Chapter 18
Carlita strode into the pawn shop and tracked her son down.
“Hey, Ma.”
“Hello, Son. You got a minute?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“Elvira and her antics.”
“Uh-oh. What and where?”
“We’ll start with where. Meet me in the alley and bring a ladder.”
“You got it.”
Carlita returned to the alley, and Tony showed up minutes later carrying an extension ladder. “I brought the big one.”
“You might not need it. Over here.” She stood beneath the newly-installed camera and shifted her gaze. “Elvira upgraded her camera.”
“Again? I thought she put new cameras in a few months ago.”
“She did. Something about a sample product she’s testing for a manufacturer.”
Tony leaned the ladder against Elvira’s alley wall. “It’s pointing toward the back door.”
“Exactly. She moved the lens, but not enough.”
“Who is she spying on?”
“Bubba.”
“Your new tenant?”
“Despite having already interrogated the guy, she doesn’t trust him.”
“Maybe she’s using him as an excuse to ramp up her surveillance.”
“Who knows with that woman?”
Tony climbed the ladder and grabbed hold of the camera. “Which way do you want me to turn it?”
“More to the right.”
He turned the lens. “How’s this?”
She stood back, studying the angle. “Maybe a little more.”
Tony adjusted it again. “She’s gonna be staring at the corner of the alley.”
“Perfect. I like it. This’ll work.” Carlita held the ladder while he made his way down. “Despite believing Elvira is making a mountain out of a molehill, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to ask a few questions.”
“I ran into him in the alley and introduced myself. He seems like a decent guy.”
“He’s extremely well-mannered, not to mention his former landlord gave him a glowing recommendation.”
“The camera is annoying, but at least Elvira isn’t digging up your property in her never-ending quest for treasure.”
“Yet, and only because Pete threatened to call the cops and have her arrested for trespassing. Thanks for helping with the camera.”
“You’re welcome.”
Mother and son reached the hallway and parted ways at the bottom of the stairs. Carlita climbed to the top and crossed the landing, stopping when she reached Bubba’s front door. She turned her head, listening to the soft strains of classical music before giving the door a solid rap.
It slowly opened. Her new tenant appeared. “Hello, Mrs. Taylor.”
“Hello, Bubba. I happened to be leaving Ravello’s and figured I would stop by to see how it’s going.”
“Great. I’m still unpacking.” He opened the door wider, giving her a glimpse of the piles of moving boxes stacked against the wall. “I noticed a gated courtyard downstairs.”
Carlita snapped her fingers. “The courtyard. I forgot to mention it’s available for all tenants to use. Mercedes and her friend Autumn, who is also your neighbor, host regular gatherings for friends.”
“I’ll make good use of it.”
“I hope you do.” She shifted her feet. “You’ve already met Luigi, who rents the efficiency downstairs. Have you met Autumn and Cool Bones?”
“Yes, ma’am. They both stopped by earlier to introduce themselves.” Bubba tapped his forehead. “Where are my manners? Would you like to come in for a glass of sweet tea?”
“Thank you, but I can’t stay long. I believe you mentioned crossing paths with Elvira Cobb, who owns EC Investigative Services and also a security services company.”
“She’s the neighbor with lots of questions.” Bubba scratched the stubble on his chin. “I saw her hanging out in the alley when I was moving in. She was in the parking lot with a metal detector and a pair of headphones.”
“It was definitely an Elvira sighting,” Carlita joked.
“I figured she must’ve lost something.”
“She has. Her marbles, and it was a long time ago.”
Bubba’s eyes widened. “You mean she’s senile?”
“No, but a little.” Carlita twirled her finger next to her forehead. “You’ll have to experience another encounter to get the general gist of the type of person she is.”
“I noticed a lot of cameras on her property. I guess because she’s in the surveillance business.”
“Also because she’s extremely nosy and, at times, obnoxious.”
“I take it you don’t like her?”
“Actually, when you get past all of her annoying personality traits, she kind of grows on you.” Carlita folded her arms. “She’s a former tenant of mine.”
“She moved out and bought the building next door?”
“After she set a bedroom on fire and I evicted her.”
Bubba coughed loudly. “She sounds like an…interesting person.”
“Like I said, you have to know her to understand her.” Carlita reached into her purse and handed him the envelope. “This is for you.”
Bubba flipped the flap and removed the card. He read it aloud. “Welcome to Walton Square. We hope you love it here.”
“I included a gift for you.”
Bubba held up the Ravello’s gift card she’d tucked inside. “A gift card to your restaurant. Thank you. I love me some good, old-fashioned Italian food.”
“I thought it might come in handy while you’re settling in.” Carlita turned to go.
Bubba stopped her. “Can I ask you a question, Mrs. Taylor?”
“Sure.” She offered him a tentative smile.
“Have you ever moved somewhere and the minute you got there it felt like home?”
Carlita thought about the first time she and Mercedes had arrived in Savannah after finding out her deceased husband, Vinnie, owned the building she was standing in.
“I would like to say I felt the same way about this place when Mercedes and I first visited this property, but to be blunt, it was a dump.”
“You’re from up north.”
“Queens.”
“I figured from your accent,” he said. “If you don’t mind my asking another question, how did you end up here?”
“My husband, Vinnie, died. While going through his things, I found a key to a lockbox which led me…and my family…to Savannah.”
“So you were looking for a fresh start.”
Vinnie’s last words echoed in Carlita’s head. Promise…get them out. Get my sons out. She had kept her husband’s deathbed promise to leave Queens, New York and start life over hundreds of miles away.
For the most part she’d succeeded, except for her oldest son, Vinnie, who was still deeply entrenched in the “family.” Not only entrenched, but had married into it when he wed Brittney Castellini, “The Godfather’s” daughter.
“You summed it up perfectly. My children and I were lookin’ for a fresh start.” She leaned her hip against the doorway. “Have you lived in Savannah long?”
“Only about a year. My ex-girlfriend, the one who packed up and moved to Amsterdam, convinced me to move here.”
“I’m sorry things didn’t work out,” Carlita said.
“I’ve had my share of unfair shakes in life,” Bubba said. “But for the first time in a long time, things are starting to turn around for me. I transferred from another location and took a different job working downtown. I’ll be able to walk to work.”
“I looked at your application but don’t remember what you do.”
“I’m an underground mechanic, and work on anything below the Earth’s surface.”
“What an interesting occupation.”
He shrugged. “It has pluses and minuses. Like I said, I finally feel like I’m settling in.”
“I hope it works out for you, Bubba. I hope this is the best move you’ve ever made,” she said softly. “I may be biased, but in my opinion, you could not have picked a better place to put down roots.”