Chapter 12

Mercedes swiped her sweaty forehead, her heart plummeting when Sam and his tour group rounded the corner, strolling right toward them.

“Duck.” She scooted behind the trash can. It was too late. Sam had spotted her.

With a pep in his step, he made a beeline for the square.

Elvira clutched her bag of trash and greeted him with a friendly, “Hey, Sam.”

“Hello, Elvira.” Sam stopped his group only a few feet away from the women. “I’m stopping for a minute to introduce you to a fine group of helpers who are working with the Savannah-Burnham Police Department to keep our city streets clean.”

A woman smirked, giving Mercedes the once over. “They look like inmates to me.”

“Not inmates. More like reformed citizens.”

A man, clutching a tour guide map, forced his way to the front. “I’m having trouble hearing. What did you say?”

Sam grabbed his bullhorn. “Can you hear me now?”

“Yes,” the group replied in unison.

“Perfect.” Sam proudly pointed to Mercedes. “In fact, one of them is none other than my girlfriend, Mercedes. She’s doing her part to clean up the community, right, babe?!”

The crowd started laughing.

Mercedes could feel the tips of her ears burn. Never in all her life had she felt so humiliated. She was sweaty. She was thirsty. She was tired and now she was being laughed at.

Furious, Mercedes shot him a death look. “Jerk,” she gritted through clenched teeth.

Sam lowered the bullhorn, a confused expression on his face. “I thought you would appreciate a shout-out.”

“You’re an idiot,” she fumed.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you mad.” Sam apologized and hurriedly ushered his tour group out of the area.

Officer Kean wandered over. “You and Sam Ivey are friends?”

“Not anymore.” Mercedes blew air through thinned lips. “He made a fool out of me.”

Kean tilted his head. “You know what? I thought your name sounded familiar. You and your family own the Italian restaurant over in Walton Square.”

“Ravello’s Italian Eatery.”

“I think you’ve waited on me before. I have never had a bad meal there.”

Mercedes’ heart skipped a beat. This was her chance to invite Kean, who knew something about Cool Bones’ case, to the restaurant to glean more information about what evidence the authorities had.

“We’re planning on offering first responders free meals this Wednesday,” Mercedes fibbed. “Would you be interested in stopping by?”

“A free meal?” Kean’s eyes lit. “I can’t recall if Ravello’s serves any southern dishes. I love southern food.”

“I…uh. As a matter of fact, my mother has been working on a new recipe. Biscuits and gravy.”

“There’s nothing tastier than a plate full of biscuits and gravy.” He smacked his lips. “I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.”

“As soon as we get back on the bus, I’ll write you up a coupon. All you’ll need to do is present it to the server. Or…if you can make it between eleven and three, I’ll be working.”

“I’m sure I can fit it into my schedule. I’ll be looking forward to it.” He thanked Mercedes before leaving to check on his other charges.

Elvira slipped in next to her. “Slick move. He walked right into it.”

“Yep. Hopefully, I can talk Ma into whipping up a batch of her biscuits and gravy.” Mercedes placed a light hand on her lower back, now sending out warning twinges. “We better get back to stooping and scooping.”

The afternoon wore on, and Mercedes was shocked by the amount of trash. Soda cans, empty water bottles, discarded downtown maps, store receipts.

At four o’clock on the dot, Kean announced they would start wrapping things up and head back to the bus.

The minutes dragged by. Elvira began moving at a snail’s pace, her complexion blotchy and red.

Mercedes saw her stumble and hurried over. “Are you okay?”

“I’m getting too old for all this bending and stooping,” she groaned.

“Rest for a minute. I’ll finish cleaning your area.” Despite being exhausted, Mercedes picked up the pace, collecting the remaining trash.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a flit of movement. It was Dernice, jogging across Freedom Square, heading right toward them.

“What’s my sister doing here?” Elvira shaded her eyes and shifted the bag of trash to her other hand.

“I have no idea.”

A breathless Dernice caught up with them. “Hey, Elvira, Mercedes. I was hoping I would catch you,” she gasped. “I finished your security job over at the convention center. How’s it going?”

“It sucks. I’m exhausted, hungry, thirsty and cranky,” Elvira complained.

Dernice’s brows furrowed. “Your face is red. This’ll work out perfectly.”

Elvira stared at her. “What will work out perfectly?”

“Remember how you said you needed a catchy slogan to attract new clients? I got to thinking about it and realized a golden opportunity has been dropped into our laps.”

“Golden opportunity?” Mercedes echoed.

“For a catchy ad.” Dernice pulled her cell phone from her pocket. “Stand over next to the trash can with your bag of trash.”

“You have lost your mind,” Elvira snapped. “I am in no mood to have my picture taken.”

“It’ll only take a second.” Dernice waved her phone in the air. “Hear me out. This is the perfect setup. We can print new business cards with your picture and the slogan, ‘Serving your community.’ It’s perfect.”

Noting the murderous expression on Elvira’s face and certain her sister was pushing her toward the breaking point, Mercedes stepped in between them. “As much as I applaud your creativity, now is not the time. It’s been a long day and we’re both exhausted.”

“Which fits in perfectly with being a hard-working blue-collar worker,” Dernice said. “I thought you would love the idea.”

“Leave before the cops throw me back in jail for kicking your butt,” Elvira growled.

“Dang. You’re testy.” Dernice started to say something else.

Mercedes grasped her arm, propelling her out of striking distance. “You should go.”

“Fine.” Dernice stalked off, but not before throwing another verbal jab her sister’s way.

“Kean is coming.” Mercedes and Elvira got back to work, clearing the corner quadrant.

“It’s a wrap, ladies. Nice job. Even for you, Cobb.”

“I tried my best…Sir,” Elvira said.

Mercedes dropped her bag of trash in the bin and trudged back to the bus. Elvira flopped down on the seat. She leaned her head on the seat in front of her and closed her eyes.

Mercedes patted her shoulder. “You did good. You were a real trooper. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’m looking forward to a nice, cool shower, to kick my feet up and plow through a pepperoni pizza.”

The City Market was only a couple of blocks away from the downtown police department, and within a few short minutes, they were back in the parking lot. The cleaning crew quickly vacated the bus.

Mercedes lingered, letting the others off first. She caught up with Officer Kean, who stood at the bottom of the steps holding a clipboard. He handed her his pen. “Sign on the dotted line. You’re free to leave after you return the work uniform.”

“Thanks.” Mercedes took the pen and signed her name. “Are you still interested in the southern-style biscuits and gravy meal at Ravello’s tomorrow?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m so hungry I could eat a bucketful.”

“I’m not sure if Ma will have a bucketful for you. You said you thought you could make it between eleven and three?”

“I can.”

“Then I won’t bother writing a coupon. You can just ask for me.”

“Mind if I bring a friend along?”

“Not at all. If your friend is a first responder, they’re eligible for a free meal. It is on a trial basis, so until Ma rolls it out, I wouldn’t tell too many people,” Mercedes warned.

Kean made a zipping motion across his lips. “Not a peep. See you then.”

She ran inside, grabbed her things from the locker and swapped out the jumpsuit for her street clothes. She dropped the soiled outfit in the bin and tracked down Elvira, who was sitting on the bench out front.

“You look like I feel,” Mercedes said. “Why don’t I give Ma a call to see if she can swing by and pick us up?”

Toot. Toot. An EC Security Services van cruised into the parking lot and pulled alongside the curb. Dernice rolled the window down. “Need a lift?”

“Your timing is impeccable.” Elvira limped to the passenger side and slid in while Mercedes climbed into the back. “Thanks for picking us up.”

“You’re welcome. It’s my way of making amends for earlier.”

“Well played,” Elvira said. “I almost forgive you for coming up with the harebrained idea of using my punishment for an ad.”

“I’m still not giving up. In fact, I’m having a mockup done in case you change your mind.” Dernice told them she ran into Sam, who had snapped a photo of Elvira and Mercedes in action.

“He did not,” Mercedes gasped.

“He most definitely did,” Dernice said. “He sent a copy to all of us in a group text.”

Mercedes muttered under her breath. “He’s not scoring any brownie points.”

“I gotta say…you looked pretty good. Better than Elvira.”

“Of course she looked better,” Elvira grunted. “She wasn’t the one who had to pick up poop.”

Dernice’s jaw dropped. “You picked up poop?”

“Toilet tissue with brown remnants. What do you think?”

“It could have been worse.”

The sisters bickered all the way to Walton Square, disagreeing about how much worse community service could have been.

Mercedes was relieved it was over. She had knocked out two things. Putting the community service behind her and finding a police department employee who might have information that could help them clear Cool Bones’ name.

She needed to make sure her mother would have time to whip up the special dish. But first, she had a baby shower to host.