Page 30 of Shakedown in Savannah

Thankfully, Luigi picked up right away. Their conversation was brief and to the point. Luigi, a former mobster and man Carlita and her children now considered a part of the family, offered to swing by.

He arrived within minutes. Taking turns, they brought him up to speed on their current situation.

“I’m worried this mob guy and his goons are going to become a permanent fixture around Walton Square,” Carlita summarized. “We need to figure out what we’re up against.”

“What are the associates’ names?” Luigi asked.

“Costanza and Enzo.”

“Yeah. I’ve heard of them. I also know Danny Lombardo. Let me rephrase that—I know of him. So, he finally decided to come to the States. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” Luigi said even before he left the business, he’d heard rumblings of discord inside the Sicilian family. “You want me to hit the streets and see what’s up?”

“Yes, and no. I don’t want you putting yourself in danger over this.”

Luigi shrugged. “It’ll be like old times. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few places they could be hanging out, mostly on the same side of town. What do they look like?”

Carlita described them to the best of her ability. “We haven’t met Lombardo. I have no idea what he looks like.”

“I’ll go with Luigi.” Vinnie dropped a pack of cigarettes in his front pocket and grabbed his cell phone.

“Let’s make it the three amigos,” Tony said.

Vinnie immediately shot down the suggestion. “They already met you, which means they won’t be inclined to talk.”

“We’ll be back within a couple of hours,” Luigi said.

“In the meantime, I’m gonna see if I can find anything out about the Morton Street property,” Mercedes said.

Vinnie held up his hand and gave his sister a high five. “Sounds like a plan.”

A knot formed in the pit of Carlita’s stomach as she watched her son and tenant head out. Would they find answers…or would they find more trouble?

Vinnie’s words rang in her ears. She was gonna pay for her deceased husband’s past debt for the rest of her life.

Chapter 11

“You wanna use my computer to research the property?” Carlita asked.

“Nah. I’ll use my phone.” Mercedes tapped the screen and grew quiet. “Remember when we thought maybe the property was destroyed not long after Pops died?”

“Yeah. Because the property taxes went down,” Carlita said.

“I found a story from around the same time. Neighbors complained about vandals in the area. You need to read this.”

“Email it to me and I’ll print a copy,” Pete said.

With a few taps, Mercedes forwarded it.

Pete ran to the home office and returned moments later. The others gathered around. Within the first few paragraphs, it was clear someone had intentionally destroyed the Morton Street property.

“Seems like the neighbors suspected something was going on and notified police,” Pete said.

Carlita drummed her fingers on the counter. “This happened only a couple of months before Vinnie died.”

“Meaning the property was still intact until right before his death.”

“So, did Vinnie bomb it? Was someone targeting him?”

Mercedes grabbed a scratchpad and began scribbling.

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