Chapter 1

"I can't get over how much busier we are these days." Carlita tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, smiling at a trio of customers who were passing by on the way to their table inside Ravello's Italian Eatery. "I'm not complaining, but you would think we were giving food away."

"Setting up our food truck for the local festivals has helped a ton," Mercedes said. "Think of it, Ma. If we had more seating, we could serve even more people."

"I'm happy with things the way they are." Carlita craned her neck, taking note of the new bistro seating area on the sidewalk out front, recently added to accommodate their growing business. "I'm gonna run outside and take the drink orders for the people who were just seated."

Grabbing a notepad, Carlita hustled out and approached the nearest table. Two men, dressed in pinstripe suits, sat perusing menus. "Good afternoon." She rattled off the specials. "Your server will be with you shortly. Can I get you drinks while you wait?"

"Yeah. You could." The man closest to her carefully placed his menu on the table, giving Carlita his full attention. "You look familiar, like I mighta seen you around before. Are you the owner?"

Their eyes met, and a flicker of uneasiness settled over Carlita. It was the way the man looked at her, the way he asked if she was the owner. And his accent. It was very distinct. Not a southern drawl but more of an Italian accent. Authentic Italian at that. "Who's asking?"

"Me." He jabbed his thumb at his chest. "Is it a problem to know if you're the owner?"

She bristled. "No. It isn't a problem. My children and I own Ravello's. I'm Carlita Taylor."

"Taylor?" He arched a brow. "I thought this joint was owned by the Garlucci family."

"Garlucci-Taylor," Carlita said. "What can I get you to drink?"

"A caffé Americano."

"I'll take the same," the second guy said.

Carlita scribbled on her notepad. "Two Americanos coming right up." She took the drink order from two others seated behind the men and ran back inside.

Mercedes caught up with her mother near the coffee machine. "I can take over now."

"Thanks." Carlita shot a glance over her shoulder toward the sidewalk. "The Americanos are for the men in suits. The spritzers are for the women behind them."

"Got it." Mercedes placed the drinks on her tray. "Don't forget we gotta head over to the Parrot House as soon as the lunch rush is over."

"How could I forget?" Carlita rolled her eyes. "Elvira called me three times already this morning. Something tells me she didn't sleep a wink last night."

Today was the big day. Pete's structural engineer had finally given them the green light to bust through his tunnel wall to see what was on the other side. Elvira, Carlita's former tenant and former neighbor, was convinced they were on the verge of finding something big.

Pete was the complete opposite, certain there was no lost pirate treasure waiting to be found.

Carlita was on the fence. Part of her wanted to believe it was there, that her husband's ancestors had stashed oodles of pirate plunder right beneath their feet. The other part of her suspected there was a good chance they were wasting their time.

How would Elvira handle the outcome? It was hard to tell. The woman ate, breathed and slept treasure. Finding a big fat nothing burger could be the final blow. Perhaps this was what she needed…to put the countless hours, not to mention money spent on her endeavors into check.

"I bet she stayed up all night." Mercedes finished fixing her tray and turned to go.

Carlita stopped her. "Keep an eye on the men. They're acting a little weird."

"Weird?"

"Asking questions. Getting defensive. They're a little too nosy, if you ask me."

"Maybe it's our competition. The more popular our restaurant becomes, the more we're going to draw attention."

"True." Carlita watched her daughter make her way outside. She delivered the spritzers to the women first before heading to the other table. Through the window, she could see Mercedes smile. She pulled her notepad from her pocket and jotted down their order.

Back inside, she hustled to the server's station and began tapping the order screen. Carlita caught up with her. "Well?"

"They were okay. A little flirty but not snoopy."

"They didn't want to know who you were?"

"Nope."

"Hmm. Maybe it was an innocent question, and I'm making too much out of it." Carlita pushed her nagging uneasiness from her mind and made her rounds, stopping by each table to make sure diners were enjoying their meals as well as handling a few minor issues. An hour later, she passed by the front window. The table where the men in suits had been seated was now empty.

The lunch crowd finally died down. The dinner prep staff arrived, which meant it was time for Mercedes and her mother to clock out.

"I wanna change before we head over to Pete's restaurant." Mercedes sniffed the front of her work blouse. "I smell like a loaf of bread with a dash of garlic mixed in for good measure."

"I don't blame you." Carlita followed her daughter to the apartment building next door and up the stairs to her place. She waited by the door while Mercedes swapped out her clothes. Grayvie, their rescue cat, stalked over and began rubbing against her legs.

"There's my little buddy." Carlita scratched his ears. "I need to bring Rambo over soon to visit."

"I'm ready." Mercedes waltzed into the living room and twirled around. "What do you think?"

Carlita let out a wolf whistle. "Fancy schmancy. Why did you get all dressed up?"

"Autumn mentioned Elvira has been bugging her to cover the story. I want to look good in case a news crew shows up."

Autumn Winter, Carlita's tenant and Mercedes' neighbor, was the local Channel 11 news station's field reporter. Snagging one of the best jobs in the business, she covered most of the touristy and historical happenings in and around Savannah, Georgia.

"That woman." Carlita chuckled. "Her wheels never stop turning."

"Never." Mercedes grabbed her house keys and followed her mother down the steps.

"Hang on. Let me see if Tony is gonna meet us there." Carlita popped into the pawn shop to track her son down, only to find out he'd already left. She caught up with Mercedes, who stood waiting in the alley. "Josh said he and Shelby were already on the way to Pete's tunnel."

"We better get a move on."

"Even if we're a couple minutes late, he promised he would wait for us." Carlita linked arms with her daughter. They meandered along, making their way to the other end of Walton Square. "How's Sam?"

"Okay. Good."

"Okay and good?" Her mother arched her brow.

Mercedes shrugged. "I still can't stop thinking about Sam and Natalie."

"But you forgive him. He apologized, admitted he'd made a mistake, and it's time to get past this. Natalie is gone. There's no sense in dwelling on it."

"I know. I'm working on the forgetting about it part. It's gonna take a little time."

"Sam still needs to earn your trust again."

"Yep."

"You are a Garlucci. We can be a stubborn bunch." Carlita and her daughter rounded the corner. Up ahead was Pete's restaurant.

Elvira's EC Investigative Services van sat parked alongside Pete's pickup. Next to it was her sister Dernice's motorcycle. Pete's daughter, Kris's car, was on the other side.

"It looks like everyone is here," Carlita said.

"Everyone except for Autumn and the Channel 11 news crew," Mercedes said. "Maybe she told Elvira they weren't going to cover the story."

"Could be."

The women stepped into the lobby. Turning right, they passed through the first and second dining rooms, circling around until they reached the center steps leading to Pete's tunnel.

Savannah's tunnel system could best be described as a labyrinth of passageways branching out in all different directions. A portion of it connected to Carlita's property and Pete's property, as well as to Elvira's.

Over the past few years, the woman had spent countless hours digging, excavating, and tearing down walls, searching for treasure. Which could have been an enormous waste of time if not for the fact the Garluccis had found treasure hidden in their basement not long after moving to Savannah.

Admittedly, the pirate lore was intriguing. There was no denying the markings Elvira found in her tunnel matched the ones found in Pete's. Not to mention the fact the structural engineer confirmed there was a hollow space behind the tunnel wall, only steps away from the Savannah River.

As fascinating as the idea of gold doubloons and treasure being found was, it hadn't kept Carlita up at night. It was either there, or it wasn't. Once again, she only hoped Elvira wouldn't have a total meltdown if they didn't find anything.

Halfway down the main corridor, Carlita could hear voices. One in particular stood out amongst the hushed murmurings.

"…because the lighting is terrible," Elvira complained. "We need to put the tripod at this angle."

"This is ridiculous," Pete snapped. "Why do we have to illuminate the wall? It's old. It's dirty, and soon it will have a hole chiseled out."

"To record the momentous moment. This is a day for the history books."

"You hope," Tony warned. "It could be empty."

"Bite your tongue."

Mother and daughter rounded the corner. Tony, Shelby, Elvira, Dernice, Luigi, Pete, Kris, and Stuart Wempley, their structural engineer, gathered in a semi-circle smack dab in between the support posts, recently installed to ensure the structure remained secure.

"There they are now." Elvira clapped her hands. "Finally."

"Finally?" Carlita glanced at her watch. "We're right on time."

"Let's get to it." Elvira dragged a large duffel bag past the tripod. Attached to the top of the tripod was a big round spotlight.

"Nice light," Carlita commented.

"Thanks. I figured if Channel 11 wasn't going to show, I would record this myself."

A familiar figure appeared, only steps behind Carlita and Mercedes. It was Autumn. "The crew is on standby. I'm here to see if there's anything worth reporting."

"Smart move." Elvira winked. "I was about to call your competitor and give them the inside scoop."

"Again, there might be nothing behind the wall," Carlita warned.

"Such a Debbie Downer." Elvira hummed under her breath. She began unzipping the duffel bag and removing various tools. "We'll need to proceed with caution. I figure our best strategy is to start small and expand the opening as needed."

Carlita and her husband exchanged a glance.

Pete shook his head and briefly closed his eyes. This would either be the end of Elvira driving him nuts—or merely the tip of the iceberg. He'd never come right out and said it, but Carlita could only imagine how many times he regretted letting the obsessed woman talk him into chipping away at his tunnel wall.

Engineer Wempley cleared his throat. "You're not starting with the sledgehammer, are you?"

"No, I'm not." Elvira frowned. "Did you listen to what I said? I'll start with a cold chisel and a crowbar and work my way up to the bigger tools."

"Hang on. Let me snap a picture." Carlita coaxed Pete into standing next to Elvira. They posed for a photo, shaking hands. Elvira beaming brightly.

Pete? Not so much. His look was more along the lines of "let's get this over with."

He grabbed a hand tool and he and Elvira began chipping away at the concrete wall, an equal distance from the end and where it "t'd" off from the main tunnel.

Chip. Chip. Chip. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes. Half an hour.

Elvira rocked back on her heels and tugged at her hardhat. "This is going to take forever. We need to move onto bigger and better tools."

"I agree," Pete said. "We'll be here for days at this rate."

They swapped out the smaller tools for sledgehammers. Positioning themselves between the designated spot, they began whacking away. Bits of concrete flew everywhere, striking them, the floor, the onlookers.

Despite Pete's obvious advantage, being both taller and stronger, Elvira held her own. Whack. Whack. Whack. Another fifteen minutes passed.

"Let's see what we have." Elvira set her sledgehammer aside, pulled a flashlight from her pocket, and turned it on. "I'm getting close."

Pete picked at a chunk of concrete. "I'm making progress as well."

With renewed vigor, they swung and chipped, creating a sizeable hole.

Elvira, with beads of perspiration dotting her forehead and dripping down the sides of her face, tossed the tool aside. "I can work with this opening." She rummaged around inside her bag and pulled out a stick of dynamite.

Pete stopped swinging and propped his sledgehammer against the wall. "What is that?"

"A stick of dynamite. We can save some time by setting this baby off."

He shook his head. "No way."

"I agree," Wembley chimed in. "We never discussed using explosives."

"You guys are afraid of this little bitty stick?" Elvira taunted.

"Put it away or leave," Pete warned.

She mumbled under her breath and reluctantly placed it back inside the bag. "This is gonna take forever doing it the hard way."

"Hand Luigi your sledgehammer."

Luigi, a bulky bruiser, flexed his muscles. "Let me at it."

"My pleasure." Elvira stepped aside.

With both men working together, it didn't take long for them to finish carving out a sizeable hole. Pete, now breathing heavily, dropped the hammer. "Let's have a look."

"Me first." Elvira elbowed Luigi out of the way.

Anticipating the move, Pete easily blocked her. "You are getting on my last nerve."

"Sorry. I'm just excited."

"Let's have a look." Pete motioned for Carlita to join him.

She gingerly picked her way over the piles of rubble and grasped his hand.

Adjusting Elvira's spotlight so it beamed into the opening, the couple ducked down and peered inside.

Carlita blinked rapidly, giving her eyes time to adjust to the lack of light. "Will you look at that?"