“And mafia murders aren’t heavy enough?”
“You know what I mean. I want something grittier, a glued to the edge of your seat with your armpits sweating and looking over your shoulder because you’re sure a slasher is about to take you out story.”
“It’s a wonder you can sleep at night, Mercedes. I see Bob Lowman’s truck parked out front. I’m going to run downstairs to check on the restaurant’s progress.”
Mercedes had already turned her attention to her laptop, her fingers flying over the keyboard, so her mother tiptoed out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.
She swung by the pawnshop to check on Tony and ask if he needed help. There was only one shopper, who was browsing the electronics aisle, so Carlita slipped out of the store and made her way to her other property.
The sound of hammers pounding drifted from the front entrance and she took a tentative step inside. Drywall sheets covered the walls of what would be the front reception area as well as the main dining room.
Carlita steered clear of the workers and carefully stepped over the equipment as she searched for Bob, the owner of the construction company. She found him in the kitchen, frowning at some pipes.
“I don’t like the look on your face,” Carlita said.
“Hi, Carlita.” Bob gave her a quick smile and jabbed a finger at the ceiling. “It looks like we’re going to have to tear out these pipes. There’s no way they’ll pass the next building inspection.”
“Great. How much will replacing them set me back?”
“I already figured in the expense based on the age of the building. Although I hesitate to call this place a money pit, it’s been neglected for many years and needs some major updates.”
Carlita patted Bob’s arm. “I understand. Believe me, after what we went through renovating the apartments and the pawnshop, I knew what we were getting into with this project.”
“Would you like to take a look at what we’ve done since the last time you stopped by?”
“Yes,” Carlita nodded. “I took a look around the other night after the workers left. I’m impressed with the progress.”
Bob and Carlita walked around the property while Bob showed her the work he and his men had done. They finished the tour near the back of the building and in front of what would be the public restrooms.
“Before you go, I wanted to mention there was some guy in here earlier. He was asking a bunch of questions. He wanted to know who owned this property and did I know anything about an apartment unit for rent.”
Carlita nodded. “I ran an ad in the local paper, trying to find a new tenant. If anyone stops to ask again, the unit is rented. What did he look like?”
“He was about five six, brown hair. He seemed nervous.”
A cold chill ran down Carlita’s spine as she thought about the mystery man who was asking questions at the Journey’s End. “He didn’t happen to mention his name, did he?”
“Nope.” Bob shook his head. “Like I said, he appeared a little edgy, asked a couple of questions and then took off.”
“If he shows up again, can you give me a call?”
“Will do.”
Carlita turned to go and then turned back. “Have you ever heard of Savannah Sam? He’s my new tenant.”
“You must be talking about Sam Ivey. He’s well-known around here and one of the more popular local tour guides. Sam is a former cop. He quit the force a few years back and decided to start his own tour guide operation. He offers historic walking tours by day and ghost tours at night.”
Carlita’s eyes widened. “Did you say Sam Ivey is a former cop?”
“Yes,” Bob nodded. “He was a county cop.”
“Hey, Bob. You got a minute?” One of the construction crew began walking toward them.
“I better let you get back to work. Thanks for the update and for letting me know about the stranger who stopped by.”
“You’re welcome.” Bob promised to give her a call if the man appeared again.
Carlita waved good-bye and then slipped out the back door. She made it as far as her back door when she heard someone call her name.
Elvira was standing in her doorway, waving frantically. “Hey. I got your message.”
Carlita slowly walked across the alley. “I…”
Elvira lifted a hand to cut her off. “Before you say anything else, I wanted to let you know I think I may have a break in the murder case.”
Chapter 13
“What case?”
Carlita followed Elvira into her building.
“The Robert Towns’ murder case. I started doing a little digging around into Towns’ background. The man was bad news and had a lengthy criminal record.”
Elvira shut the door behind them. “It goes back at least a decade. Makes me wonder how a woman like Shelby could get tangled up with a guy like him.”
“What kind of criminal record?”
“It started out with petty theft, drug possession. Last year he was arrested for armed robbery. Got off on a technicality or a corrupt judge, take your pick. The charges were dropped and he was back on the streets.”
Elvira snatched her cell phone off the counter. “There’s been nothing for the last year, after the armed robbery incident.”
“So maybe he decided to go clean,” Carlita said.
“I doubt it. If so, why did someone murder him? After finishing my research and reading the news story about his death, how Shelby found his body in a park, not far from the riverfront district, I said to myself, ‘Elvira, you need to head over to
