“And now they’re after something.” Tony stared at the door thoughtfully. “It’s not safe for you to stay here Shelby. We need to call the authorities and report the break-in.”
“I…don’t want anyone in the apartment right now, plus I need to leave soon to head to my aunt and uncle’s house.” Shelby gave Carlita a helpless look.
“C’mon Mercedes.” Carlita motioned to her daughter. “Let’s you and I go inside and see if we can straighten the place up.”
Carlita patted her son on the shoulder. “I think it’s time for you and Shelby to talk.” She reached into her front pocket and handed her son the keys to her apartment. “You can talk in my place. What about the store?”
“I got one of my part-timers covering. Could you let them know I’ll be back down in a minute?”
“I will.” Carlita waited for Tony and Shelby to step inside her apartment before she hurried down the stairs.
She pulled the store employee off to the side and explained to her that Tony was taking care of an urgent matter and would be down shortly.
The employee assured Carlita she could handle the store until he returned, so Carlita made her way back to Shelby’s apartment where Mercedes was in the process of cleaning the kitchen. “Someone did a real number on this place.”
“They sure did.” Carlita shook her head in disgust. “As if Shelby doesn’t already have enough on her plate, now she’s gotta worry about this.”
“Are Tony and Shelby still talking?”
“Yeah. I hope they can patch things up.” Carlita picked up a sofa cushion and tucked it back in place. “The poor thing needs all of us on her side.”
“What if…” Mercedes’ voice trailed off.
Carlita reached for another cushion. “What if what?”
“I dunno.” Mercedes shrugged. “Never mind.”
“No.” Carlita made her way into the kitchen. “What were you going to say?”
“I was gonna say, what if Shelby was involved in her ex’s death.” Mercedes hurried on. “We don’t know her that well. I mean, think about it. We didn’t even know she had family in the area and poof! Next thing you know, they’re here. Then there’s the fact that she didn’t want to report the break-in. I don’t understand.”
“She was avoiding her family because of Robert.”
“What if Shelby did this to make it look like someone was after her?”
“You write too many crime stories,” Carlita joked. “Seriously, I’ve got a gut for bad apples and Shelby is not a bad person. I would almost bet money she isn’t capable of murdering her ex-husband.”
“Even if the ex-husband threatened to take Violet away and she felt she had no other choice? Shelby found his body. She also admitted she sent him a threatening text. Perhaps this was her opportunity to get rid of Robert once and for all, and make it look like someone else did the deed.”
“That’s a stretch,” Carlita argued. “Remember, Shelby is already the prime suspect.”
“I think it was convenient we just so happened to all be gone when this took place. Tony never heard a thing, the back door was ajar and there was no sign of forced entry.”
Before Carlita could answer, the apartment door opened and a pale Shelby crept inside.
Carlita hurried to her side. “How did it go?”
“Okay.” Shelby’s hand trembled as she handed Carlita her house keys. “We called a truce and agreed we had more important things to worry about than whose feelings got hurt.”
“That’s a start,” Carlita patted her arm. “Why don’t you go to the bedroom and pack some things to take to your uncle’s house and we’ll keep working on getting this place back in order?”
“Okay.”
Mother and daughter worked fast to clean up the mess. By the time Shelby emerged from the bedroom, the apartment showed little signs of the previous state of disarray.
“Thanks for cleaning up. I’ll never be able to repay you for all that you’ve done for Violet and me. I do have one more favor to ask.” Shelby rolled her suitcase off to the side. “I was wondering if I could hitch a ride to my uncle’s place.”
“Ma and I can drop you off,” Mercedes said. “I’ll go grab the car keys.”
Carlita waited in the hall while Shelby locked her apartment door and Mercedes dashed in the apartment to grab the keys.
When they reached the alley, Carlita got the distinct feeling they were being watched. She waited until Mercedes and Shelby were in the car and the doors were locked. “Remind me to stop by Elvira’s place later to see if she noticed anything suspicious.”
Mercedes reached for her seatbelt. “That’s a great idea, Ma. Maybe Elvira caught someone on camera, sneaking in the back door. What’s your uncle’s address Shelby? I’ll put it in the GPS.”
Shelby rattled off the address.
“Thanks.” Mercedes began humming and abruptly stopped. “Oh!”
Carlita jumped, tightening her grip on the steering wheel. “You scared me half to death.”
“Sorry, Ma. I was gonna say, Vinnie said he had something to take care of first thing tomorrow morning and asked me if I would take Brittney to the mall. She wants to go shoe shopping.”
“Have fun,” Carlita said.
“I was hoping you would go with us.”
“Shoe shopping? You know I’m not big on shopping.”
“C’mon,” Mercedes pleaded. “You gotta go. It will be a bonding experience. Remember, you’re the one who said I had to give Brittney a chance. This way, we’ll both get to know her better.”
“You’re using my own words against me.” Carlita cast her daughter a quick glance. “All right. How about maybe?”
Shelby was unusually quiet in the back seat of the car. Carlita glanced in the rearview mirror. “Are you okay Shelby? You seem awfully quiet.”
“I was thinking about the Harner
