“This isn’t the woman who sold us Sandy Sue’s stolen ring?”
“No. The woman was older. Early fifties, if I had to guess.” Tony handed the phone back. “Why?”
“Because our new employee’s name is Mei Zhao. She just quit Sandy Sue’s place.”
“Seriously?” Tony stared at his mother. “Maybe it’s a coincidence.”
Carlita lifted a brow. “Do you believe that?”
“No. But even if she’s somehow linked to the robbery, how you gonna prove it? It’s my word against hers. Besides, she wasn’t the woman who brought the ring in.”
“They’re linked. I’ll bet money on it.”
“What’re you gonna do?” Tony asked.
“I don’t know.” Carlita thanked him and then made her way downstairs. Something fishy was going on. She remembered what Autumn had said about Steve, her brother, almost renting from someone named Zhao and how he had backed out.
Determined to delve a little deeper into the “Zhao” connection, Carlita vowed to stop by Steve’s tattoo shop first thing the following morning.
*****
Steve was already with a customer when Carlita arrived at his tattoo shop. “Hey, Carlita. I’m almost done if you want to hang out.”
“If you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. I have some new artwork designs if you’re in the market for a tattoo,” he teased.
“Right,” Carlita chuckled. “I guess it won’t hurt to see what you have.” She’d often wondered how much a small tattoo would cost, not that she had any plans of getting one.
Autumn had once shown her a small butterfly Steve had tattooed on her shoulder. It was pretty – colorful, and perfect for a young woman, but not for her.
She was still perusing the book when Steve finished. He gave the client detailed instructions on caring for the new artwork. The man paid for the services and exited the shop.
Steve made small talk while he cleaned up. “Autumn told me about the ghost tour that you, Mercedes, and Tony took.”
“Tony’s going through a rough patch, so we did something fun.”
“Rough patch?”
“It’s a long story. Shelby left him.”
“No kidding.” Steve started to say something and stopped.
“What?”
“It’s none of my business.”
“No. I want to know,” Carlita persisted.
“Shelby was in here a coupla weeks ago with this other chick. They were talking about getting matching tattoos. The woman with her was a little…”
“Rough around the edges,” Carlita said.
“Yeah. Not a person I envisioned Shelby hanging out with.”
Carlita changed the subject, briefly filling Steve in on her run-in with Sandy Sue, the robbery and then the ring showing up at the pawn shop. “Unfortunately, we lost our record of the person who brought the ring in. Tony is certain the person’s last name was Zhao.”
“Zhao? Now, there’s another one. I almost rented some retail space from them a year ago when I was thinkin’ about expanding.” Steve made an exaggerated swipe across his brow. “Good thing I dodged that bullet.”
“Why?” Carlita asked.
“Their contract was one-sided. I would still owe them money even if I only signed a year’s lease.” Steve told her there were several questionable terms he refused to agree to and backed out. “Hou Zhao was ticked. You would’ve thought I told him his kids were ugly or something.”
“Does the name Mei Zhao ring a bell?”
Steve thought about it for a minute. “Nope.”
“My restaurant manager recently hired Mei Zhao after she quit working for Sandy Sue. I was thinking maybe there’s a link between the Zhao you knew and Sandy Sue or my employee.”
“There are a lot of them in the area,” Steve said. “I’ve heard the name more than once.”
Another customer arrived. Carlita thanked him before making her way out. Not paying attention, she barreled around the corner of her building, nearly colliding with Luigi, who was heading in the opposite direction.
“Sorry, Mrs. G.”
“It’s my fault. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” Carlita shifted her gaze to Elvira’s place. “Have you seen Elvira since her accident?”
“Yeah. She’s cranky and running Dernice ragged.”
“I feel bad about her arm.”
Luigi shrugged. “I think she’s milking it.”
“Elvira? Taking advantage of a situation?” Carlita joked.
“You got her number,” Luigi grinned. He quickly sobered. “How’s Tony doin’?”
“He’s hanging in there.”
“I think I’ll stop by his place later, maybe invite him over for a beer,” Luigi said. “In the meantime, I gotta get going. My next job is waiting for me.”
Back home, Carlita plopped down in front of her computer. There was a link between Mei Zhao and the Zhao who sold Sandy Sue’s ring. She would bet money on it. But how could she link the two together?
Steve had mentioned nearly renting real estate from Hou Zhao. She began researching commercial property.
She tried several search variations, but nothing using the name Hou Zhao surfaced. Carlita leaned back in the chair, staring blankly at the screen. “There has to be a way.”
“Wait a minute.” Carlita snapped her fingers. “Why didn’t I think of that?’ She grabbed her cell phone and scrolled through her list of contacts until she found the one person who might be able to help.
“Annie Dowton speaking.”
“Hey, Annie. It’s Carlita. Are you in the office today?”
“I’m on my way in to write up a contract. I should be there any minute.”
“Do you mind if I swing by? I need to track down a commercial real estate owner.”
“C’mon over.”
“I’m on my way.” Carlita arrived first, but only by a couple of minutes. “Thanks for seeing me on such short notice. How’s business?”
“Brisk, but you won’t hear me complain,” Annie said. “Are you in the market to buy more real estate?”
“No way. I can barely keep up with what I have.” Carlita waited for Annie to unlock the door and followed her inside. “Someone robbed Sandy Sue Jarvis, the owner of the new barbecue joint around the corner. A ring was stolen. It ended up being sold to our pawn shop. Have you been by there?”
“Not yet. My receptionist, Cindy, has. She said the food was okay.” Annie dropped her purse on the desk and motioned for Carlita to have a seat. “What does this have to do with commercial real estate?”
“Ravello’s recently hired an employee. Her last name is Zhao, which is also the last name of the person who sold us the ring.”
“And you think there’s a match?” Annie asked.
“Possibly,” Carlita said.
“Doesn’t the pawn shop keep a record of sellers?”
“It does. Unfortunately, our computer is on the fritz. Tony thought he had a handwritten record of the seller’s information, but we can’t find it. All Tony can remember is that the person’s last name was Zhao.”
Annie blinked rapidly. “You think your new employee robbed Jarvis and is now working for you?”
“That’s where it gets tricky. Mei Zhao, Ravello’s new employee, is not the person who sold the ring. Steve Winter mentioned Hou Zhao owned real estate. I can’t find anyone by that name or any contact information online and thought maybe you could help.”
“It’s possible the property is owned in a trust or a DBA name.”
“I guess it was a question I should’ve thought to ask Steve.”
“Real estate agents have a private database. If Hou Zhao owns property, it will show up in our system.” Annie turned her attention to the computer. With a few taps of the keys, she told Carlita she had an address. She rattled it off.
“That means nothing to me,” Carlita said. “Do you know where the property is located?”
“Yep. It’s out by th
e highway.” Annie shifted the screen, giving Carlita a visual on the location. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized she’d already visited that exact spot.
Chapter 23
“What does this mean?” Carlita whispered.
“What does what mean?”
“Sandy Sue and her brother were joint owners of Big Hog’s BBQ. It’s in this strip mall. She sold him her half of the partnership and opened her own barbecue place. Her brother still owns Big Hog’s. Mercedes and I were there the other day.”
“And Hou Zhao owns the strip mall,” Annie said.
“Steve told me he backed out of leasing space from Zhao because of a shady contract.” Carlita pressed a hand to her cheek. “What about Mei Zhao? Does she own property?”
Annie tapped the keys. “Nope. Hou Zhao owns that strip mall and another property. It appears to be vacant land.”
There was a link between the stolen ring, Sandy Sue, Big Hog’s BBQ and Hou Zhao. At the very least, they all knew each other.
There was only one person who could help fill in the blanks. Sandy Sue Jarvis. Would she talk to Carlita? There was only one way to find out.
*****
It was the next day before Carlita got up the nerve to make her way across the street. Since the barbecue place didn’t open until eleven, Carlita gambled on Sandy Sue prepping in the back.
“Here goes nothing.” Carlita sucked in a breath and rapped hard on the front door.
Sandy Sue appeared. She unlocked the door and stood blocking the entrance. “Hello.”
“Good morning. I was wondering if I could speak with you for a moment, about the robbery.”
“Why? Because the cops are coming down on you?”
“No. I didn’t steal your ring or rob you.”
“Tell that to the investigators.” Sandy Sue started closing the door.
Carlita wedged her foot in the opening. “Does the name Hou Zhao ring a bell?”
There was a look of surprise on Sandy Sue’s face. “What do you know about Hou?” she asked.
“I know he owns a strip mall out by the highway. The restaurant you previously owned, Big Hog’s BBQ, leases space from Zhao.”
“He’s a crook,” Sandy Sue spat out. “If he sent you over here, you can tell him he’ll never get a red cent from me.”
“Zhao didn’t send me. Can I come in?” Carlita asked. “I think you’ll want to hear what I have to say.”
Sandy Sue reluctantly held the door. “Make it quick. I’m busy.”
Carlita followed her into the dining room. “Is Mei Zhao related to Hou Zhao?”
“Mei is his daughter. She’s a nice enough gal, but I’m glad she quit.”
“Why, might I ask?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“She was stealing from you,” Carlita guessed.
“Your sales are off already?” Sandy Sue smirked.
“No. Mei is in training. She doesn’t handle cash or sales transactions. You’re saying you believe she was stealing from you?”
“Almost guaranteed. My sales haven’t matched since I opened. Mei quits.” Sandy Sue snapped her fingers. “Everything balances. My guess is the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in that family.”
“Which is why I’m here.” Carlita paused, making sure she had Sandy Sue’s full attention. “My son remembers the last name of the person who brought your ring in the other day.”
Sandy Sue stared hard at Carlita.
“Zhao.” Carlita laid out her theory, how she suspected the Zhao family was angry with Sandy Sue. Mei Zhao was a plant. She took the job not only to steal money from Sandy Sue but also help coordinate the robbery. “And perhaps even anonymously called the health department on you to get you into trouble.”
Sandy Sue’s jaw dropped. “The robber’s voice. I thought it sounded familiar. Your son, he’s certain the last name was Zhao?”
“He is. I showed him a picture of Mei. She wasn’t the woman who pawned the ring. He said it was an older woman.”
“Do you think he would recognize her if he saw her picture?” Sandy Sue asked.
“Possibly.”
Sandy Sue turned on her heel and ran out of the dining room. She returned moments later, cell phone in hand. “What’s your cell phone number?”
Carlita rattled it off. Moments later, a text popped up. A picture of a woman was attached.
“That is Fao Zhao, Hou Zhao’s wife.”
“I’ll forward it to my son to see if he recognizes her.” Carlita tapped the screen.
“If Fao Zhao sold my ring, that explains a lot.”
“If the Zhaos have an axe to grind, I can understand them targeting you, but why would they call the health department on me?” Carlita asked.
Sandy Sue’s face turned bright red.
“You called the health department on me?”
“I…I thought you called it on me. It was more of a tit for tat. I’m sorry,” Sandy Sue blurted out.
Carlita briefly closed her eyes. “Did you vandalize my courtyard and kick in the door to my storage area?” she asked.
“No. I swear I didn’t.” Sandy Sue averted her gaze, and Carlita suspected she wasn’t being completely forthright.
“But you know who did.”
“It may have been one or more of the contractors I kicked off the job. They were ticked when they found out you reported them to the city for dumping construction trash. I kind of let your name slip and told them you were the one who turned them in.”
“Thanks a lot,” Carlita said.
“Again, I’m sorry.” Sandy Sue looked truly contrite. “I have my hands full. First, there was the robbery, then Carl left me. My books weren’t balancing. I’m not handling the pressure very well, and I may have erroneously blamed you for it.”
Carlita’s cell phone chimed. It was a reply from Tony.
“My son said Fao Zhao was the woman who sold the ring to him the other day.”
“How do we prove it?”
Carlita tapped her chin thoughtfully. “We apply a little pressure to the weakest link.”
*****
It was only a matter of a single phone call for Carlita to discover Mei Zhao was training at Ravello’s that afternoon.
Once Carlita was certain she was there, she met Sandy Sue at the front entrance and then led her to the kitchen in the back.
Mei’s eyes grew round as saucers when she spotted her former employer.
“Hello, Mei,” Sandy Sue said. “How do you like your new job?”
“I…I love it.”
“Good.” Sandy Sue tapped Carlita’s arm. “I’ve asked Mrs. Garlucci if I might have a brief word with you.”
Mei’s eyes darted from Sandy Sue to Carlita. “I told her I didn’t see a problem with it. She assured me it wouldn’t take long.”
“Okay.” Mei nervously chewed on her lower lip as she followed Carlita and Sandy Sue to the break room in the back.
Once inside, Sandy Sue did a slow pace, letting Mei’s nervousness build. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here.”
“Y-yes.”
Sandy Sue stopped pacing. “Since your departure, I’ve discovered that my sales are reconciling one hundred percent. I’m no longer short of cash.”
“And you think I was behind the shortages?” Mei asked.
“I don’t think. I know.” Sandy Sue removed slips of paper from her pocket. “The proof is right here, in these receipts. So, I thought I would let Mrs. Garlucci know about my discrepancies.”
“I don’t handle transactions,” Mei said.
“That is true. At least not yet,” Carlita agreed.
“How are your parents, Hou and Fao?” Sandy Sue asked.
“They’re fine.”
“Remember the robbery last week when someone took cash and stole my ruby ring? I’m almost certain I know what happened to the ring.”
Mei swallowed nervously.
“I think you or your parents sold it. They sent you to m
y restaurant to spy on me, to help them find an opening, an opportunity to rob from me.” Sandy Sue held out her hand and a ruby red ring.
Mei’s face turned white as a ghost.
“Surprised because I have it? I’m sure you are. You sold this to Savannah Swag, the Garlucci’s pawn shop.”
“I didn’t,” Mei whispered.
Sandy Sue forced a smile. “Mrs. Garlucci’s son, Tony, can identify the person who sold this ring, and that person was you,” she bluffed.
“It was not.”
“It will be your word against his,” Sandy Sue said. “I’m almost certain your father was the one who robbed me.”
“You cannot prove it.”
“True. I can’t positively identify the robber, but Mr. Garlucci can identify the person who sold my ring.”
“I have never set foot in the pawn shop.”
“You’re awfully young to go to prison for ten to twenty years.”
Mei clutched her throat as she stared at Sandy Sue.
“You’ll be in your thirties before you ever see the light of day.”
“I told you. I had nothing to do with the robbery. The robber was wearing a black mask,” Mei said.
“A black mask?” Sandy Sue leaned in. “I never said the robber was wearing a black mask.”
“I mean, I would assume it was black.” Mei looked as if she was going to burst into tears.
“Mei,” Carlita said. “You need to come clean. Did you rob Sandy Sue?”
Mei shook her head.
“Did your father or someone you know rob her? If you don’t tell the truth, you could be in serious trouble.”
“I’m leaving.” Mei bolted from the room.
Carlita hurried to the doorway. Mei was long gone. “She’s gone.”
“Not surprising.” Sandy Sue placed a hand on her hips. “It’s time to call Officer Thryce and have him chat with the Zhaos.”
Chapter 24
Carlita grinned.
“It’s not funny,” Elvira huffed. “I feel like a freak show.”
“I’m sorry. It looks like you’re doing a perpetual wave. Do you think the cast will be off before the cruise?”
“It had better be. If not, I’ll cut it off myself.”
Family Feud in Savannah: A Garlucci Family Saga (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 16) Page 15
