“We’ll go first to give you a heads up if the coast is clear,” Carlita said.
With a plan in place, Carlita and Mercedes began driving home. Ricco and Luigi followed them until they reached the railroad tracks where the men turned in a different direction.
When they reached the apartment, Mercedes circled their block, driving past the location where the sedan had been parked.
The sedan was still in its original spot. There was a second vehicle parked at the other end of the alley with a bird’s eye view of their parking lot.
“Great. Now what?” Mercedes asked.
Carlita rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “I’ll send Ricco a text and tell him to hang tight. There are two cars staking out the alley and the buildings.”
She began tapping out a message while her daughter parked the car. The women casually climbed out of the vehicle and returned to the apartment.
Carlita motioned Mercedes inside first. She closed the door and leaned against it. “I…have an idea. We’ll need some help from Pirate Pete. Hopefully, he’s still at the Parrot House Restaurant.”
Pete didn’t answer, so Carlita sent him a message asking him to call her as soon as possible. “The Parrot House just closed which will work out perfectly. If Pete is at the restaurant, we may be able to get Luigi and Ricco back here without being seen.”
Carlita ran upstairs to check on Brittney, who was still in the bedroom and the lights off. On her way back out, she grabbed her toolbox from the hall closet and joined Mercedes downstairs.
“What’s that for?”
“To pry open the pawnshop’s trapdoor.”
“Whoa.” Mercedes’ eyes grew wide. “You’re gonna sneak Luigi and Ricco in through the pawnshop tunnel? We haven’t used it since…”
“Since we found Mrs. Alder hidden in the tunnel wall.” Carlita’s cell phone rang. “It’s Pete.”
She put the call on speaker. “Hey, Pete. I need a huge favor. I need to send Luigi and Ricco, Vito’s men, your way.” Carlita briefly explained her plan for the men to leave their car parked at the restaurant overnight.
“They’ve been sleepin’ in their car,” Mercedes whispered. “Maybe they could just camp out in the car for the night. I mean, they’ve done it lots of times.”
“I already thought about that. The cops are patrolling the area, and there’s a chance they could be found.” Carlita held the phone back to her mouth. “Sorry, Pete.”
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but perhaps we should park their car in the storage shed on my property,” Pete replied.
“That would be helpful. I need one more favor,” Carlita said. “I need for them to take the tunnel over here…to the pawnshop.”
“I thought you sealed it shut.”
“Yes, it’s nailed shut, but Mercedes and I are gonna pry it open. I’ll send them your way right now. Luigi Baruzzo and Ricco DeGrassi. Thanks, Pete. I owe you one.”
Carlita ended the call and waved her phone in the air. “He said send ‘em over.”
“It’s a good thing you decided not to close off the tunnel,” Mercedes said.
Some time ago, after several incidents involving the tunnel which connected Carlita’s pawnshop with several other underground tunnels, including one that ran to the river, she’d made plans to seal it off.
At the last minute, Carlita had changed her mind and instead decided to install a heavy-duty metal door between the pawnshop’s basement and tunnels, thinking at some point it might come in handy to be able to access the underground system.
As a backup safety feature, Tony had screwed the trapdoor shut.
“Should we go get Tony?” Mercedes followed her mother into the pawnshop and reached for the light switch.
Carlita reached out to stop her. “No lights. We can’t draw attention to the pawnshop. Whoever is watching will see the lights, think that maybe we’re being robbed and decide to investigate. Same for dragging Tony over here. They might wonder what’s going on. I say the two of us try to get it open first and use him as a last resort.”
“True. Good point.”
“But first, we call Ricco and Luigi and tell them to head over to the Parrot House Restaurant, go inside and ask for Pete Taylor.” Carlita was able to reach Luigi right away. She briefly told him her plan to get them back to the apartment, and that Pete would fill them in on how before disconnecting the call.
“We better get a move on.” Carlita set the toolbox on the floor and began shoving the cabinet out of the way.
Mercedes joined her mother, lending a shoulder to the effort. “It won’t budge.”
“We’ll have to empty it.” After emptying and moving the cabinet, Carlita opened the toolbox, using her cell phone’s light to dig through the contents.
She handed Mercedes a small power drill and then reached for a crowbar. “These should do the trick. I’ll hold the light while you take out the screws.”
Mercedes knelt on the floor and began working her way around the door as she removed each of the metal screws. “How many screws did Tony put in here?” Mercedes joked.
“Enough to keep anyone and everyone out.”
After Mercedes finished removing the screws, Carlita pried the edges with the crowbar before setting it aside and grasping the trapdoor’s handle. The rusty hinges groaned in protest as she lifted the door.
Mercedes peered into the dark opening and shivered. “Who knows what creepy crawlies are lurking down there.”
“I’m gonna try not to think about it. I need to unlock the gate for Pete.” Carlita surveyed her surroundings. “I’ll need a flashlight.”
“Tony keeps one in the desk drawer.” Mercedes darted to the desk and returned with a small flashlight. She handed it to her mother.
“Thanks.” Carlita gripped the flashlight in one hand
