“I’m working an afternoon shift at Ravello’s. What about you?”
“I’m meeting Angelica Reynolds’ rep to preview the apartment.”
“What about the guy Sam suggested?” Carlita asked.
“I’m gonna hold off. I want to meet with this person before scheduling another showing.”
Carlita sipped her coffee eyeing her daughter over the rim of the cup. “You really are determined to have this woman move in.”
“Yes. I mean, this is the opportunity of a lifetime for me. She could help me fast track my writing career.” Mercedes changed the subject. “I haven’t seen much of Autumn since she moved in.”
“She hurt her ankle yesterday while we were at the museum. Glenda sent me an email. Mark heard through the grapevine the authorities are close to making another arrest in the missing painting.”
“Elvira?”
“Could be. She’s having a bad week.”
“I would say so. First the theft and then the tazing.”
“I feel kinda bad about that.” Carlita shifted to the side. “I blew my cool.”
“Not a hard thing to do when it’s Elvira.”
“Yep. Glenda also said she had an idea for drumming up some business for Ravello’s.”
“Uh-oh.” Mercedes leaned both elbows on the railing. “Check it out.”
Carlita followed her daughter’s gaze and then did a double take as a police car pulled into the alley. “Elvira’s bad week might be getting even worse.”
They watched Detective Polivich, another local Savannah detective, and a uniformed officer exit the car. Instead of heading toward Elvira’s place, they made their way to Carlita’s back door.
Her breath caught in her throat. “They’re coming here.”
“I’ll go find out what they want,” Mercedes said.
“No. You’re still in your pajamas. I’ll go down.” Carlita handed her daughter her coffee cup. She darted inside and down the back steps to the alley.
“Good morning, Mrs. Garlucci.”
“Good morning, Detective Polivich. I would like to say I’m surprised to see you this early, but maybe I’m not.”
The detective reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “I have a search warrant to search your property and the premises.”
“Search warrant? Whatever for?”
“A Piece of Renaissance. After further review of the museum’s surveillance cameras, Detective Wilson and I obtained a search warrant for your place and for your neighbor’s residence.”
A second police vehicle, this time a large van, pulled in behind the patrol car. Several uniformed officers exited and joined the detective.
“Over there.” Polivich pointed to Elvira’s door before turning his attention back to Carlita.
“You…aren’t going to search my tenants’ units, are you?” she asked.
“We’re searching your unit, your businesses and any storage areas.”
“You’re gonna be here awhile.” Carlita thought about Mercedes still clad in her pajamas. “My daughter just got up. I need to warn her you’re coming in.”
“I’ll go with you.” The detective followed Carlita up the stairs.
“You think I’m going to hide something.”
“I’m here to investigate. If you have nothing to hide, you won’t mind me following you.”
“Be my guest.” Carlita marched up the steps and into the apartment; all the while mentally berating Elvira for her current predicament and the fact that the authorities were going to tear her place apart.
Mercedes was in her room. The detective followed Carlita to the doorway and stood off to the side while she knocked.
As per Mercedes’ usual, the door flew open. Carlita didn’t even flinch. She got right to the point. “The authorities are here with a search warrant.”
“Here?”
“Yes. They caught me on camera at the museum, mistaking a storage room for a restroom. Now they want to have a look around our home and businesses.”
“Elvira,” Mercedes said.
“Exactly. So you may want to hang out in the living room until they’re finished.”
“Sure.” Mercedes snatched her laptop off her desk and followed her mother into the living room, passing by the detective who was hovering in the hallway.
Two more officers stood in the doorway. Carlita waved them inside. “Let’s get this over with. The sooner, the better.”
The officers entered the apartment and began searching, all the while Carlita stewed over the fact that all of this was brought on by Elvira. Although she couldn’t entirely blame her for the search. She did willingly agree to snoop around the museum.
She also couldn’t blame Elvira for inviting her for a private tour the other day. Surely, Elvira had no idea the valuable painting was about to go missing. The more they searched, the more aggravated she became, convinced the theft was an inside job.
She remembered Elvira mentioning the museum’s curator as well as the director. Was one of them responsible for the missing painting? The two had been involved in hiring Elvira and her team for the security job.
Could one of them have swiped the artwork and then pointed fingers at Elvira?
Carlita scowled at the officer who was digging around inside her desk drawer.
The detective and his officers finally finished searching the apartment. She met them at the front door. “Are you happy now that you tore my place apart and didn’t find anything?”
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” the detective apologized.
“Have you taken a closer look at the museum’s staff? Perhaps this was an inside job. The fact the surveillance cameras happened to be off during the time in question is suspect. Certain staff members were given access to EC Security Services’ application information and could easily make it look as if the security company or one of the employees was the culprit.”
“We’re covering every angle,” the detective said. “We’re even questioning the groundskeeper, Mr. Cagle.”
“Groundskeeper?” Carlita asked.
“Yes. Mr. Cagle and his wife live in a small cottage on the property. They’re getting ready to retire.”
“I see. Now that you’re done here if you’ll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to.” Carlita accompanied the officers to the lower level and into the pawnshop where several more men were wrapping up their search of the business.
Tony stood off to one side. She could see he was aggravated with the unexpected invasion. “I’m sorry, Son. This is my fault.”
“My men are done searching your restaurant and pawnshop.” Polivich joined them.
“Then let me show you the door,” Tony smiled grimly.
Carlita waited for Tony to return. “I had no idea the investigators would show up on our doorstep to search the place.”
“My guess is this has something to do with the missing artwork and Elvira.”
“Your guess would be correct. Of course, they didn’t find anything. I’m going next door to chat with Elvira.”
She apologized to her son again and headed to the alleyway. The police vehicles were gone. Elvira’s rear door was wide open.
Carlita stuck her head inside. “Elvira?” She could hear loud voices coming from the front of the building.
“Elvira.” Carlita wandered through the back of the apartment to the front where the EC Investigative Services and EC Security Services offices were located. She found Dernice and Elvira staring each other down.
“I don’t mean to break up a touching family moment, but I want to have a word with you.”
Elvira turned, her eyes sparking as she stared at Carlita. “I’m still ticked at you. I was having hot flashes all night thanks to the zap you gave me.”
“You told me I was making a big deal of nothing, that it was only a little sting.”
“Yeah, well someone dialed the zapper to the max level. It was more than a sting. My whole body was on fire. It took ho
urs for my nerves to settle down.”
“Speaking of nerves, the authorities searched my apartment and pawnshop, thanks to you. Since you gave me a tour of the museum, and then they caught me on camera sneaking into the museum’s storage area, they think I may be involved in the theft of the painting.”
“Well, I’m in the same boat,” Elvira whined. “If I can’t clear my name, I’ll never get another security job in Savannah.”
“You need to take a closer look at your employees…namely Astrid. How can you be certain she had nothing to do with the theft? You don’t even know her real name.”
Elvira rolled her eyes. “I already told you. She never entered the museum. Her job was more of crowd control. She was familiar with the grounds.”
“Familiar with the museum grounds?” Carlita asked.
“Yeah. Remember when I said I found her digging through the dumpster and offered her the security gig?”
“I remember,” Carlita nodded.
“Well, it was right after Spelling told me I got the job. I was on my way back to the van parked behind the museum. I started to get in when I heard a clunking noise coming from the dumpster. I thought that maybe a stray animal was trapped inside. Instead, I found Astrid digging around, looking for something to eat.”
“So she’s been hanging around the museum.” The more Carlita learned about the woman, the more she suspected that perhaps Astrid was somehow involved in the theft.
“Yes.”
“I think Astrid is hiding something. She claims she’s claustrophobic, but it could be a lie…like she’s lying about her name.”
Elvira tapped the side of her forehead. “I have a finely-tuned baloney radar. Astrid never even raised a blip. If she had, I never would’ve invited her to stay here.”
“Just don’t try to touch her stuff,” Dernice warned. “She about bit my head off when I tried to move her backpack the other day. I thought she was going to come completely unglued.”
“Another reason she may be involved. Maybe she has the painting hidden in her stuff.” Carlita sucked in a breath. “I have an idea, but I need your help.”
Chapter 14
“You need to give Astrid an assignment that takes her away from her tent so we can search her belongings,” Carlita said.
“Bad idea.” Elvira gave her a thumbs down. “She takes the backpack everywhere. I’ve never seen her without it. Not that I can blame her. All of her worldly belongings are inside.”
“And maybe even a priceless painting.”
“The cops already searched the tent. It was clean.”
“We need to follow her, to see where she goes when she’s not working,” Carlita said. “What’s her work schedule look like?”
“Let me see.” Elvira stepped over to her desk and grabbed her day organizer. “She’s working at the shopping mall out by the highway with Bif. She’ll be there until nine when the mall closes.”
“So we have plenty of time to search her tent.” Carlita headed to the door. Elvira was hot on her heels.
“You got Astrid all wrong. Searching her stuff is an invasion of privacy.”
“And so was having the cops show up on my doorstep with a search warrant and invade my private home.” Carlita abruptly stopped when she reached the back door. “You don’t have to go with me.”
“Yes. Yes, I do.”
Carlita marched down the alley. Elvira hurried after her. “I know you’re upset. I can’t say as I blame you, but none of my employees had anything to do with the theft. It was an inside job.”
“We’ll see.” When Carlita reached the small domed tent, she unzipped the door and stuck her head inside. The tent was empty except for a sleeping bag, neatly rolled up. Sitting next to the sleeping bag was a flashlight.
She crawled inside the tent and unrolled the sleeping bag.
“This is crazy,” Elvira mumbled.
“No. This is your fault.” Carlita unzipped the bag and gave it a good shake.
“See? You wasted your time.”
Carlita ignored her as she zipped the bag. She rolled it up and adjusted the ties that held the bag together. She carefully returned it to the same spot and dusted off her hands. “What time did you say Astrid gets off work?”
“Nine o’clock. Bif told me he would drop her off at the corner. Why?”
“Because I plan on keeping a close eye on her. I think you’re wrong. I think there’s a good chance she’s involved in the theft. Think about it…how many times have your security gigs gone awry?”
“Well…” Elvira pressed the tips of her fingers together. “If you don’t count the time Dernice accidentally tackled the mayor’s brother during a scuffle at the Riverfront Inn’s ribbon cutting ceremony, only once or twice.”
“Tackled the mayor’s brother? Never mind. What I’m saying is…all of the clues are starting to point to Astrid. She’s outside security during the museum exhibit and only hours before the painting goes missing. She’s lying about her identity. She refuses to let you near her belongings. In fact, Astrid keeps her backpack with her at all times. All of these sound like someone who is hiding something. If she can find a black market for the painting, she’ll have more than enough cash for a first-class plane ticket to Paris.”
Carlita backed out of the tent and zipped it shut.
“What are you going to do?”
“I already told you. I’m going to keep an eye on Astrid.” Carlita had another thought. “Was Astrid around earlier when the authorities stopped by with the search warrant?”
“Yes. I mean, I saw her shortly before they showed up, but when they got here, she was gone,” Elvira said.
“With her backpack.”
“Yes.”
“I rest my case.” Carlita scooted between two vehicles, and the women returned to the alley.
“So you’re going to spy on one of my employees.”
“That’s the plan.”
“I want to go with you.”
Carlita spun around to face Elvira. “Don’t you care someone out there has set you or one of your employees up?”
“Of course I care. My reputation is at stake.”
Their eyes met. Carlita stared at Elvira for a long moment. “My plan is to follow her this evening, whether you like it or not.”
“Fine. I’ll meet you out here at eight-fifty. I’ll show you where Bif is dropping her off.”
Carlita returned to the apartment and noticed Autumn’s door was ajar. She could hear the tinkle of Mercedes’ laughter and then her new tenant’s laugh.
“Hello?” Carlita called out.
“Hey, Mrs. G.” The door opened, and Autumn motioned her inside. “Mercedes was telling me about the search warrant.”
“You missed out on all of the fun. I’m surprised they didn’t get a warrant to search your unit, too, since you were with me at the museum. How is your ankle?”
“Good as new. Like it never happened.” Autumn lifted her leg and rotated her foot. “They caught you on camera?”
“Sneaking into the storage room. They also caught me on camera with Elvira entering the back of the museum and touring the exhibit.”
“They think you and Elvira are working together.”
“Possibly. I personally think Elvira’s new employee/yard guest may be involved.”
“The woman with the tent,” Autumn said. “Mercedes was just warning me about her.”
“She’s using a fake name. Elvira found her digging through the dumpster out behind the museum and offered her a job. She claims she’s claustrophobic which is why she’s staying in a tent. I think she’s hiding something in her belongings, possibly the painting, and is using the claustrophobia as an excuse to keep her distance.”
“What are you going to do?” Autumn asked.
“I’m going to follow her. If she is hiding the painting, she knows the investigators were here looking around, and she’s going to have to make a move.” Carlita told the women she planned to follow Astrid after a co
-worker dropped her off later that evening.
“I’ll go with you,” Mercedes offered.
“It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. Elvira is insisting Astrid is innocent, and she wants to go with me, too.”
“Are you sure, Elvira or even her sister, isn’t involved in the theft?” Autumn asked.
“I’m beginning to wonder. This mystery is getting murkier by the minute. I do know one thing…I’m going to clear my name if it’s the last thing I do. In the meantime, I’m going to give Glenda a call to see what idea she has for Ravello’s.”
Her call to Glenda went to voice mail. She hadn’t even set the phone down when her friend called back. “You got my message?”
“I did. Believe it or not, the police showed up on my doorstep to search my businesses and my apartment. They were looking for the missing painting.”
“They think you’re a suspect?” Glenda gasped.
“Yes.”
“That’s crazy. I wonder if they plan to search my place, too.”
“I doubt it. I did something stupid. I helped Elvira, and it backfired.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “I can’t say as I’m surprised…that helping her backfired, I mean.”
“It’s a long story,” Carlita sighed. “So you have an idea for Ravello’s, to help drum up more business.”
“The riverfront district property owners are meeting today to discuss Spooky Eats and Inns.”
“Spooky Eats and Inns?”
“It’s a new tour some area business owners are putting together.” Glenda explained the director of the riverfront’s historic district was meeting with the locals interested in offering haunted tours of the restaurants and inns. “This would be perfect for Ravello’s.”
“I’m not technically in the riverfront district.”
“But you’re close enough.” Glenda hurried on. “Your place was once a casket company rumored to be haunted. It would be the perfect place to add to the tour. Just think of the possibilities.”
Carlita warmed to the idea. “I…yes. It might work. What an awesome idea.”
“The director of the riverfront historic district, Elizabeth Portsmith, is holding a meeting at our place, Savannah Riverfront Inn in about an hour to pitch the idea to several of the inn and restaurant owners. I think you should come.”
Swiped in Savannah: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 12) Page 11