“I see it.” The drone slowed. It hovered for a second and then began moving along the brush. There were brief glimpses of a dirt driveway. Roughly forty yards in, there was a clearing in the trees.
A structure’s roof came into view.
Carlita blinked rapidly. “This can’t be where Shelby is staying.”
Chapter 17
During the drone’s first pass, Carlita thought the structure was nothing more than a four-sided tin shack. On its second pass, she could see part of what looked like a travel trailer.
A dilapidated chicken coop was steps away from the trailer, and there was a white four-door car parked nearby. With the push of a button, Tony zoomed in on the car’s license plate. “That’s the car Shelby got into. I remember the plate number.”
“I wonder if she’s there.”
“The drone is running on limited power. We can’t hover over the top for long.”
“And we don’t need it dropping into their yard.”
Tony navigated the drone back to home base. He made quick work of returning the equipment to the box and then placed it in the trunk.
It was a short drive back into town. Thankfully, there was no sign of the “friendly” local, and Carlita was more than a little relieved when Bayrock was in their rearview mirror. “I don’t understand. Why doesn’t Shelby stay with her aunt and uncle?”
“I was wondering the same thing. Unless she doesn’t want them in her business or is doing something she knows they won’t approve of.” Frustrated, Tony pounded the steering wheel. “I don’t get it. What is going through her mind?”
Carlita grew quiet, wisely knowing her son needed time to process their disturbing discovery.
Mercedes was waiting for them back at the apartment and joined them in the living room. “How did it go? Did you find Shelby?”
“We found the car she got into.” Tony downloaded the recording to his mother’s computer and began playing it.
Mercedes released an audible gasp when she caught her first glimpse of the tin shack. “Shelby is staying there?”
“We don’t know.”
“What kind of area is this?” Mercedes pressed a hand to her lips, clearly horrified by the condition of the property.
“Let’s just say a local stopped us. He basically threatened to kill us and dump our bodies.”
“Actually, I think his exact words were… “troublemakers end up floating downstream.” Tony patted his pocket. “That wasn’t gonna happen, but I wasn’t about to announce to Bubba Goodfellow he would be the one filled with lead and doin’ his own floating if he tried messing with us.”
The recording ended. “If Shelby wants to live in a shack, I can’t stop her. I don’t like the idea of her dragging Violet into this mess.”
“Do you think Jerry and Ginny Crowley are going to drop Violet off in a place like that?” Carlita asked.
“I hope not.” Tony told them he planned to call the couple later and would give them an update if he heard anything new. “I gotta get downstairs and start my shift.”
After Tony left, Carlita and Mercedes began researching Bayrock. There wasn’t much online and scant information about the town itself.
“Try looking up real estate in the area,” Mercedes said.
“The coastal town leading into Bayrock was beautiful.” Carlita described the picturesque low country. “It kinda reminds me of Savannah, but with a beachier vibe if that makes sense.”
“How did Elvira know to send a drone?”
“After talking to Tony last night, she did some research of her own and must’ve realized it would be tough to see anything from the road. Speaking of Elvira, I need to return the drone and clothes I borrowed.”
Although Elvira wasn’t home, Dernice was. She promised to make sure her sister got the goods. “Is everything all right?” She motioned toward their building.
“Tony and I were gone all morning. Why?”
“Because I saw the cops over at the pawn shop earlier.”
“Today?”
“Yeah. They were parked out front. I was wondering if something else happened.”
“Not that I’ve heard.” Eager to find out what was going on, Carlita hurriedly excused herself and headed to the shop.
Tony and an employee stood off to the side. She could tell from the look on their faces, they were having a serious discussion. “Hey, Son. Dernice said the police were here earlier.”
“They were.” Tony motioned to the employee. “Tell Ma what happened.”
“Officer Thryce showed up, asking to speak with Tony. When I told him he wouldn’t be in until later, he wanted to look around.”
“Great.” Carlita and her son exchanged a quick glance. “Did he mention what he was looking for?”
“Nope. He spent most of his time checking the jewelry and gun cases. He left but said he would be back later this afternoon to talk to Tony.”
A customer entered the pawn shop. Carlita watched as the employee hurried off. “Do you have any idea why?”
“Could be any number of things,” Tony shrugged. “Thryce is in here regularly, lookin’ for hot merchandise, weapons pawned off that were involved in crimes, stuff like that. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”
Her son’s explanation made perfect sense. Since she wasn’t typically part of the day-to-day operations, Carlita wasn’t aware of how much presence the police – or the criminal element – was a part of the business.
What she did know was that her son always kept a gun handy, a wise decision considering their line of business.
Dismissing the visit, Carlita returned home. She tackled some housework and then began working on Ravello’s profit-and-loss statement.
They were experiencing a high employee turnover at the restaurant, even higher numbers than what Pete had. Concerned, Carlita had several conversations with the kitchen manager and the dining room manager. Neither could explain exactly why.
After finishing, she grabbed a bucket of cleaning supplies and made her way to the courtyard. She tackled
