Page 60 of Takedown in Savannah
“Sharky told you,” Carlita guessed.
“Yep. Sharky loves a good Cuban cigar.”
“There’s another stub over here.” Tony picked up a second stub a few feet away. “Same brand even.”
Carlita’s inquisitive mind kicked into high gear. “They’ll only be confiscated if you get caught. I imagine if you brought them over on your own personal watercraft, you'd have a better chance of sneaking them in.”
“Like a big fancy boat?” Tony asked. “If the boat you and Pete saw belongs to the gangbangers, they have some high-end taste.”
Carlita nudged the ground with the tip of her shoe. “I feel like we’re so close to catching them, but how?”
Tony dropped the stub. “I think we’ve found as much as we’re going to down here.”
Retracing their steps, they backtracked to the elevator and returned to River Street. Taking a shortcut through the centersquares, they had almost reached Walton Square when Tony’s cell phone rang. It was Luigi.
Carlita could tell right away from her son’s tone that something was wrong. It was a brief conversation with Tony telling him they were close to the pawn shop. She waited until the call ended. “What’s going on?”
“Dernice is stuck at the airport.”
“Stuck at the airport?” Elvira gasped. “What the heck is she doing there?”
“She finally got fed up with your antics and is leaving town to start over,” Carlita joked.
“Very funny.”
“We’ll know more when we get there.” Tony, with the women close behind, fast-tracked it across town, making it back to Savannah Swag in record time.
They found Luigi inside, waiting by the door.
Elvira reached him first. “Why is Dernice at the airport?” she demanded.
“She didn’t go into detail other than to say she got a hot tip on the San Maris Gang. Some major hit is going down tonight. The person with the info claimed they were being watched and took off. Dernice started to head home when she realized she was being followed.” Luigi told them she didn’t want to bring them to Walton Square. “She went to the first public place she could think of.”
“Was she followed there?” Tony asked.
“I don’t know. I told her to hang tight, that I would swing by and pick her up.”
“She should’ve gone to the cop shop,” Elvira said.
“She probably panicked and went to the first place she could think of,” Carlita said. “Elvira and I will go with you.”
Elvira laid out a plan, not outlandish by any means, but a solid plan to sneak Dernice out of the airport. She ran home to grab what she thought they might need and caught up with Carlita and Luigi in the parking lot.
Although it was only a few miles away, it seemed to take forever to get to the airport. Luigi circled the parking lot several times before picking what he deemed the perfect parking spot.
Exiting the vehicle, all three fell into step. Moving at a quick pace, they reached the inside of the terminal moments later.
“She said she was sitting on a bench in front of the American Airlines ticket counter,” Luigi said.
“Hold up. If Dernice is being followed, we don’t want to be seen together.” Carlita casually surveyed their surroundings. “I see a women’s restroom nearby. Text Dernice and tell her to meet us inside.”
“I’ll hand her my backpack. She does a change-eroo inside an empty stall and then gives the backpack back to me. She walks out of the restroom incognito, and no one is the wiser.”
“I like it. I think it will work.” Luigi tapped out a quick text.
Carlita and Elvira leisurely strolled to the women’s restroom. As luck would have it, the room sported double stalls with sinks on each side. They stood along the wall, just inside the entrance but out of view, waiting for Dernice.
She appeared moments later, her mouth set in a grim line. Without saying a word, Elvira passed the backpack to her.
