Family Feud in Savannah: A Garlucci Family Saga (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 16) by Hope Callaghan (read with me txt) 📗

“Sure.” Shelby stepped out of the apartment and closed the door behind her.

A thousand different questions ran through Carlita’s mind. She had no idea where to start, but knew it needed to be with a question that wouldn’t immediately put her daughter-in-law on the defense. “Did you get my message?”

“I did.”

“Are you all right?”

“I’m-I’m okay.” Shelby twined her fingers. “I’m sorry for taking off the other night. I just. Things have been a little tense between Tony and me lately. I needed to get away to clear my head.”

“We all need that once in a while,” Carlita said. “Tony loves you and Violet.”

Shelby’s lower lip quivered, and her eyes shined brightly with unshed tears. “I know he does. I can’t explain it to you right now. Maybe soon. Maybe soon I’ll be ready to talk.”

“Are you gonna stay with your Uncle Jerry and Aunt Ginny?” More than anything, and especially after seeing the deplorable condition of the property in Bayrock, she prayed the answer would be “yes.”

“No. We’re okay where we’re at. For now,” Shelby said.

“You’re sure? Are you sure that you’re okay?”

Their eyes met, and Shelby quickly looked away. “My friend, Ava, is letting me hang out with her at her place.”

“The woman who’s with you – that’s Ava?” Carlita sensed Shelby withdrawing as she reached for the door handle. “Yes. If you talk to Tony, please ask him to give me a little time. I have some stuff I need to sort through.”

Carlita fought the urge to hug Shelby and then gave in. “Let me give you a hug.” She wrapped both arms around her. The young woman was trembling. She could feel her shoulder blades through the thin material of her blouse. “Where’s Violet? Is she with you?”

“Uncle Jerry and Aunt Ginny dropped her off a few hours ago. Another friend is watching her so that I could come here to pick up a few things. I decided not to bring Violet with me because I thought it might upset her. She’s been asking for Tony. She’s confused right now.”

She wasn’t the only one. A dull ache filled Carlita. That, and a sense of dread. She struggled to keep her tone even. “We miss you. Both of you. I think if you would talk to Tony, reassure him you and Violet are all right, it would mean a lot to him.”

“I’ll. I’ll give it some thought,” Shelby eased the door open. “Can you give me a head start before letting him know I’m here?”

“Although I don’t want to get caught in the middle of what is going on between you two, I think it’s only fair he knows what’s going on.”

“I understand.” There was a look of panic in Shelby’s eyes. She hurriedly motioned to the woman. They gathered up the piles of clothes on the kitchen counter and hustled out of the apartment.

Carlita led the way down the steps. She joined Mercedes and quietly motioned for her to follow along. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the women toss the clothes into the trunk and jump into the car.

Mercedes and she hadn’t even reached the back door before the white car peeled out of the parking lot. It careened around the corner and out of sight.

“You’ll need to cover the store for a few minutes while I pull Tony aside to let him know what’s going on,” Carlita said.

“He’s gonna be upset. What did she say?”

“She’s not staying with her aunt and uncle. I think she and Violet are living in the shack in Bayrock.” Carlita paused, giving herself a second to collect her thoughts and figure out what she planned to say to her son.

Thankfully, there were only a couple of customers inside the store. She flagged Tony down. “You got a minute?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“Mercedes is gonna cover for you.” Carlita guided her son out of the shop and into the alley. Without mincing words, she told him what had happened.

Tony’s eyes flashed. “She’s already gone?”

“As soon as she found out I was going to tell you she was in the apartment, she high-tailed it out of here.”

There was a dark look in Tony’s eyes as he brushed past his mother. She hurried after him, following him up the stairs and into the apartment.

It looked as if a tornado had touched down. Cabinet doors and drawers were open. The living room’s flat screen television was gone.

Carlita braced herself as she followed her son to the main bedroom. It was in even worse condition than the living room. The closet doors were wide open. Half the closet was empty. Upon closer inspection, she realized that Shelby had taken all of her clothes.

Violet’s bedroom was in a similar condition. Her closet was nearly empty, although most of her toys were still there.

Tony’s jaw tightened. “I guess she couldn’t fit all of Violet’s toys in the car. She needed to save room for our television.”

“I’m sorry,” Carlita whispered. “Maybe I should’ve gone to get you instead of trying to reason with her myself.”

“It wouldn’t have ended well,” Tony predicted. “You did the right thing. She obviously doesn’t want to talk to me. Confronting her would only have made matters worse.” He returned to their bedroom and approached the safe in the corner.

The door was open, and Carlita could see it was empty.

“This is what she really came for.” Tony kicked the door with the tip of his shoe. “I’m surprised she didn’t clean this out when she left on Saturday.”

“What was in the safe?”

“Almost a thousand dollars in cash. It was our emergency fund.”

Carlita pressed a hand to her forehead. Any hope of Shelby and Tony working things out was fading fast.

Tony let