Although the busy holiday season was right around the corner, she and her pup had the popular path meandering through Morrell Park, past the iconic Waving Girl Statue, to themselves.
Pete had already left for work, which was a common occurrence. Like Carlita, juggling multiple businesses was a full-time job. But soon…soon the couple would step back, slow down and let others handle the day-to-day operations. At least this was the plan.
Returning home, she fixed a cup of coffee and ate a bowl of cereal. She swapped out her sweatpants and T-shirt for work clothes before making the trek to Ravello’s.
The restaurant, nearly empty except for an employee who was prepping for lunch, was the perfect time to go over inventory and order supplies. Carlita had almost finished when she heard the jangle of keys.
Steady steps echoed, and Arnie rounded the corner. “Hey, Carlita.”
“Good morning, Arnie.”
“You’re here early.”
“It was a rough night. I figured I might as well get some work done since I couldn’t sleep.”
Arnie’s eyes filled with sympathy. “I bet it was. Any news on Mr. Skidz’s death?”
Carlita brought him up to speed, telling him about the news story Mercedes had found online the previous night. “They even included the recent inspection report listing the minor violations.”
“Was it a breaking headline story?”
“Fortunately, it was buried near the bottom of their website so maybe most people missed it.” Carlita crossed her fingers. “At least I’m hoping this is the case.”
Arnie hung his keys on the hook and settled in at the desk next to her. He opened his laptop and began tapping the keyboard. “Great.”
She stopped what she was doing. “Great in a good way or great in a bad way?”
“This.” He turned the computer, showing her his email inbox. “Look at all of those emails.”
“Spam?”
“I dunno.” Arnie’s brows knitted. “The Parks Department cancelled its booking.”
Carlita’s heart skipped a beat. “For their annual Blizzard Bash?”
“Yeah. A hundred guests. Gone.”
A sinking feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. “So I guess the story wasn’t as buried as I had hoped.”
“Here’s another cancellation, this one from the Savannah Bananas.”
“The monthly manager’s brunch?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Arnie listed a few more cancellations, none giving an explanation other than to say their plans had changed.
“This is awful.”
“And getting worse. Another cancellation just came in.”
“I ought to sue Channel 2 for libel,” Carlita fumed.
“Channel 2, you say?” Arnie switched screens and typed Channel 2 and Ravello’s into the search bar. The news story popped up. He clicked on the link. “I hate to say it, but it’s pretty much a hit job, although they don’t come right out and claim Ravello’s and food poisoning caused the man’s death.”
“But they might as well have.” Carlita mentally braced herself. “Does it still say several other guests?”
Arnie grew quiet. “This is the exact quote,Several other guests became ill and food poisoning is being investigated.”
“What a disaster.” Carlita finished assembling her order and turned the computer off. “I’m gonna hold off on placing my restocking order. We might not need as much food if business tanks.”
