Christmas Family Style in Savannah: A Garlucci Family Saga Novel (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Bo by Hope Callaghan (summer reading list txt) 📕

“Yes, it’s time for you to go out.” They exited the apartment, and she trailed behind as the pup trotted to his green space. He sniffed a tire, trampled a flowering plant and then joined her in the alley. “Later, we’ll take a real walk,” she promised.

They were halfway home when Elvira’s rear door flew open.

Carlita slowed. “Hello, Elvira.”

“I was just coming to look for you. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we’re in deep doo-doo.”

Chapter 18

“I saw the police heading your way after they finished questioning Vinnie, Brittney, Mercedes and me this morning,” Carlita opened the apartment door and nudged Rambo inside.

“They were trying to snoop around in my business stuff.”

“They did the same to me. Unfortunately, they had a search warrant.”

Elvira lifted a brow. “Search warrant? What did they find?”

“Nothing.”

There was a faint rumbling under Carlita’s feet. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“The rumbling.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

It happened again, and Carlita knew she wasn’t imagining it. “The ground just shook.”

“Maybe we’re having an earthquake. I need to get back inside.” At the third rumble, Elvira took a hasty step back.

“Elvira Cobb.” Carlita’s eyes narrowed. “What is going on?”

Several weeks back, after the unfortunate explosion near the front of Elvira’s building during her absence, the fire department had discovered a hidden trapdoor leading to her basement. Upon further investigation, Dernice and Carlita discovered it led to a series of tunnels that ran under the city.

Dernice had begun chipping away at one of the walls, a wall connecting Elvira’s basement with Carlita’s. Luckily, she realized what was happening and managed to stop her neighbor before she gained access.

Carlita wondered if Elvira would embark on a demolition project of her own once she returned home and found out about it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Carlita dashed across the alley to her neighbor’s doorway, reaching it before Elvira had time to shut her out. “I want to see what’s going on in your basement.”

There was another rumble. This one was louder and powerful enough to rattle the pictures on Elvira’s wall.

“I can’t show you right now.” Elvira blocked the open trapdoor.

“You can, and you will.” Carlita shoved her aside and started down the ladder.

Elvira hurried after her. “It’s not safe to go down there.”

“We’ll see about that.” Carlita reached the bottom rung, struggling to see through the thick cloud of dust. She pulled her shirt over her nose as she attempted to locate the source of the vibration.

Tat-a-tat-tat-tat. The ladder shook as she peered through the haze. A hulking, shadowy figure was hunched over a jackhammer in the corner.

Tat-a-tat-tat-tat. The noise and vibration jarred Carlita’s teeth. “Stop!” she shouted. “You’re going to level this place!”

“Huh?”

Through the haze, Carlita was barely able to make out Luigi. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, hey, Mrs. G.” Luigi leaned the jackhammer against the wall and removed his earmuffs. “You should be wearing something over your ears. It’s really loud down here.”

“And dangerous,” Carlita shot Elvira a look. “What are you doing?” she repeated.

“Elvira wants to bust through this wall.”

“Have you considered the fact that taking out a section of wall might not be safe?” Carlita jabbed her finger toward the wooden joists she was certain were well over a hundred years old. “You’re messing with the integrity of the structure.”

“I…no. I mean, there are still three walls holding the place up.”

“I think you should be consulting with a structural engineer, or at the very least someone who knows something about tearing out old walls. What exactly are you trying to accomplish?”

Elvira motioned for Carlita to follow her to where Luigi had been jackhammering. “Dernice told me about how you two came down here and did some snooping around, you ran into a minor issue and gave up.”

“Minor issue? More like…we were trespassing on private property, we set off an alarm and nearly broke our necks trying to get out of here.”

“Rookies,” Elvira waved dismissively. “So, when I got down here and started looking around, I realized my tunnel connects to at least one other.”

“But there’s no access to it,” Carlita said. “Dernice and I found that out.”

“Not yet. Follow me. I have something to show you.” Elvira stepped into the tunnel.

Carlita turned to Luigi. “If we don’t come back in ten minutes, come find us.”

The tunnel was still dark and dank but missing the thick cobwebs she and Dernice had run into during their previous exploration, which told Carlita that Elvira had been doing more than just having a look around.

She briefly wondered how much trouble Elvira could get into if the city found out what she was doing. There were several cracks in the bricks, something she hadn’t noticed when she and Dernice were in the tunnel.

Carlita wedged her fingernail inside one of the larger cracks.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking out these cracks. This is a fresh one.” Carlita took a step back, her eyes following the crack from the ceiling all the way down to the dirt floor. “This is what I’m talking about. You’re tinkering with these tunnels, and if you’re not careful, you could cause some real damage.”

Elvira shoved a hand on her hip. “You’re right. I never noticed these before. Hang on.” She ran back to the tunnel entrance. “Hey, Luigi! We’re gonna call it a day. We’re cracking the tunnel walls.”

They continued walking with Carlita keeping an eye on the uneven ground. She tiptoed to one side, placing a light hand on the damp wall to balance herself. When she removed it, she discovered that her hand was wet. “I don’t know what this means, but this wall is damp.”

“It’s just a little condensation,” Elvira muttered as she