“I’ll make good use of it.”
“I hope you do.” She shifted her feet. “You’ve already met Luigi, who rents the efficiency downstairs. Have you met Autumn and Cool Bones?”
“Yes, ma’am. They both stopped by earlier to introduce themselves.” Bubba tapped his forehead. “Where are my manners? Would you like to come in for a glass of sweet tea?”
“Thank you, but I can’t stay long. I believe you mentioned crossing paths with Elvira Cobb, who owns EC Investigative Services and also a security services company.”
“She’s the neighbor with lots of questions.” Bubba scratched the stubble on his chin. “I saw her hanging out in the alley when I was moving in. She was in the parking lot with a metal detector and a pair of headphones.”
“It was definitely an Elvira sighting,” Carlita joked.
“I figured she must’ve lost something.”
“She has. Her marbles, and it was a long time ago.”
Bubba’s eyes widened. “You mean she’s senile?”
“No, but a little.” Carlita twirled her finger next to her forehead. “You’ll have to experience another encounter to get the general gist of the type of person she is.”
“I noticed a lot of cameras on her property. I guess because she’s in the surveillance business.”
“Also because she’s extremely nosy and, at times, obnoxious.”
“I take it you don’t like her?”
“Actually, when you get past all of her annoying personality traits, she kind of grows on you.” Carlita folded her arms. “She’s a former tenant of mine.”
“She moved out and bought the building next door?”
“After she set a bedroom on fire and I evicted her.”
Bubba coughed loudly. “She sounds like an…interesting person.”
“Like I said, you have to know her to understand her.” Carlita reached into her purse and handed him the envelope. “This is for you.”
Bubba flipped the flap and removed the card. He read it aloud. “Welcome to Walton Square. We hope you love it here.”
“I included a gift for you.”
Bubba held up the Ravello’s gift card she’d tucked inside. “A gift card to your restaurant. Thank you. I love me some good, old-fashioned Italian food.”
“I thought it might come in handy while you’re settling in.” Carlita turned to go.
Bubba stopped her. “Can I ask you a question, Mrs. Taylor?”
“Sure.” She offered him a tentative smile.
“Have you ever moved somewhere and the minute you got there it felt like home?”
Carlita thought about the first time she and Mercedes had arrived in Savannah after finding out her deceased husband, Vinnie, owned the building she was standing in. “I would like to say I felt the same way about this place when Mercedes and I first visited this property, but to be blunt, it was a dump.”
“You’re from up north.”
“Queens.”
“I figured from your accent,” he said. “If you don’t mind my asking another question, how did you end up here?”
“My husband, Vinnie, died. While going through his things, I found a key to a lockbox which led me…and my family…to Savannah.”
