Merry Masquerade in Savannah: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Cozy Mysteries Series Book 8)

by Hope Callaghan

  “Curiosity,” Carlita said.

  “Curiosity and we have some of your mail.” Mercedes handed the envelopes to Elvira. “Looks like one of them is a collection bill.”

  Elvira glanced at the front of the envelope and then ripped it in half. “Yeah, well good luck tracking me down and collecting money. They’ll be sitting on your doorstep, not mine.”

  “And I’ll be sending them right across the alley,” Carlita shot back. She changed the subject. “So how’s the investigative business going? Joe told us you hired him as security detail.”

  “I’m expanding my operations,” Elvira said vaguely. “Diversifying.”

  “I see.” Carlita lifted her gaze and glanced down the sidewalk. “Well, I have one request. Can you please tone down the blinding spotlights out back? It feels like we’re living in the center of an airport runway strip.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Great.” The women made small talk and finally, Carlita decided it was time to go. “If I get any more mail, I’ll slip it under the door.”

  “Don’t do that,” Elvira said. “I don’t want my tenants snooping into my personal stuff. Just give me a call and I’ll run by when I have time.”

  “Okay.” Carlita shrugged and turned to Elvira’s sister. “It was nice to meet you Dernice Movira.”

  Mother and daughter sauntered down the sidewalk and rounded the corner.

  “What do you think?” Mercedes asked.

  “I think I’m even more thankful that Elvira is no longer under my roof.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Mercedes said.

  Chapter 3

  “So what’s the 411 on this fact finding mission?” Autumn Winter hung over the front seat of the car and stared at the Beachy Bargains Pawn Shop sign through the front windshield.

  “Tori Montgomery sold a few loose gems to this pawnshop and not long after, someone broke into her home and stole some antique weaponry from her drawing room,” Carlita said.

  “We’re looking for the stolen goods?” Autumn asked.

  “That’s one angle,” Mercedes said. “We’re also going to sell a couple gems Ma and I own. We want to see if the same thing happens to us.”

  “So you want someone to rob you?”

  “No, I mean. Of course not,” Carlita said.

  Mercedes rubbed her hand across her forehead. “I’m not sure why I didn’t think of this before, but the plan is flawed.”

  “How so?”

  “Because we’ll have to provide our home address, which is a pawnshop,” Mercedes said.

  “Crud.” Carlita whacked the steering wheel. “You’re right. That’s not gonna work. We need another address to use.” She slowly turned to Autumn.

  “You want to use my address?” Autumn squeaked. “You want someone to break into my apartment?”

  “No, of course not,” Carlita shook her head. “The last thing we want is to put you in danger or any of us for that matter.”

  “Hang on.” Autumn whipped her cell phone out of her back pocket and tapped the screen. “I bet Steve will help us out and let us use his tattoo shop’s address.”

  “But what if they break into his place?” Mercedes asked.

  “They’ll be sorry if they try. He installed some high tech alarm equipment.” She glanced up from the screen. “Did I tell you he moved out of his apartment? He’s fixing up the upstairs of the tattoo shop and Paisley, his girlfriend, is going to move in with him.”

  “No, I had no idea, but I’m happy for him,” Carlita said. “I don’t want to drag Steve into this. I’m doing Tori a favor, but didn’t make any promises.”

  “Ah. He already gave us the green light to use the tattoo shop’s address.” Autumn slid her phone back into her pocket. “I can handle the transaction since I know Steve’s address by heart.”

  “Okay.” Carlita reached into her purse, pulled out a small black box and handed it to Autumn.

  “What’s a good deal?”

  “There’s a diamond and two decent sized emeralds. Tony said we should be able to get a solid thirteen-hundred bucks for all three. He said not to take less than twelve-hundred.”

  “Gotcha.” Autumn tightened her grip on the box and slid across the back seat. “I love a good sting operation.”

  The trio exited the car and gathered on the sidewalk.

  “Ma, we need one of those signs.” Mercedes nodded her head toward the flashing neon Fast Cash sign in the front window of the pawnshop.

  “I saw a similar one at Paradise Pawn, the pawnshop near City Market and mentioned it to Tony, but he doesn’t wanna put one up,” Carlita said. “He told me it might as well say, rob us – we have wads of cash on hand.”

  “True. I never thought of that.” Mercedes held the door and waited for her mother and friend to step inside.

  The layout of the Beachy Bargains Pawn Shop was similar to Swag in Savannah. The display cases for the weaponry and jewelry were in the back.

  They passed several eye-catching displays of electronics, an array of metal detectors and a rack overflowing with metal lawn art.

  Carlita stopped to admire one of the pieces. “Check out this peacock.” The whimsical piece was constructed of rainbow-colored glass bottles. “This would fit perfectly on our deck.”

  “We’ll purchase it before we head out,” Mercedes said. “Work first, shop later.”

  “Can I help you?” A gray-haired man standing behind the gun case leaned an elbow on the counter.

  “Yes.” Autumn stepped forward. “I have a couple of loose gems I’m looking to sell.” She handed the box to the man. “Just to let you know, I’ve been shopping around.”

  “I see.” The man lifted the cover on the box and peered inside. “Rough cut. I’ll need to take a closer look.” He grabbed a loupe off the counter. “You got some nice pieces here. How much you lookin’ to get?”

  “Thirteen-hundred,” Carlita blurted out.

  “Twelve-hundred,” Autumn said.

  “We’ll settle for twelve-fifty firm,” Mercedes said.

  “I’ll have to run the numbers before I can make you an offer. Be right back.” The man walked over to a desk area and began shuffling through some papers.

  “We shoulda brought Tony with us,” Mercedes whispered in her mother’s ear. “Don’t forget, we have to look for Mrs. Montgomery’s weapons.”

  “We don’t know what we’re looking for,” Autumn pointed out.

  “True.” Mercedes tapped her fingers on the counter. “If we see anything matching a musket or sword, we’ll snap a picture of it.”

  “Great idea, Mercedes,” Carlita said.

  The man dropped the papers on the desk and wandered to the counter. “I’ll give you twelve-hundred, but that’s as high as I can go.”

  Mercedes and Carlita exchanged a quick glance.

  “We’ll take it,” Carlita said.

  The man smiled and grabbed a sales slip from the stack. “I need a name, an address and a telephone number. I’ll also need to see a photo ID.”

  “But Ton…” Carlita started to say Tony never asked to see identification when buying jewelry. She quickly caught herself and clamped her mouth shut, shooting Autumn a worried look.

  “I recently moved,” Autumn said smoothly as she handed the man her driver’s license. “My new address is 615 Halston Street in Savannah, Georgia.”

  The man raised an eyebrow as he took Autumn’s identification and studied the front. “I’ll put both addresses on the form.”

  Carlita clenched her fist, resisting the urge to snatch Autumn’s driver’s license from his hand. The last thing she wanted was to put their friend’s safety in danger. She started to reach for it and Autumn grasped her elbow and squeezed.

  The man finished jotting the information on the form and handed the license back. “I’ll go get the cash.” He walked past the desk, to a small wall safe. “Those are some nice gems. You had them long?”

  “I uh…” Carlita�
�s mind went blank.

  “I inherited them from my uncle,” Autumn blurted out. “He lived in Wichita…Kansas. He dug them out of the hills.”

  The man glanced over his shoulder. “There are hills in Wichita, Kansas?”

  “Oh brother,” Mercedes murmured and rolled her eyes. Carlita jabbed her daughter in the ribs.

  “I…” Autumn laughed nervously. “I honestly don’t know.”

  “So you inherited them.” The man counted out some bills, shoved the rest back inside the safe and closed the door.

  “Yes. They were given to me,” Autumn answered truthfully.

  Carlita watched him make his way over and glanced at his nametag, Al. She held out her hand and he tightened his grip on the bills.

  “Whose gems are these? Yours or hers?”

  “Mine.” Autumn said. “I owe Aunt Carol some money and she’s already trying to collect.”

  He gave Carlita a quick glance and began counting out the cash in Autumn’s hand. She folded the wad in half and stuffed it in her front pocket. “Since we’re here, we might as well take a look around.”

  The women split up and perused the aisles, searching for anything that resembled an antique weapon, including a sword. Carlita circled the perimeter of the store and joined Mercedes, who was studying the gun case. She shook her head. “I don’t see anything in here that Uncle Dom would like.”

  Carlita peered over her shoulder. “Maybe we should take a picture and show him what they’ve got.” She pulled her cell phone from her purse and snapped a photo of the weapons inside.

  Autumn, who was on the other side of the store, began waving frantically. “Hey you guys. Over here!”

  Carlita and Mercedes hurried to the other side of the store.

  “Check this out.” She tapped the tip of a long sword hanging on the wall behind a DVD rack. “I’ve never seen a real sword before.” Autumn turned to Al. “How much is the sword?”

  “It’s not for sale.” Al pointed to the placard next to it. “For display only. The owner is a collector. Any new swords we get in, if they’re worth anything, he keeps them for himself. He’s got a small arsenal displayed in his office.”

  “Oh, I would love to see them,” Mercedes snatched her cell phone from her pocket and snapped a picture. “Our Uncle Dom collects vintage weapons. He’s part of the Revolutionary War re-enactment group in the Atlanta area. Is there any way we can have a look?”

  The man shook his head. “Nope. Mr. Goldstein doesn’t allow anyone inside his office. Besides, I’m the only one here at the moment and I can’t leave the front of the store unattended, even if I could let you look inside, which I can’t.”

  Mercedes scratched her head. “Too bad. I bet he has some cool stuff in there.”

  “Well, we’ll just have to keep searching.” Carlita made a beeline for the metal peacock. “I do want to purchase this beautiful piece of art.” She carefully picked up the piece and carried it to the cash register.

  Autumn followed behind. “Let me buy this for you Aunt Carol, since I owe you some money anyways.” She pulled out the wad of cash she’d gotten for the sale of the gems. “How much is the peacock?”

  “Seventy-five bucks.”

  “Seventy-five bucks?” Autumn gasped. “That’s highway robbery.”

  “It’s a one of a kind piece,” the man said. “Take it or leave it.”

  “We’ll take it.” Carlita frowned at Autumn as she grabbed the stack of cash, counted out the bills and handed them to the man.

  “Just trying to make sure we’re not getting ripped off,” Autumn mumbled.

  Carlita slapped the remaining bills in Autumn’s hand. “I appreciate that. You can pay me the rest of the money you owe me when we get to the car.” She lifted her new purchase off the counter, carried it to the door and held the door open while she waited for Autumn and Mercedes.

  “I’m going to put him on the back seat, but first we have to pluck his bottle feathers and set them on the floor.” Carlita waited for Mercedes to unlock the car doors before gently removing the bottles and setting them on the floor.

  Autumn eased into the backseat. “Sorry Mrs. G. I got carried away with the peacock. I didn’t mean to butt in on your transaction.”

  “It’s okay.” Carlita climbed behind the wheel and reached for her seatbelt. “I’m only sorry the pawnshop has your address. I guess I forgot they were going to ask for identification.”

  “I knew it, but with the excitement of the mission, I forgot,” Mercedes said.

  “Dummy me,” Carlita said. “Well, I guess the mission was partly a bust. We might as well head home.”

  “I don’t think we should throw in the towel yet,” Autumn said. “I have an idea on how I can get inside Beachy Bargains Pawn Shop’s office.”

  Chapter 4

  “I have a feeling we won’t be walking through the front door,” Mercedes said.

  “Correct. I’ll need a diversion, some sort of crisis to distract the pawnshop employee. What was his name?”

  “Al,” Carlita offered. “At least that’s what his nametag said. What kind of diversion?”

  “Medical would work best,” Autumn said. “I was thinking chest pains or possibly fainting would get his attention.”

  “We need to think this through first. We can’t barge in there with a medical emergency. The guy will call 911 and both the cops and an ambulance will show up while one of us will be in the process of breaking and entering.”

  “Oh, I’ll already be in,” Autumn said confidently. “Plus, I’m not going to break anything, at least that’s not the plan. I brought my handy-dandy lock picker, thinking we might need it. But before we proceed, we need to scope the place out. Let’s walk around the block, pretend to browse the other shops in the area.”

  Mercedes frowned. “This doesn’t look like the safest part of town. Besides, the only nearby shops are an auto repair shop and a tattoo parlor.”

  “It’s perfect. We stop by the tattoo joint, circle around the block, so I can scope out the pawnshop and then we return to the car. Mrs. G has her medical emergency, creates a major diversion, I slip inside Mr. Goldstein’s office, take a few quick pictures, slip back out and voila! We’ve got something to show Mrs. Montgomery.”

  “I don’t know,” Carlita said. “It sounds risky.”

  “Life is full of risks.” Autumn climbed out of the car. “No risk. No reward.”

  “I have a bad feeling about this,” Carlita groaned as she slid back out of the car. “Let’s get this over with before I change my mind.”

  The women strode past the pawnshop. Across the street was the auto repair shop and farther down, the tattoo parlor.

  Carlita paused when they reached the door to the tattoo parlor and then pushed the door open. An eerie bell chimed announcing visitors, and it reminded her of a mournful death knell. She shivered as she eyed the interior of the shop. Most of the artwork depicted dragons and skulls, and all of them were watching her.

  A faint smell of medicinal odor filled the shop and Carlita wondered if it was embalming fluid.

  Autumn, oblivious to Carlita’s discomfort, marched to the counter. “Yes, we were passing by and noticed your shop. Would it be possible to get some prices?”

  “Sure.” The man behind the counter slid a black binder toward her. “It depends on the size, coloring and the detail of the work to be done. Which one of you is looking for a new tat?”

  “She is.” Autumn and Mercedes both pointed at Carlita.

  “I…uh. I’m new to body art,” she stuttered. “I’m only just starting to research tattoos.” Carlita shot her daughter a menacing look. “If I do it, my girls, here, said they’d get one too.”

  “I see.” The man nodded. “We offer discounts on multiple works.” He opened the binder and began explaining the procedure and pricing while Carlita tuned him out, wondering how on earth she let Autumn talk her into this.

  Tori Montgomery had asked for Carlita’s help and she had will
ingly agreed, but the extent of her involvement was for Tony to do a little digging around.

  Finally, Carlita held up a hand. “You’ve been most helpful…”

  “Fang. My friends call me Fang.”

  “Fang. We appreciate your time and I’ll give this some thought. Do you have a business card?”

  Fang handed her a card and Carlita thanked him for the information before the trio exited the store.

  Autumn glanced back inside the shop. “Did you see the inside of that dump? It was filthy. I would never get a tattoo there.”

  “I hadn’t noticed,” Carlita said. “I was too busy staring at the skulls and fire-breathing dragons to notice.”

  Mercedes ignored her mother’s comment. “We need to walk this way if we plan to circle the pawnshop.”

  The women crossed the street to the other side of the pawnshop. A wavy wall of cheap metal siding covered the exterior. When they reached the corner, they hit a dead end, literally.

  Autumn shaded her eyes and studied the back of the building. “I don’t see how we’re gonna get back there. The chain link fence butts up to the building. There’s no access.”

  “That’s gotta be illegal,” Mercedes said. “I would think there would have to be an ingress and egress. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Let’s circle around the other side.”

  The women retraced their steps, passing by the front of the pawnshop to the other end of the block and then turned right. Fortunately, there was a partial alley, ending at the pawnshop.

  “Bingo.” Autumn pointed to the back door. “I found my way in.”

  Mercedes took a step closer. “It’s padlocked. You’re going to have to pick the lock.”

  Autumn blinked rapidly. “This might be tricky.” She stepped over to the door. “This lock hasn’t been opened in decades. It’s almost rusted shut.”

  “It’s a fire hazard,” Carlita said. “This place is a major code violation, unless they have lax safety laws in South Carolina.”

  Autumn brushed her hands on the front of her jeans. “I’m ready to swing into action. Let’s head back up front for your medical emergency. I’m going to hang out around the corner and after you go inside, I’ll give you a thirty second start before coming back here.”