The Family Affair: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Cozy Mysteries Series Book 9) by Hope Callaghan (top 10 ebook reader TXT) 📗

Tony reached out to stop her.  “Something is up with Vinnie.  He keeps talking about this business deal. When I ask him what kind, he clams up, claiming it’s nothing. Do you know what he’s up to?”

“No, I don’t, but just between the two of us I think it’s time for me to find out.”

Chapter 18

By the time Carlita reached the back hall, Vinnie was long gone. She stepped into the alley and spied his car still parked in the parking lot.

She cast a glance toward the top of the stairs and then at Mercedes’ Segway, sitting off to the side, next to Tony’s apartment.

Carlita shoved her keys in her pocket and pulled Mercedes’ helmet off the handle before steering the Segway into the alley.  Thankfully, there was still no sign of Vinnie.

After slipping the helmet on, she gingerly climbed onto the contraption. “Forward to go forward, straight up to stop and there is no brake,” she reminded herself.

Carlita eased the handlebars forward and the Segway rolled along the rutted alley. She coasted to the end and shifted the handle to the right, making a wide U-turn.

After successfully making two trips up and down the alley, she hopped off and then steered the Segway into a narrow doorway, not far from the end of the alley.

She peeked around the corner, which gave her an unobstructed view of the alley door.  Carlita remained hidden for what seemed like forever, waiting for Vinnie to appear.

Finally, Carlita’s oldest son emerged from the building. He pulled the door shut and then strode to the parking lot at the other end.

Carlita tiptoed forward, far enough to keep an eye on him. The car’s engine revved and loose gravel crunched under the tires as he backed out of the parking spot.

She watched as his dark sedan coasted to the corner and stopped for a minute, before slowly pulling onto the street.

“Here goes nothing.” Carlita sprang into action and steered the Segway to the end of the alley where she climbed on the footrests and gripped the handlebars.  She could see Vinnie’s car up ahead, idling at the stop sign.  He slowly pulled away and when he did, Carlita eased the handlebars forward.

Vinnie turned left at the next corner before making a quick right onto another side street.

Carlita went as fast as she dared, but hung back as far as she could, praying her son wouldn’t notice her.

He drove back and forth, up and down the side streets, and she began to wonder if Vinnie was lost. Finally, he turned onto a street that ran parallel to River Street, a main thoroughfare that ran along the Savannah River.

Vinnie made one more turn and then eased his car into an empty parking spot.

Carlita steered the Segway between two buildings and hopped off. She ran to the corner and caught a glimpse of her son as he stepped into a building and disappeared from sight.

“What is he doing?” She climbed back on the Segway and sped along the street toward her son’s car.  She slowed when she got close, hoping to catch a glimpse of the building he’d gone into.

She did a double take when she read the sign on the front of the building: Savannah Office of Business Development.

***

Mercedes nodded absentmindedly as her sister-in-law chattered on about the penthouse apartment renovations.  “I told Vin we should plant an herb garden on the terrace. There’s plenty of room. I’ve been thinking that you know, we want to have children soon and we need to watch what we eat.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Mercedes said.  “Ma grows some tomatoes and herbs out on our balcony. Maybe she can give you some pointers.”

“That would be awesome. Once our renovations are finished, you and your mother will have to come for a visit. We’ll have plenty of room for company. Our unit was a two bedroom, two bath. Daddy gave us the one next to it, so we knocked out a few walls and combined the two.”

“It sounds lovely,” Mercedes said politely.

Brittney jabbered on about moving to New Jersey. “Mom wasn’t too keen on me moving to Jersey, but I think she’s finally coming around.”

Mercedes interrupted.  “I guess I never thought to ask - do you have any siblings?”

“Yes. I have…had two brothers. Tommy is my older brother. He runs Daddy’s other casino.” Brittney’s normally sunny expression vanished, replaced by a troubled look.  “My other brother, Dean, died a couple of years ago.” She glanced at her hands in her lap. “We don’t talk about it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” Brittney said in a small voice.

Mercedes decided to steer the conversation to a safer subject.  “What is your favorite thing about Savannah so far?”

“Oh, the architecture. I love Savannah’s architecture and history. I would love to take one of those haunted ghost tours, but Vinnie refuses.”

“Maybe next time you visit, we can go on one. We’re here,” Mercedes announced.

After parking the car, the women made a beeline for the first shoe shop Brittney spotted.

Mercedes was ready to go after the first half an hour, but the outlet mall was loaded with shoe stores and Brittney was like a kid in a candy store.  They shopped from one end of the mall to the other and along the way; Brittney purchased several pairs of shoes.

Finally, Brittney had shopped at every single shoe store and seemed satisfied with her purchases.

They returned to the car and Mercedes loaded the bags into the trunk.

“Thank you for taking me shopping. I don’t think you had as much fun shopping as I did.”

“It was okay,” Mercedes said. “I’m not much of a shopper.” She climbed into the driver’s seat.

Brittney slid into the passenger seat and reached for her seatbelt. “I learned one thing today. If Daddy