Carlita hated to admit it, but she had a feeling Tony was right. How had their marriage gotten so far off track? Surely, she would’ve noticed the warning signs. Would’ve seen some cracks in what, by all appearances, was a happy marriage.
Still, there were always two sides to the story. Perhaps her son was hard to live with. Maybe Shelby’s illness was affecting her emotions. Or, as she suspected, there was something else involved.
She said the only thing she could think of. “I’m sorry, Son.”
Tony grabbed a silk blouse, one of the few items of clothing Shelby had left behind. Disgusted, he balled it up and threw it on the bed. “You can’t make someone want you, want to be married to you. If this is what she wants, then she can have at it.”
Carlita knew her son was speaking out of anger and hurt. “We’ll get through this.”
“One way or the other.” Tony turned on his heel and strode out of the room. Carlita slowly trailed behind. “If you want me to, I’ll straighten up.”
“Sure. Yeah. Whatever. I don’t care anymore. I gotta get back to work.” Tony paused when he reached the front door. “I forgot to tell you I remembered the name of the person who brought the ring in, the one that belonged to Sandy Sue Jarvis. The seller’s last name was Zhao.”
“Zhao,” Carlita repeated. “Did you call Officer Thryce?”
“I left him a message. I also researched the name online, thinkin’ if I saw it again, it would click. There’s a whole list of Zhaos who live in this area.”
“Remembering part of the name is a start.” After he left, Carlita began straightening up. Shelby had done a thorough job of going through all the cabinets, both in the kitchen and bathroom.
Not only had she taken the television, but the laptop Tony kept on the desk was gone. While she worked, she replayed her brief conversation with Shelby. By all indications, the woman had no intention of returning home – at least not soon.
She made quick work of tidying Tony’s home and then returned to her own for an online search of the name Zhao. Her son was right. There were dozens of them in the area.
The apartment door opened, and Mercedes slipped inside. “Poor Tony. He’s a mess. Do you think Shelby will try to work things out?”
“I don’t know,” Carlita said truthfully. “Based on our conversation, what Shelby wants right now is some space.”
“We need to get him out of the house. Let’s go out to dinner tonight.”
Carlita lifted a brow. “We just went out for lunch.”
“Okay. Let’s order pizza and then go out.” Mercedes held up a finger. “I have an idea.” She darted out of the room, returning a short time later, a triumphant look on her face. “I have a surprise.”
“What kind of surprise?” Carlita’s eyes narrowed.
“You’ll find out soon enough. I invited Autumn to go with us.”
“You know how I feel about surprises.”
“It will be fun.” Mercedes slid her cell phone out of her pocket. “I’ll text Tony.”
Ting. “Cool. He’s on board. He’ll be here as soon as the pawn shop closes. This is going to work out perfectly,” Mercedes sing-songed.
Despite Carlita’s persistence, Mercedes refused to give even a hint about their evening plans. She caught her once, having a conversation with someone and the word “dark.” When pressed, she remained tight-lipped and changed the subject.
Autumn was the first to arrive. While they waited for Tony, Carlita ordered pizza from Ravello’s. Mercedes and Autumn ran down to pick it up. When they returned, Tony was with them.
There were worry lines on his forehead and around his eyes. He was putting up a good front, but Carlita knew her son and knew he was hurting.
During dinner, Tony and his mother threw out theories about where Autumn and Mercedes were taking them.
“We have to be there at nine.”
“Nine at night.” Carlita sipped her soda. “We’re going on a ghost tour.”
Mercedes and Autumn exchanged a quick glance.
“We are going on a ghost tour.”
“Maybe. You’ll have to wait and see.”
Autumn grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza and took a big bite. “I stopped by Steve’s tattoo shop on my way home. He said the cops were at his place, questioning him about an armed robbery at the new barbecue restaurant.”
“There was,” Carlita said, “which means we all need to be careful.”
“What did they take?”
“Some cash and a ring that ended up in our pawn shop,” Tony said.
“Seriously?” Autumn frowned. “That takes a lot of nerve to rob someone and then sell the goods at the pawn shop across the street.”
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a record of the person who sold it,” Carlita said.
“Although I remember the last name,” Tony reminded his mother. “I’m almost certain the seller’s last name was Zhao.”
“Maybe you could try sifting through online pictures or profiles of anyone with that last name,” Mercedes suggested.
“It would take hours,” Tony said. “Besides, the cops are hot on the case. I’m sure they’ll figure it out.”
Carlita polished off her last bite of crust. “I’m gonna take Rambo out for a walk before we leave.”
Rambo, who had been lurking under the dining room table, scrambled to his feet and trotted to the door.
“We won’t be long.” Carlita and her pup circled the block, passing by EC Investigative Services. The lights were on. Elvira was in the front, chatting with an employee.
“C’mon, Rambo. Elvira was looking for me earlier. Let’s find out what she wants.”
They made their way inside, and Elvira hurried over. “You got my message?”
“That’s why we’re here.”
“I left Vinnie a message too. He doesn’t need to bother returning my call. Do you remember me mentioning June Deville,
