Family Feud in Savannah: A Garlucci Family Saga (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 16)

by Hope Callaghan

  “What is it?”

  “A drone. Have you ever used one of these?”

  “Sure,” Tony nodded. “We’ve had a few come through the pawn shop. I test them out before buying them, to make sure they work. They don’t sit on the shelves long.”

  “Based on what I found, you might be able to put this to use.”

  “Thanks, Elvira.” Tony offered her a grim smile. “And thanks for lending an ear last night.”

  “Anytime, Tony. That’s what family is for.” Elvira’s cell phone chimed. “Gotta run. I’m late for my staff meeting.”

  After she left, mother and son climbed into Tony’s car. It took a few minutes for him to pull up Ava Whalen’s address. “It says we’ll be there in less than an hour.”

  During the drive, Tony told his mother he had called Jerry Crowley the previous evening to check on Violet. “They let me talk to her. She was excited she was gonna be seeing her mother, but a little sad near the end.”

  “Because her family has been ripped apart. Poor kid.”

  “He and Ginny are taking Violet to her mother sometime today. Hopefully, we won’t run into them.”

  Carlita reached across the seat and squeezed her son’s arm. “Perhaps a little time apart is a good thing. It will give Shelby a chance to realize how good you are to her and how much you love her.”

  “Maybe.” Tony tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “Cool Bones told me he saw Shelby out with a rough-looking crowd. It was on a night she told me she and Melanie were going to a movie.”

  “He mentioned the same to me,” Carlita admitted. “Not the movie part, but the rough crowd.”

  Tony changed the subject. “Elvira mentioned something about finding a treasure map. We got off on another subject and she never finished telling me what she found.”

  Carlita filled her son in on Elvira’s discovery – the chest, the map and the coin. “She and Pete signed an agreement to use his ship and crew to go treasure diving.”

  “You think it’s legit?”

  “The map?” Carlita shrugged. “Pete seems to think there’s something to it.” She pondered the thought. “Wouldn’t that be something if they actually found sunken treasure?”

  “My money is on Elvira. If there’s something out there, she’ll find it.”

  The topic shifted to business, both the pawn shop and Ravello’s. “We need to make sure we’re covered for the upcoming cruise.”

  “I’m not sure I wanna go now,” Tony said.

  “Your cabin is already booked, Son. Do you think you can back out?”

  “I dunno.”

  “I say leave it as is,” Carlita suggested. “A lot can happen between now and October.”

  As they drew closer to their destination, the area reminded Carlita of the road connecting Savannah to Tybee Island. It made her think of her friend, Tori. “I wonder how Tori is doing.” Making a mental note to call her later, she focused her attention on navigating a series of turns.

  They reached the small town of Bayrock, only a few short miles from Hilton Head. The town boasted a single stoplight. Only a handful of downtown shops were open. The rest of the buildings were boarded up.

  Carlita stared out the window, admiring the picturesque street lined with towering oaks draped in moss. “This is a pretty little area.”

  The scenic area ended. They entered a seedier side of town with small, wooden houses, sagging porches and peeling paint.

  Chain-link fences with gaping holes ran the length of the sidewalk. Tony slowed at the reduced speed limit.

  A rusted red pickup with a loud muffler pulled out in front of them and crept along, forcing them to drive even slower.

  Carlita’s sharp eye noted most of the front porches sported old metal folding chairs. The occupants warily watched Tony’s shiny sedan pass by.

  The hair on Carlita’s arms prickled. “I don’t think this is the best part of town.”

  “Nope.” Tony sucked in a breath. “I was hoping for a better neighborhood but had a hunch it would shake out like this.”

  They coasted to the stop sign. The driver’s side door of the pickup in front of them swung open. A man emerged and approached Tony on the driver's side.

  Carlita pressed the door lock button, watching as the man rapped on the window.

  Tony opened it a crack. “Hey.”

  “Yes, sir.” The man leaned in, so close that his breath fogged the glass. “I saw you driving over on the other street. You looked like you was lost. I figured I would stop to see if I could help.”

  “I appreciate your offer.” Tony began slowly unzipping his jacket pocket, and Carlita caught a glimpse of metal. It was the grip of a gun. “I know where I’m heading.”

  “Bayrock is a small town. I know everyone who lives here. Mind if I ask who you’re here to see?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do mind.” Tony finished unzipping his pocket, and Carlita could see him wrap his hand around the gun. “I can assure you I’m not here to cause trouble.”

  “Good. Cuz we don’t like trouble ‘round these parts. Troublemakers end up floating downstream, if you catch my drift.”

  Tony’s eyes never left the man. “Like I said, we’re not here to cause trouble.”

  “Keep it that way.” The “Good Samaritan’s” eyes shifted, and he nodded toward Carlita. “You two have a good day.”

  Tony didn’t answer. Instead, he rolled the window up.

  With a glance over his shoulder, the man climbed inside his pickup truck and turned right. Thankfully, they were going in the opposite direction. Instead of the homes getting nicer, they were in even worse shape.

  “How much farther, Ma?”

  “Half a mile. It’s on this road and on the right. We’re looking for 558 Old Pond Road.”

  The paved road ended. The car jostled along, and Tony steered to the side to avoid the deep ruts.

  Towering pines replaced the majestic oaks. Low-growing fan palms and cordgrass filled in the gaps.

  The structures – a mixture of dilapidated mobile homes and shacks – were few and far between. Carlita pressed a hand to her chest. “This doesn’t look like a safe area.”

  “Nope,” Tony said. “I would describe this as a shantytown.”

  He slammed on the brakes when a dog darted out of the brush and into the car’s path. The pup never even looked their way before disappearing into the woodsy area on the opposite side of the road.

  Carlita spoke without thinking, stunned by what she was seeing. “What in the world was Shelby thinking?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine. We’re here.” Tony stopped in front of a baby blue rusted mailbox. The mailbox’s post tilted to the right.

  Carlita leaned forward, peering down the two-track driveway, almost obscured by the thick brush closing in on it. “Are we sure this is the spot?” She consulted the cell phone and then checked the mailbox. “This has to be it. Do you see anything?”

  “Nope. Nothing.” Tony eased his foot off the brake, and they coasted past. When they reached the end of the road, he did a U-turn and began heading back.

  A few feet from the blue mailbox, and on the opposite side of the road, was a wooden sign with an arrow pointing. Carlita read the sign, “Low Country State Recreation Area. Seasonal Access only.”

  It was paved and wide enough for Tony’s car to navigate. “Let’s check it out.”

  The entrance was narrow and winding, taking them past swampy marshes and low-lying areas.

  Carlita craned her neck. “I’m gonna take a wild guess that this place floods during the wet season.”

  A public boat launch, a pavilion, and a portable toilet were at the end. Several metal picnic tables were inside the pavilion.

  “This might be a good spot to try Elvira’s drone.” Carlita waited for Tony to park and then exited the vehicle, her eyes scanning their surroundings.

  It was an isolated spot, a place Carlita wouldn’t want to be after dark.

  Although there
were trash cans on both sides of the pavilion, beer bottles, cigarette butts and fast-food wrappers littered the ground.

  Disgusted, she shook her head. “What a shame.”

  Tony scanned the instructions and then set the drone on the ground. With a twist of the wrist, the drone lifted off and hovered overhead. “This baby is powerful.”

  “I wonder what Elvira uses it for.” Carlita waved dismissively. “Never mind. I probably don’t want to know.”

  Tony chuckled. “She’s probably spying on you.”

  “Nothing new there.” Carlita shaded her eyes, watching as the drone dipped and swooped. “How does that thing work?”

  “Here. You try it.” Tony held out the controller.

  Carlita shook her head. “No, thanks. I’ll pass. With my luck, it would end up stuck in the trees, and Elvira would charge me double to replace it.”

  Tony stepped closer to his mother, showing her how the drone operated. Not only was he able to navigate it via the camera, but it was able to record the entire fly time. “If I ever buy a drone, this is the one I want.”

  He flew the drone higher and higher.

  Standing behind him, Carlita had a clear view of the remote control screen. On one side was a large body of winding water. On the other was thick brush and more of the towering pines.

  The drone passed overhead and then disappeared from sight.

  The same dog that had run out in front of the car now trotted along the side of the road.

  “I can’t make heads or tails of where it is,” Carlita muttered.

  “Me either. Help me look for the blue mailbox.”

  She leaned in, carefully studying the screen as the drone ran parallel to the dirt road. “I think it went too far.” Carlita could see the end of the road where they had turned around.

  Tony expertly moved the dials. The drone began flying in the opposite direction. The blue mailbox suddenly appeared.

  “There it is,” Carlita said.

  “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 w
ay to the courtyard. She tackled the graffiti first. While she worked, her thoughts returned to Shelby. Perhaps she should reach out to her.

  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.”