“That’s awful. I know Pete and I know Lawson. Lawson is a hard man. Even so, I can’t imagine Pete jeopardizing his business reputation to settle a score with Lawson.”
“I agree.” Carlita shifted in her chair. “Before Lawson’s attack, right after someone sabotaged the Mystic Dream; he was pointing fingers not only at Pete, but also at Mark Fox and Emmett Pridgen.”
“Emmett Pridgen is another story. The man should not be in city politics. Remember the deal with the Black Stallion illegal gambling mess?”
“How could I forget? I don’t trust Pridgen, either. I think he’s crooked.”
Carlita laid out her theory of what happened to Lawson that it was an inside job and one of his employees or perhaps Emmett Pridgen was involved in the attack.
She told Annie about Mercedes and her conversation with Kyle Flinch, how Lawson was meeting someone in his office after hours, how he didn’t know what was being said because they were speaking in Spanish. “He said he knew two words…dinero for money and recoger meaning to pick up.”
“If we can’t get this mess sorted out and Pete’s pirate ship sailing on the high seas, there’s a chance I’ll have to kiss my cash good-bye.”
Ping. Carlita glanced at her phone. “Speak of the devil.”
She motioned to Annie and pressed the answer button. “Hi, Pete. I was just thinking about you.”
“Hello, Carlita. I’m sorry to bother you this early. I have some good news and some bad news.”
Chapter 17
“I’ll take the good news first.”
“I’ve actually got two bits of good news and one bad. With the help of Luke Markham, I lined up several interviews for first thing tomorrow morning. Lawson’s employees are anxious to get to work. Fair or not, I didn’t mention we might not be opening soon.”
“Don’t worry,” Carlita said. “I’m looking for restaurant employees. What’s the other good news?”
“Lawson is starting to come out of his coma.”
“That’s great news.”
“The bad news is so far he can’t remember what happened the night of his attack.”
“Maybe his memory will slowly come back.”
“I hope so,” Pete said. “If you want to join me here tomorrow around nine, I have half a dozen interviews lined up.”
“Perfect. I’ll be there.” Carlita thanked him again, promised she would meet him at the ship around nine the next morning and then disconnected the call.
Annie waited until the call ended. “You think the employees may be able to shed some light on Lawson’s activities and perhaps figure out who attacked him and damaged the Mystic Dream?”
“That’s the plan. The only clue is Kyle Flinch overhearing Lawson talking to a man in Spanish, not to mention the low wages Lawson was paying his workers. I saw them for myself. Lawson is ripping his people off.”
“Lawson showed you his books?” Annie asked.
“Not…quite.” Carlita fidgeted in her chair. “Mercedes kind of stumbled upon them during a recent fact-finding mission.”
Annie laughed. “Let me guess. Mercedes broke into Lawson’s office.”
“Breaking might be the wrong word.” Carlita’s eyes met Annie’s eyes. “Who am I kidding? Yes, Autumn and she broke into his office.” She hurried on. “With the Mystic Dream shut down, it was the perfect opportunity.”
“Too perfect to pass up?” Annie lifted a hand. “The less I know the better.” The office phone began to ring. “I need to take this call. I’m waiting on another real estate agent who wants to show John’s property.”
“I’ll let you get back to work.” Carlita gave Annie a wave and headed to the door.
On her way home, Carlita decided to stop by the restaurant. The door was open, so she wandered to the back where the pungent smell of fresh paint filled the room.
She cleared her throat when she spotted a worker perched on the top step of the ladder.
“Mrs. Garlucci.” The worker climbed down. “We are almost done with the kitchen.”
“It looks fabulous,” Carlita said. “I’m almost ready to start ordering small appliances.”
The man smiled widely. “It will be a nice restaurant. I can’t wait to bring my wife here. I tell her every day how nice this place is going to be.”
“Thank you, Gary. I can’t wait for it to open, either.”
Gary led her around the room, showing her the work they’d completed the previous day. After admiring the changes, she stepped into the alley.
She was almost home when she noticed the back door to Elvira’s apartment was ajar. Carlita nudged the door with the tip of her shoe and stuck her head inside. “Elvira?”
Carlita could hear rustling sounds coming from the other room. “Elvira?”
Elvira appeared. “Hey, Carlita. What’s up?”
“Does your landlord know you and your sister have been upstairs snooping around, maybe even stealing?”
“Not stealing. Borrowing is a better word.” Elvira shrugged. “Besides. He doesn’t care.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“What are you…the landlord patrol?”
“Of course not.” Carlita pointed at a cardboard box next to the door. “Is that a box from upstairs?”
“Maybe.” Elvira stepped in front of the box. “How’s your new tenant, Sam Ivey?”
“He’s fine. He’s a nice man.”
“I thought you didn’t want cops living in your building,” Elvira said.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Elvira examined her fingernails. “Sketchy past, sketchy present, sketchy family.”
“I do not have a sketchy past, present or family,” Carlita fumed. “That’s absurd.”
“Is it?” Elvira lifted a brow. “Far be it from me to judge others.”
“How kind,” Carlita briefly closed her eyes. “This conversation is going nowhere. I’m sorry I stopped by.”
“I didn’t mean anything by the comment.” Elvira followed her into the alley. “We all have skeletons in our closets, although yours might be a little more colorful. You aren’t going to tell Davis I was upstairs
