“Nope.” Mercedes pointed to the open trapdoor, leading to the basement. “Tony was in the basement.”
“Hmm. I wonder what’s up with that.”
Finally, Tony caught his mother’s eye and made his way over.
“What’s going on?”
“That was the City of Savannah public works manager. He said someone has been messing around inside the tunnels and wanted to check our basement.”
Carlita heaved a heavy sigh. “I knew it was a bad idea to open the passage back up.”
“Hang on.” Tony approached the checkout counter and waited until their part-time employee finished helping a customer. “I’m runnin’ down to the basement for a few. Can you cover?”
“Yeah. No problem.”
“I’ll stay behind.” Mercedes watched as two more customers entered the pawn shop. “You go on ahead.”
“Thanks.” Tony grabbed a flashlight before making his way down the ladder and into the basement.
Carlita joined him. She perched on the bottom rung while Tony trained the flashlight on the brick wall. “You ever notice this before?”
“Notice what?”
“This.” Tony pointed to a crack in the wall.
“It’s a crack in the wall. I’m sure there are tons of cracks. It’s probably a small settling issue.”
“You’re missing it, Ma.” Tony shifted to the side and ran his finger along the wall all the way to the bottom. “It makes an almost perfect vertical line. Settlement cracks don’t make perfect lines.”
She stepped off the bottom rung. “You think there’s another passageway down here?”
“I don’t think so. I know so. The public works guy told me there’s another passage on the other side, and you’re never gonna guess where it leads.”
“To Elvira’s building,” Carlita and her son said in unison. “Dernice showed Luigi and me the door. We didn’t have time to check it out, but I figured there was a good chance she has a basement too.”
Carlita turned her gaze from the crack to the padlocked metal door and tunnel. “There’s no way I’m gonna bust a hole in the wall between Elvira’s building and ours. Talk about opening a can of worms.”
“As much as she likes digging around, I’m surprised she hasn’t already found it,” Tony said.
“Or maybe she has.” Carlita told her son how Mercedes and she suspected there was a link between a new development on Tybee Island, Elvira’s disappearance and her recent property purchase. “I also think there’s a reason Dernice agreed to hire Luigi.”
“You think they’re going to somehow suck him into one of Elvira’s messes?” Tony asked.
“It’s possible. I warned Luigi to be careful.”
“He can handle himself. Luigi’s street savvy…even more street-savvy than Elvira.” Tony helped his mother up the ladder. He closed the trapdoor and slid the bolt in place.
Mercedes wandered over. “What was downstairs?”
“Signs that there may have once been an access door from our basement to the one behind ours…Elvira’s building.”
“You gonna blow it out?” Mercedes asked.
“And give Elvira access to our basement? No way.”
Back home, Mercedes made a beeline for her bedroom, anxious to jot down some notes for her new book, Shakedown in Savannah, before she forgot.
Meanwhile, Carlita sorted through her emails and began updating her renters’ files. She finished her bookkeeping and changed into a work uniform to start her evening shift at the restaurant. The hours flew by, and there was little time to dwell on anything other than making sure the guests were happy and their stomachs full when they left.
Mercedes and Sam had stopped by to say they were going to the City Market to listen to Cool Bones and his jazz band.
Her daughter still wasn’t home when she finished her shift, but Rambo was patiently waiting by the door. With a quick check for keys, she grabbed his leash and they made their way into the alley.
Mindful not to venture too far after dark, they circled the block, passing by Elvira’s business entrance and the boarded-up front door.
She wondered what Elvira would think if she was there, and for the umpteenth time, wondered what “personal matter” caused her to leave home so abruptly. Was it somehow connected to her Tybee property purchase? It made sense since she’d cleaned out the bank account on her way out of town.
Was she hired to protect at least one of the Tybee Island businesses, but instead of protecting them, took a payout so the large corporation could target the owners, driving them out of business and then snatching the properties up for pennies on the dollar?
There was also the mention of the recent fire in one of the island’s empty buildings. Surely, if the authorities had investigated, they would have questioned the other property owners, including Elvira.
There was a reason Zulilly was in town. Elvira had failed to mention to her sister that her daughter was coming to help. What if Elvira didn’t trust Dernice? The woman was a convicted felon.
She hoped whatever was going on, Elvira and her sister would not drag Luigi into their shenanigans. The last thing he needed was to become involved in underhanded and potentially shady dealings.
“C’mon, Rambo. It’s getting chilly.” As soon as she unhooked his leash, he scrambled up the steps.
She caught up with him in the hallway and noticed Sam’s apartment door was ajar. Carlita could hear the tinkle of her daughter’s laughter. She gave the door a tentative knock. The laughter stopped, and the door opened. Sam and a flushed Mercedes appeared.
“Sorry to bother you. I wanted to let you know I took Rambo for a walk, and I’m heading in for the rest of the night.”
“I’ll be home in a few,” Mercedes promised.
“Don’t wait up for her,” Sam teased.
“Sam.” Mercedes whacked him in the arm.
“Ouch.” He playfully pressed a light hand to his “injured” arm. “I’m just messing with your mom. She knows me better than that.”
Carlita wagged her finger at him. “You
