Page 10 of Shakedown in Savannah

Mother and daughter exited the apartment, climbing the stairs to the attic. Having already tackled most of the cleaning, the only things left were a few odds and ends, pieces they’d inherited along with the property.

Working together, the women made two piles—the first for the trash bin and a second for items Carlita planned to donate to a local non-profit thrift store. It took several trips back and forth for them to empty what was left.

After finishing, they grabbed brooms and swept the space spic and span.

Mercedes dumped the last of the debris in the trash bag and propped the broom against the wall. “This is bigger than I thought now that it’s empty. What are you going to do with it?”

“I don’t know.” Carlita slowly circled the room. “It’s not big enough to add another apartment unit. It seems a shame to have it sit here doing nothing.”

“We could add closets and assign a closet to each of the tenants—Luigi, Cool Bones, Sam, Autumn and me for additional storage.”

Carlita warmed to the idea. Each of the apartments boasted ample storage, but who would say no to more? “I’ll see if I can get Bob Lowman over here to give me a quote.”

Checking one last time to make sure they hadn’t missed any nooks and crannies, she started to shut the light off when a 2x4 nailed to the wall caught her attention. Carlita traipsed across the room and studied the board.

Mercedes, curious to find out what her mother was looking at, wandered over. “What is it?”

“A board nailed to the wall.” On closer inspection, she could see papers tucked behind it. Carlita slid the papers out and unfolded them. “It looks like a set of blueprints.”

“Cool.” Her daughter peered over her shoulder. “I thought you already found prints for this place.”

To say Carlita’s property had an interesting history was somewhat of an understatement. Originally a casket company, the place was eventually purchased by a man named Smythe, who operated a supply store for sailors and sea faring companies.

Smythe had also added the apartment units. Although Carlita couldn’t recall the details, somewhere along the way, George and Louise Delmario had purchased the buildings.

After Vinnie’s death, Carlita stumbled upon a key to the property. She and Mercedes drove down from New York to check it out and the rest was history. He had inadvertently left his wife a wonderful gift—a way to support not only Carlita but also their children. The pawn shop. The restaurant. The rental units.

“I did. These appear to be the originals from when this place was first constructed.” Carlita unfolded the paper and slipped her reading glasses on. “Wow. This is for our buildings and Elvira’s property across the street. I wonder if she ever found blueprints for her place.” She rolled the prints back up and sent a text to her former neighbor, telling her they’d found something of interest.

Elvira promptly replied. I have some good news. Where are you?

At Mercedes’ place.

Come on over. I’m home, Elvira texted back.

With a quick stop by the apartment to wash up, Carlita and Mercedes crossed the alley to Elvira’s back door.

They reached the stoop. The door opened and Elvira appeared. “Hey, Carlita. Let me guess…you and Pete found treasure.”

Carlita waved the rolled prints in the air. “Mercedes and I found blueprints for our block tucked away in the upstairs attic.”

“Prints for this place?” Elvira reached for them.

“Not so fast.” Carlita snatched her hand back. “I’ll let you see them, but they belong to me.”

“Sheesh. It’s not like I plan on stealing them.”

“I know how you are. What’s yours is yours and what’s mine is yours.” Carlita handed them to her. “I’m not sure if there’s anything new to see or if you already have this set.”

Elvira unrolled them and leaned in. “Good find. These are the originals.”

“Yep.”

She grew quiet, studying them. “Thanks for bringing them by.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and snapped a picture before rolling them back up. “I have some good news.”

“About the archaeologist?”

“Colbane is interested in what we found, and is trying to rearrange her schedule to get down here to check it out. I told her the sooner the better.” Elvira lowered her voice. “I put the fear in her that we weren’t going to wait too long before excavating.”

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