Chapter 4

"Do you know who these guys are?" Elvira asked. "Because it looks to me like they were casing the joint."

Carlita studied the men from Ravello's, who had been sitting outside at the bistro table during lunch. One lit a cigarette as they casually strolled down the alley.

"Ma, these are the two men you said were giving off weird vibes earlier today," Mercedes said.

"Yep. They were seated at a sidewalk bistro table. I took their drink order, and they wanted to know if I was the owner." Carlita told Elvira what she could remember about the conversation. "They were acting oddly, at least to me."

"And then when I went out to wait on them, they were fine," Mercedes said.

The images, thanks to the state-of-the-art surveillance equipment, were crystal clear. They appeared to be, as Elvira pointed out, casing the joint. Not her building, but Carlita's. At one point, the man who was smoking looked directly at the camera and smirked.

"He knows he's being recorded," Mercedes said.

"It's almost as if he wanted to be seen." Carlita grew quiet until the recording ended. "Do you have any other recordings of them?"

"Nope. This was it. They walked along the alley checking your place out and then they left."

"Like I mentioned earlier, maybe they're interested in buying it," Mercedes said.

"Could be." Over the past several months, a handful of local real estate agents who were working with buyers looking for commercial real estate had approached Carlita wondering if she might be interested in selling.

But this was different. Carlita would bet money they weren't there to buy her property. Maybe it was the accent. Or it could have been the tone. Or perhaps she was slightly paranoid after all she'd gone through with the mafia and her haunting past that kept surfacing.

She asked Elvira to text a still frame of the men to her phone.

"You got it."

Carlita tapped the message, confirming she'd received it. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Elvira clicked out of the screen. "I know you're not asking for my two cents, but they look like mob men to me."

"I suspect the same." Carlita sighed heavily. "I hope we're wrong."

Elvira promised to monitor the camera's recordings and let Carlita know if they showed up again.

After Mercedes and she left, they meandered to the end of the alley. What were the men doing? Clearly, they were scoping the place out, but why?

"I want to show Tony the picture to see if he recognizes these two."

"Good idea."

Carlita, with Mercedes by her side, entered the pawn shop through the rear entrance. Tony stood near the front, talking to a customer. After finishing, he made his way over. "Hey, Ma."

"Hey, Son." Carlita noticed several shoppers milling about. "Business is brisk."

"Yeah. We get quite a few people swinging by here after eating at Ravello's."

"Dual stop shopping is music to my ears." She changed the subject, briefly filling her son in on the two suspicious strangers. Carlita showed him the photo. "Do you recognize either of them?"

Tony studied the snapshot. "Nope. Never seen them before in my life."

"Maybe it was a weird coincidence. Maybe they were checking the place out, thinking we might be interested in selling," Carlita said. "Either way, it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out in case they come back."

"You got it." Tony folded his arms. "Has Elvira lined up her expert archaeologist yet?"

"She has a call in and is waiting to hear back. I have no doubt she'll stay on top of it."

"And in the meantime, she'll sneak into Pete's place on the sly," he said.

"She'll have to figure out a way to get through the three sets of locks Pete installed."

Tony grinned. "She almost gave up a little too easily. I figured she would throw some sort of tantrum."

"And have Pete kick her out? They've gone around a couple times. I think Elvira knows she's treading on thin ice and needs to be on her best behavior."

An employee appeared with a question about a set of golf clubs, and Carlita and Mercedes headed out, stopping when they reached the back hall.

"What are your plans for tonight?"

Mercedes shrugged. "Hanging out at home. I invited Autumn over for dinner and movie night. I found a recipe for lasagna chips and dip I'm gonna make."

"Lasagna chips and dip? It sounds yummy." Carlita checked her watch. Pete was still working at The Flying Gunner and wouldn't be home for a couple of hours. "Would you like some help?"

"I would love it."

Back inside the apartment, Mercedes turned her classical music on. She loaned her mother an apron, and the two got to work. It was like old times—mother and daughter whipping up an Italian feast in the compact yet well-appointed kitchen.

Because Pete had more than his share of culinary gadgets, Carlita passed all of hers on to her daughter. Mercedes hadn't taken the time to rearrange the cupboards, which meant her mother had no trouble finding what she needed. "What's first?"

"Making chips out of lasagna noodles." Mercedes boiled the noodles while Carlita prepped for the dip. The first step was browning the Italian sausage. After cooking, she crumbled the meat. She stirred in ricotta, yogurt, spaghetti sauce, garlic and seasonings before bringing the contents of the saucepan to a boil.

As soon as the sauce thickened, she set it aside and began helping Mercedes with the noodles now draining in the sink.

Working as a team, Carlita stabbed the cooked noodles with a fork and Mercedes took over, frying them to a golden brown.

They finished frying the last batch and set them aside to drain. The last step was sprinkling a parmesan cheese mixture over both sides.

"Now all we gotta do is add some cheese to the sauce." Mercedes poured the sauce in a microwavable bowl, added an Italian cheese blend, and popped it into the microwave.

After the cheese was melted, she gave it a good stir and set it on the counter.

Carlita's mouth watered. "This looks delicious."

"It's time for a chef's sample." Mercedes reached for a crispy lasagna chip. She dipped it in the cheesy sauce and took a big bite.

Her mother did the same, savoring the Italian flavors. The small bites of spicy sausage added texture. She polished off the first chip and reached for another one. "I need to make this for Pete."

"You can take some with you," Mercedes generously offered.

"Nah. This is your dish. Save it for you and Autumn, although I wouldn't mind getting the recipe from you."

Mercedes promised to forward it to her. They had just finished cleaning up when the doorbell rang. "I bet that's Autumn."

She hustled to the door and found her friend standing on the other side, a small platter of mixed fruit in hand. "Something smells delish."

"Ma and I made homemade lasagna chips and dip."

"You're in for a real treat." Carlita hugged her daughter and then Autumn. "I gotta run by Ravello's and grab something for dinner before heading home."

After leaving the apartment, Carlita strolled to the end of the alley. She slipped into Ravello's kitchen through the back door and found the dinner rush was in full swing.

Arnie, her head restaurant manager, noticed her and hurried over. "Hey, Carlita."

"Hey, Arnie. I thought I would grab two leftover lunch specials on my way home."

"Yeah. Sure. Help yourself."

Carlita placed to-go containers on the counter and began filling them with food.

"You said you were on your way home?"

"I am."

"I had a couple of guys stop by a few minutes ago asking to speak to you."

An icy chill ran down Carlita's spine. She set the spoon down, giving the manager her full attention. "Two men?"

"Yeah. They asked to speak with Carlita Garlucci."

"What did they look like?"

Arnie described the two men in suits.

"What did you tell them?"

"I told them you weren't here and asked if they wanted to leave a message."

"Did they?"

"Nope." Arnie shook his head. "Last time I saw them, they were near the front talking to the hostess."

"Great." She finished filling the containers and snapped the lids shut. "This happened a few minutes ago?"

"Yep. In fact." Her manager held up a finger. "Let me check to see if they're still out there." He slipped out of the kitchen, returning moments later. "They're still out front."

"Seated at a table?"

"Hanging out near the hostess station. Do you want me to get rid of them?"

"No." Carlita placed the containers on the counter and sucked in a breath. "I'll find out what they want."