Carlita removed her cell phone from her pocket and tapped out a text: “Hey, Shelby. It’s Carlita. I wanted to send you a quick message to let you know you’ve been on my mind. Call me anytime. Love, Carlita.” Before she could change her mind, she hit the “send” button.
Tony hadn’t asked her to contact his wife. He also hadn’t told her she couldn’t. Besides, she reasoned, there was no harm in letting her know the family was still there if she needed them.
When her phone chimed a short time later, she hastily plucked it from her pocket. Instead of Shelby, it was her eldest son, Vinnie.
“Hey, Ma. I got a weird call from Elvira last night. She somehow got ahold of my cell phone number. Something about wanting the name of the travel agent who booked our cruise.”
“You didn’t give it to her, did you?”
“No. I haven’t called her back. I figured I would ask you what’s up first.”
“Elvira and Dernice are cruising with us.”
There was a long moment of silence. “You’re kidding.”
“No.”
“You invited them?”
“Elvira invited herself. Let me rephrase that. Elvira took it upon herself to book the cruise and then let me know.” Carlita shifted the phone to her other ear. “I guess I must’ve slipped and given her not only the name of the ship but the date we were going.”
“I wonder what she wants with me,” Vinnie said.
“She mentioned something about ports and excursions. There’s so much going on right now, I can’t remember where we’re going.”
“The ABC islands…Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. I’ve never been, but Vito says they’re dope.”
“Dope?”
“You know, awesome.”
“Speaking of the cruise, I’m sure Vito and his men are aware weapons aren’t allowed on board the ship.”
“He’s got it handled,” Vinnie said. “The family will be protected. It’s Vito’s number one priority.”
“So, he plans to sneak weapons on board the ship.” A feeling of dread filled Carlita. Visions of Vinnie, Vito, and his men being handcuffed and led to waiting police cars filled her head.
Vito Castellini would not go down quietly. Neither would his men. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Don’t worry about it, Ma. You won’t be boarding the ship at the same time. Vito plans to split the group up. Women and children first. Vito and his crew second.”
“Meaning you, Brittney, and the baby won’t be boarding at the same time.”
“Nope. Vito’s rules. She’ll be getting on with you and Mercedes.”
“And Elvira and Dernice.” The cruise was looking more troublesome by the minute…Elvira, Dernice, weapons, mobsters…what could possibly go wrong?
She had another thought. “I’m sure the cruise lines or port authorities do background checks prior to boarding and convicted criminals aren’t allowed to board the ship.”
“Correct,” Vinnie confirmed.
“And yet, Vito and his men will still be able to cruise with a record?”
“Vito doesn’t have a rap sheet. Neither do his men. They’re clean as a whistle.”
“C’mon, Vinnie,” Carlita chided. “You’re telling me that Vito and his men have never committed a recorded crime?”
“I’m sayin’ their records are clean.”
“Meaning Vito greased some palms to get clean records,” she guessed.
Vinnie grew quiet again. “I’m on a company phone here, Ma. We probably shouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Right. Right.” Once again, Vinnie’s choice of not only a career, but wife, weighed heavily on her mind. “I’m sorry I asked.”
“Being Ma and all, I get it. I can’t discuss it, at least not now. Hey, I called Tony’s cell phone a little while ago. I haven’t heard back from him. Can you tell him to give me a shout when you see him?”
“I will.” Carlita started to mention his current situation but decided against it. It was Tony’s decision, whether he wanted his older brother to know about Shelby.
They wrapped up their conversation, and then she finished sweeping the courtyard. Carlita gathered her supplies and stepped out onto the sidewalk. She checked the gate, making sure it was locked.
She turned to go when a vehicle caught her eye. It was a Savannah patrol car parked near the corner. Switching directions, Carlita headed to the pawn shop. She found Tony, along with Officer Thryce, standing in the back.
The officer was holding a ring and a sheet of paper.
“What’s going on?”
Tony motioned to the box. “This ring was stolen during an armed robbery.”
“I’m sure you can trace it back to whoever pawned it.”
“Remember how you had a problem pulling up the database the other day and how we’ve been manually logging sales and seller’s information? Some of our manual records are missing. Unfortunately, the seller’s information is also missing.”
“So, now what?” Carlita asked.
“It’s on us to prove we got it legit.” Tony shifted his feet. “There’s one more thing.”
“I believe this ring was stolen from Sandy-Sue Jarvis during her armed robbery,” Thryce said.
Chapter 18
Carlita reached out to steady herself. “You mean to tell me that this ring was stolen from Sandy Sue Jarvis the other night and now it shows up at our pawn shop?”
“It’s not uncommon for hot merchandise to make its way into a pawn shop. A robber’s first goal is to unload the goods and make a quick buck.”
“Which is why we keep a database.” Tony rubbed the back of his neck.
Officer Thryce pulled a notepad and pen from his pocket. “Can you recall what day this ring was brought in?”
“I…I vaguely remember it. It was a quick cash sale.” Tony shrugged helplessly. “I can’t remember the name, but then a lot of people come through here.”
“Can you give me a description? Was it a man or a woman?”
“It was a woman, with dark hair, kinda on the short
