit in the front window of the building, he and his crew began demolition on the interior. Before tearing everything out, mother and daughter had taken on the tedious task of removing as many of the antique light fixtures, porcelain doorknobs and even the pieces of crown molding that they could salvage.
Mercedes had also tackled the time-consuming project of removing layers of old paint, so the pieces of molding looked new again.
“It’s shaping up nicely,” Carlita agreed as she pulled a block of parmesan cheese from the refrigerator and set it on the counter.
She stepped over to the cutting board and reached for a large carving knife to slice a lemon. “Speaking of shaping up nicely, how’s your new novel coming along?”
Mercedes frowned. “It’s not. I’ve hit another dreaded writer’s block. I need some inspiration, some sort of shocking crime with a twist. I also need a crazy character to spice things up.”
Carlita snorted. “I have the perfect character. Go spend a couple hours with Elvira and her sister, Dernice. They’ll give you enough fiction fodder for an entire series.”
“That’s an idea,” Mercedes brightened. “The chicken is ready. Now what?”
Carlita finished mixing the spices and began working on the chicken mac and cheese recipe. She attempted to keep the conversation light, but all the while, the nagging suspicion Vinnie’s surprise was going to be more of a bombshell hung over her head like a dark cloud.
It was unlike her eldest son to cancel plans last minute like he did at Christmastime and he’d been very evasive. Finally, Carlita asked him point-blank what was going on, and he refused to tell her what he’d been up to.
She’d even asked her middle son, Tony, to try to weasel the information out of his older brother.
Tony’s attempt failed. Vinnie refused to elaborate on his recent whereabouts and his big surprise, which worried Carlita even more.
Mercedes interrupted her mother’s musings. “You think it’s the family, don’t you?”
Carlita released a heavy sigh and slowly nodded. Despite her promise to her husband, Vinnie, Sr. on his deathbed that she would get their children out of the “family,” breaking all ties with the New York mafia, she’d only been partially successful.
Carlita’s youngest son, Paulie, had dabbled in the “family” business years ago, before changing his mind. He married his college sweetheart, Gina, and was now mayor of Clifton Falls, a small town in upstate New York.
Tony had gone the way of his father and become a member of the “family,” but she’d managed to convince him to join Mercedes and her after they moved to Savannah, and it had worked out perfectly.
Life had done a complete reversal for Tony. He’d begun dating one of Carlita’s tenants, Shelby Towns, who lived in Carlita’s building with her adorable daughter, Violet.
Carlita was adamant about not prying into her son’s personal life, but she noticed signs that the relationship between Tony and Shelby was getting serious.
Her biggest worry and the biggest concern was her eldest son, Vinnie, who was all in with the “family.”
Only a few short months ago, Vinnie had been on the run from one of the mob bosses after giving him some bad information. The incident had given Carlita a glimmer of hope Vinnie would come to Savannah and forget about the family and his past life. Her hopes were dashed when Vinnie returned to New York.
“I think you should invite Autumn to dinner.”
Mercedes gave her mother a quick look. “To see if there’s still a spark of interest between Vinnie and Autumn?”
“It wouldn’t hurt,” Carlita shrugged. “Why don’t you send her a text?”
“Sure.” Mercedes handed her mother the wooden spatula. “I’ll be right back.”
Carlita dumped the cooked pasta in the colander and turned her attention to mixing the sauce. Not only had Vinnie been mysterious about his whereabouts and his surprise, he refused to commit to staying in Savannah for any length of time, answering only in vague, short sentences.
Maybe she was being paranoid, but Carlita got the feeling when she was talking to Vinnie there was someone else nearby, listening in on the conversations.
Her heart skipped a beat as it dawned on her that perhaps Vinnie suspected his cell phone was being tapped or his home had been bugged. Maybe Vinnie was in serious trouble and was too afraid to tell his mother what was going on.
A knot formed in her stomach and visions of Vinnie being gunned down in broad daylight ran through her head. She squeezed her eyes shut. Don’t go there, Carlita, she scolded herself.
“She can’t.” Mercedes popped back into the kitchen and Carlita jumped. The mixing spoon flew out of her hand and hit the floor with a loud clatter as a spray of white pasta sauce spattered the front of the stove and Carlita’s apron.
“Oh my gosh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Mercedes snatched the spoon off the floor and dropped it into the sink.
Carlita grabbed a paper towel and joined her daughter as they wiped the droplets off the front of the stove and the floor. “It’s okay.”
Rambo, Carlita’s pooch, trotted into the room and licked a splotch of pasta sauce they missed. Carlita patted his head. “Rambo to the rescue. You’re our crumb picker-upper.”
The pooch licked Carlita’s hand and then inspected the rest of the kitchen floor to make sure they hadn’t missed another spot.
“Autumn can’t make it and I have some bad news.”
“I hope she’s okay.”
“She’s
