Page 39 of Takedown in Savannah
Brad shook his head. “Nope. I told him I knew Luigi personally and would be surprised if he was involved.”
“I appreciate you putting in a good word for him.” Carlita thanked him, and she headed out to finish their walk, making it all the way to the turnaround point when her phone vibrated, alerting her she had a message. “Hang on, Rambo.”
She pulled it from her pocket and glanced at the screen. It was a text from Dernice. She’d attached a copy of her map, markingthe spots where the gang had struck.Thought you might like to take a closer look at this before we head out later.
Carlita thanked her and promptly clicked on the attachment. She tapped the screen to enlarge the map, noting the “x” pattern. She mulled over Dernice’s theory. Could it be the San Maris Gang was using the river as their escape route?
A sudden thought occurred to her. Carlita hastily shoved her phone into her pocket. “C’mon, Rambo. Let’s go back and track down Brad.”
Moving at a quick pace, she and the pup returned to The Flying Gunner and found him in the office, seated at the desk.
“Did you forget something?”
“No. Dernice Cobb, Luigi’s girlfriend, put together a map of the places the gang has struck. We noticed something of interest, which might be a clue.” Carlita clicked on the map. “Crud. It’s too big.”
“Send it to me and I’ll print off a copy.”
“Good idea. I sent it to the ship’s main email address.”
“Got it.” Brad tapped the keyboard. The printer behind him whirred. He waited for the single sheet of paper to finish printing and set it on the desk.
“This is much better. Thanks.” Carlita pointed out that many of the locations the gang had targeted were businesses in the River District. “They seem to focus most of their criminal activities near the water.”
“Good point.” Brad tilted his head. “What do the numbers mean?”
“The number one is the first confirmed hit. Number two is the second, and so on.”
“You might be onto something.” Brad traced his index finger along the path. “It’s almost like they hopscotch back and forth, back and forth.”
“Maybe it’s by design, to throw the cops off. They randomly move inland but always come back toward the water.” Carlita paced. “I wish we knew more about the gang members, their backgrounds, history, and habits.”
“And if any of them happen to be retired ship captains,” he joked.
“Exactly.” Carlita tapped her lower lip, her gaze shifting to the desktop computer. “Pete has cameras on board The Flying Gunner.”
“He does. We turn them on at night before we leave.”
“If it’s not too much trouble, can you show me exactly where they are?”
“Sure.” Brad led her out of the office, up the stairs and onto the open deck. “We have two pointed inland and a third right here, keeping watch over Gunner’s Landing.”
Carlita shaded her eyes and studied the mounted cameras. “But none of these cameras face the water.”
“Nope. You’re thinking if we turn the cameras toward the water, we might catch random rogue boats creeping past late at night?”
“I am.”
“That’s a great idea.” He held up a finger. “I’ll be right back.”
While Carlita waited, she walked stem to stern, starboard to port side. If Dernice’s hunch was correct, the gang could very well be slipping in at night, committing crimes and then takingoff in a boat, heading to who knew where. Meanwhile, the cops were focusing their search efforts elsewhere, namely on shore.
The Flying Gunner was in the perfect spot to monitor ships or boats passing by. Most tourists and locals wouldn’t give a late-night boat a second thought. Seafaring vessels traveled the waterway at all hours, which would give the San Maris Gang the perfect cover.
A couple of days had passed since their last hit, which meant they were more than likely gearing up to strike again, to terrorize, rob, steal or destroy another area of her beloved Savannah.
All the while, her loyal friend, a man Carlita trusted with her life, was having his dismantled because of these losers—and it made her angry.
Brad reappeared, carrying a cardboard box. “I found some extra surveillance cameras. Elvira talked Pete into upgrading to some new stuff. He didn’t want to get rid of the old equipment because it still works fine, although it doesn’t have the super clear night vision optics the new equipment has.”
