Carlita finished taking inventory of the damages and made her way out. “It’s gonna be one of those days.”
With a quick check of the pawn shop and restaurant, both of which appeared to be undisturbed, she returned home.
Gunner greeted her at the door. “Gunner is handsome.”
“And it’s going to be a long day.”
“Break down the door.”
Carlita froze in her tracks. She did an about-face and stared at Gunner. She’d forgotten to cover his cage. Was it possible he had seen something the night before? “Who’s trying to break down the door?”
Gunner cocked his head and stared at Carlita.
“Did you see someone messing around out back?”
A commotion coming from across the alley caught her attention. It was Elvira. She ran out onto the balcony. “Hey!”
Elvira made her way over. “Hey, Carlita.”
“Have you talked to Luigi since last night?”
“Yeah. I’m gonna have to give up Sandy Sue’s gig. It’s not worth it. Not only is it dangerous for my employees, but she’s a pain in the butt.”
“How so?”
“She’s obnoxious, demanding and annoying.”
“So, she’s just like you,” Carlita teased.
“What?”
“Never mind.” Carlita motioned toward the end of the alley. “Someone was messing around the dumpster again and vandalized my courtyard. They tore up some stuff and sprayed graffiti on a wall.”
“I didn’t do it,” Elvira said. “At least not this time.”
“I’m not saying you did. I was wondering if you may have seen or heard something.”
“I’ll be checking my cameras again later.” Elvira shoved a hand on her hip. “I hate to say it, but this neighborhood is going downhill.”
“Or trouble moved in and it’s heading downhill.”
“Now that you mention it, none of this started happening around here until Loopie Sue and her crew moved in.”
“If you see anything on surveillance, I would appreciate you letting me know.”
“Will do.” Elvira gave her a mock salute and began humming a catchy tune as she strolled to the parking lot.
Back inside, Carlita sent a quick note to Tony and then settled in front of the computer. She was still there when Mercedes emerged from her room.
She let out a loud yawn as she traipsed into the kitchen.
“You’re up early.”
“I couldn’t sleep,” Mercedes said.
“Me either.” Carlita briefly filled her in on what had happened. “I think Gunner may have seen something. He said, ‘Break down the door.’”
Mercedes wandered over to his birdcage and peered out through the balcony door. “Gunner can see the dumpster, but there’s no way he can see the storage room.”
“True. I keep going back to Luigi’s warning. What if Sandy Sue or one of her employees is behind all of this?” Carlita absentmindedly tapped her pen on the desk. “How do you explain her being robbed, not to mention being turned in to the health department?”
“We go back to the theory of it being one of her employees, if what Luigi said is true.”
“Which brings up another point,” Carlita said. “Why would she hire employees from her former business if they were troublemakers?”
“You got me.” Mercedes sipped her coffee, eyeing her mother over the rim of the cup. “We’re being targeted. She’s being targeted. Maybe it’s someone else. We still don’t know what the robber took. Have you checked the local news to find out if they mentioned the robbery?”
“I did the other day. Maybe there’s more now.” Carlita turned her attention to her computer and typed in “Sandy Sue’s Bar-B-Que.” Several stories popped up. The one at the very top was the most recent.
It was only a couple of paragraphs long. It mentioned the robbery occurred right after the restaurant closed. Not only had Sandy Sue been robbed of cash, but the perpetrator had also taken an undisclosed item.
“I wonder what else they took?” Carlita asked. “Not only is this not good to worry about someone lurking in the area, but if residents, not to mention tourists, catch wind of this, it won’t be good for business.”
“The cop didn’t tell you?” Mercedes asked.
“Nope. I thought it was just cash. I’m going to check out Sandy Sue’s other business. Something isn’t adding up.”
“The only way to figure it out is to get in there and see for yourself. Besides, it’s always good to check out the competition.”
“I would, except I doubt Sandy Sue is going to welcome me with open arms.”
“Unless Sandy Sue doesn’t know it’s you,” Mercedes said.
Chapter 11
Mercedes insisted she needed to do a little behind-the-scenes work that involved Elvira before sharing her idea about how to snoop on Sandy Sue without being caught.
“I gotta get going.” Carlita headed downstairs to start her day.
Her son arrived at nine, sporting the same glum expression from the previous evening. During a lull in business, he told his mother he’d contacted his friend, who promised to track down the owner of the vehicle Shelby had gotten into the night of her disappearance.
Pete also texted Carlita, giving her a heads up he was home and would stop by late morning. When he arrived, Carlita led him to the back for a quick chat. “How was the trip?”
“Great. I pitched my pirate ship venture to two Atlanta area investors. We’re meeting in St. Augustine next month to have a look around,” Pete said. “How was Gunner? I hope he didn’t give you too much trouble.”
“He was as good as gold. There was one minor incident when the police showed up and he told me to hide the body.”
Pete chuckled. “There’s something about uniforms and Gunner. It could be I’m letting him watch too many criminal investigation shows.” He sobered. “How is it going with the new neighbor?”
“It’s not.” Carlita briefly filled him in on the latest. “Mercedes has a plan for us to pay a visit to the restaurant. I’m not sure
