“Check it out.” Mercedes pointed to a bright new sign. “Coastal Adventures. Opening Spring 2021.”
Carlita eased the car into an empty spot and joined her daughter on the sidewalk. “What’s the plan?”
“I’m working on some general research. The new project might make a good storyline. A story along the lines of big business drives out small property owners.”
The women began walking along a chain link fence. A layer of dark green mesh covered it.
Carlita stopped when they reached a section where the mesh was missing. A row of bulldozers, surrounded by piles of fresh dirt, was neatly lined up on the other side of the fence. “They’re workin’ on something back there.”
They reached the end of the sidewalk and turned onto a small side street sporting an ice cream shop, a tattoo parlor, a gift shop and a bakery. A ramshackle two-story building was across the street from the bakery.
“Let’s check it out.” Mercedes crossed the street. She pressed her forehead against the window and peered inside. “This one is toast. It looks like a teardown.”
Carlita surveyed the building next to it. There was a sign in the window. “Protected by EC Security Services. This is Elvira’s sign.”
“Her security company doesn’t seem to be doing a very good job of protecting these businesses.”
“Or are they?” Carlita pointed to the gift shop next door. “They’re still in business. Might as well have a look around.”
The interior of the shop reminded Carlita of the mom ‘n pop shops in their old Queens neighborhood. It was eerily quiet, and the only sound was the whirring of the overhead ceiling fans.
“No one is here,” Mercedes whispered under her breath.
“There has to be.” Carlita paused to inspect a woman’s visor. Tybee Island was sprawled across the front in pink letters.
A curtain in the corner rustled, and a woman emerged. “Hello.”
Carlita set the visor back on the shelf. “Hello.”
“Can I help you find something?”
“We’re just looking around,” Carlita said. “My daughter and I live in Savannah. We recently found out that a big corporation is buying up the local Tybee businesses to build some sort of tourist attraction and thought we would check it out.”
The woman’s expression grew grim. “We aren’t selling.”
Carlita shifted her purse to her other arm. “We’re not interested in buying. We were curious to find out what’s going on.”
“All you have to do is look around to see what’s going on.”
“True.” Carlita could feel the woman’s eyes on her as she wandered up and down the aisles. Every time she looked in that direction, the woman was glaring at her.
She joined Mercedes, who was perusing a rack of keychains. “I think it’s time to go.”
Mercedes stepped onto the sidewalk and held the door for her mother. “Talk about cranky. She was giving us the old evil eye.”
“You noticed too? I can’t imagine glaring at potential customers is good for business.”
They finished making their way to the corner and circled the block. Up ahead was another Coastal Adventures’ sign, similar to the first one except smaller.
Mercedes stepped closer, studying the detailed layout of the proposed development.
Front and center was a boardwalk. To the left were depictions of carnival rides, shops and a resort-like complex stretching along a strip of sandy white beach.
Mercedes let out a low whistle. “This place is gonna be huge.” She shifted to the side to read the description.
Carlita joined her, peering over her shoulder as she read about the Coastal Adventures’ projects. “They’re building more than one adventure park. There are plans for one on St. Simons Island.” Her breath caught in her throat when she read the location of the third.
Chapter 8
“St. Augustine, Florida,” Carlita said. “Dernice mentioned Elvira is in St. Augustine.” The clues were beginning to add up. Elvira’s disappearance. Zulilly’s sudden arrival. Atlantic Deep Corporation buying up area properties. “I smell a rat.”
“Something tells me Elvira is somehow involved in this.” Carlita remembered the EC Security Services’ sign in the window. “I want to ask the woman about EC Security Services to find out if she knows Elvira.”
Determined to get to the bottom of Elvira’s involvement, Carlita strode back to the gift shop. The lights were off, and the door was locked.
Mercedes caught up with her. “She closed right after we left.”
“She sure did.” Defeated and out of ideas for figuring out what was happening, Mother and Daughter reluctantly returned to the car.
During the drive home, Mercedes shared her ideas for her new miniseries. “I think I’m gonna call the first book Shakedown in Savannah. Takedown in Savannah will be next and the third will be…”
“Breakdown in Savannah,” Carlita joked.
“How did you know?”
“It was the theme song for an eighties movie. Shakedown…takedown.” She began to hum under her breath.
“And I thought I was being original.”
The light turned green, and Carlita looked both ways before driving through the intersection. “Why don’t you write a romance about a young woman from New York who falls for a former cop from Savannah?”
“Because it sounds boring. And you can stop hinting. Sam and I are getting along fine. He’s happy. I’m happy. Our relationship is perfect.” Mercedes’ expression grew mischievous. “Why don’t I write about a widowed mobster’s wife and a pirate who fall in love?”
Carlita frowned. “Very funny. We’re home. I’m gonna check on Tony to see if he needs any help.”
“I’ll go with you.”
There were several customers inside the pawn shop. It took a minute for Carlita to find her son, who was near the front of the store, talking to a man.
“There he is.” Carlita noted the look of aggravation on her son’s face. “He doesn’t
