“I see. Was this in…a private residence?”
“A restaurant.”
A flicker of surprise flitted across the woman’s face. “What restaurant, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Ravello’s on Mulberry Street.”
“The Italian place. I love their food.”
“Thank you. I’m the owner and this is an extremely concerning situation.”
“Unfortunately, we’re a little backed up so it might take a week or more to get the results.”
“A week?” Carlita’s heart plummeted. “My restaurant’s reputation could be in ruins by then. Do you offer expedited service?”
“We do, but it’s not cheap.” The woman rattled off a substantial amount, but not so high that Carlita wasn’t tempted.
Mercedes nudged her arm. “I think you should pay for the faster service, especially if the local news stations are planning to run a hit piece about Ravello’s.”
“My daughter is right. I’ll pay for expedited service.”
“Debit or credit?”
“Credit.”
“We charge an additional two percent fee to use a credit card.”
“Good grief.” Carlita rummaged around in her purse and pulled out her wallet. “Do you charge extra for debit cards?”
“No. There’s no additional fee.”
“I’ll use debit.” She completed the transaction, and the woman handed her a receipt, promising to deliver the samples to the lab as soon as they left. “You should have the results by the end of the business day tomorrow. I hope it works out for you. Ravello’s is one of my favorite restaurants.”
Carlita thanked the woman and promised she would keep her phone handy, anticipating a positive report.
Mercedes waited until they were out of the building and on their way home. “Well?”
“Hopefully, the woman won’t go blabbing to everyone she knows what we told her.”
“She seemed nice, like she was trying to help.”
During the walk home, Carlita got an urgent text from Elvira, asking her to call. “It’s Elvira.”
Stepping to the side, she dialed her number.
“Hey, Carlita. Where are you?”
“On our way back to Ravello’s. Mercedes and I dropped food samples off at a lab Sam recommended. We’re having the party food tested for poison.”
“What lab?”
“Priority Labs.”
“They have a reliable reputation,” Elvira said. “I heard about the reporters who were parked out in front of Ravello’s earlier.”
“They’re going to run a story about the restaurant on tonight’s news, mark my words. How is Yvonne doing?”
“Pffft.”
