The Family Affair: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Cozy Mysteries Series Book 9) by Hope Callaghan (great books of all time .txt) 📕

expands his casino business and asks Vinnie to come down here to run it, I’ll have plenty of places to buy my shoes.”

“Yes, you will.” On the way back to the apartment, Mercedes swung by one of the local fast food restaurants where she picked up several burgers, orders of fries and sodas.

Vinnie’s car was parked in the lot and the first thing Mercedes did when she stepped into the hall was check to see if her Segway was there. Her shoulders sagged with relief when she found it parked in the same spot.

Mercedes helped Brittney carry her purchases to the apartment and then carried the bags of fast food to the apartment where she found her mother seated at her desk.

“Hey, Ma. Did you take the Segway out?”

Carlita shifted in the chair. “I did and either I’m getting better at maneuvering on the contraption or I got lucky.”

“Well?” Mercedes reached into the bag and pulled out a French fry. “Where did Vinnie go?”

“To the Savannah Office of Business Development. The name on the door was Emmett Pridgen. He’s some kind of head of the downtown development committee.”

“Brittney told me her father hopes to open a business here in Savannah.”

The doorbell rang, interrupting their conversation and Mercedes headed for the door.  “That’s probably Brittney. I forgot to give her their food.” She swung the door open to find Shelby standing on the other side.

“Hi, Shelby.”

“Hi, Mercedes.”

Carlita scooted out of her chair and joined her daughter at the door.

“I’m sorry to bother you. I stopped by my apartment to pick up a few more things. I’m almost certain someone was inside my apartment and I wondered if you noticed anything.”

Carlita said the first thing that popped into her head.  “Oh dear, Shelby. Was anything taken?”

“Not that I can tell.”

Mercedes leaned her hip on the doorframe.  “What makes you think someone was inside your apartment?”

“I left my bedroom light on and when I got there, the light was off.”

“Maybe the bulb burned out,” Mercedes suggested.

“The switch was off. The light works.”

Carlita remembered turning off all of the lights inside Shelby’s apartment after Elvira, Mercedes and she had finished searching it the previous night.

She didn’t want to lie to Shelby, so Carlita decided her best bet was to change the subject. “How is it going at your uncle’s place? Have you heard back from the post office on when you can return to work?”

“No.” Shelby’s face fell. “I left a message for my supervisor this morning, but haven’t heard a peep. I got a call from the investigators this morning. They want me to come in to answer more questions.”

“At least they’re not showing up on your doorstep with an arrest warrant,” Mercedes said.

“Do you have a minute, Shelby?” Carlita opened the door wider and smiled. “There’s something I would like to talk to you about.”

Shelby noted the solemn expression on Carlita’s face and her chin started to quiver. “You’re not going to evict me and Violet, are you?”

“I hope not,” Carlita said. “Please. Come in.”

Shelby clutched her purse and took a tentative step inside the apartment.

Carlita led the young woman to the dining room table and pulled out a chair. She decided a direct approach was best.  “Who is Quinton Towns?”

“How do you know about Quinton?”

“Elvira took a picture of a man who was lurking around the apartment building the same day your apartment was ransacked. She did a little research and found out the man’s name is Quinton Towns.”

“Quinton is Robert’s brother. He called my cell phone and asked to meet with me. I told the authorities he was harassing me, but I don’t think they took me seriously.”

“Do you think Quinton might be involved in Robert’s death?”

“It’s possible. He said something about some missing money. I don’t trust Quinton.” Shelby clasped her hands. “Now that I think about it, he also mentioned someone by the name of Pat, just like Robert.”

“I need to get going.” Shelby glanced at her watch. “I borrowed my uncle’s truck and he’s probably starting to worry.”

Carlita walked Shelby to the door and waited until she was gone before turning to her daughter. “We now have one more mystery person…Pat.”

Chapter 19

Mercedes headed to her room while Carlita grabbed Brittney and Vinnie’s fast food and walked over to their apartment.

The hall was quiet, and Carlita shifted the bags of food to her other hand before rapping lightly on the apartment door.  She heard movement from within. The door opened and Vinnie emerged.

“This is yours.” Carlita handed him the bags of food. “Mercedes said she and Brittney had fun shopping.”

“You should see the load of loot Brittney came home with.”

“I hope you can afford her shopping habit,” Carlita chuckled.

“We’re fine. If Brittney’s happy, then I’m happy.”

“Carlita studied Vinnie’s expression. He did seem happy and even though she was disappointed to discover he was moving to New Jersey instead of Savannah, his happiness was what was important. The only problem she had with the situation was her son was now related to a mafia boss.

If nothing else, Atlantic City would put a little distance between the couple and the “family,” at least that’s what Carlita hoped would be the case. “Were you able to take care of your errand earlier today?”

“Yeah. I did my part.” Vinnie shrugged. “Now it’s up to Vito to handle the rest. My work here is done and now it’s time for Brittney and me to head north.”

“You still plan on leaving in the morning?”

“Yeah. We’re heading out early. It’s about a twelve-hour drive from here, so I want to be on the road by six tomorrow morning.”

“That is early.”

“We’ll load the car tonight, but I figured we could get together for dinner if