Her eyes flew open. She gazed into the face of the man who had swept her off her feet, had married Carlita despite the skeletons in her closet and the trouble she always seemed to get sucked into. For better or worse, Pirate Pete Taylor was the real deal, and she couldn’t love him any more than she did at that precise moment. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“If it brings you peace and a step closer to closure, I’ll let her dig up five hundred feet of property.” Pete winked at her. “But don’t tell Elvira that.”
“You’re serious about throwing out your parking lot as a bargaining chip?”
“I am.”
Carlita slid her hand into his. “Then let’s hammer out a deal Elvira can’t refuse.”
Chapter 22
“I’ll need all of this in writing.” Elvira snatched a sheet of paper from the printer tray and set it on the desk.
“You have my word. I’ll pay you seven hundred dollars in cash. Pete agrees to let you dig an eight by eight section of the backyard in exchange for you accessing the hospital’s cameras to find out who visited Sonny before his death.”
“Still, this is a big deal. I don’t want Pete changing his mind.” Elvira grabbed a pen and began writing. She hummed under her breath, creating bullet points and spelling out the terms of the trio’s agreement.
Dernice nudged her sister’s arm. “You’re really gonna do it? I have to admit I’m shocked.”
“Believe me, I was dead set against it. Getting my license pulled would be.” Elvira made a slicing motion across her neck. “Almost as bad as the health department shutting Ravello’s down.”
“I will be measuring the exact amount of dig space,” Pete warned.
“I figured as much.” Elvira tipped her hand back and forth. “Are we talking general vicinity of the backyard, near your garage, or a specific section?”
“I haven’t decided yet. What I do know is the dig area cannot and will not disrupt my customers, family or guests.” Pete leaned in, driving home his point. “Do I make myself clear?”
“Perfectly.” Elvira mockingly saluted him. “As long as we’re all on the same page about the terms of the agreement, I’m good. Starting when? Today? Tomorrow?”
“Let’s at least wait until tomorrow.”
“Fair enough. I’ll need to assemble my equipment and make sure I have everything.” Elvira began humming again, in a much more cheerful mood at the thought of resuming her treasure hunt.
“I think this sums up our agreement.” She handed the paper to Carlita.
Carlita slipped her reading glasses on and went over the handwritten terms. “I can get the cash to you tomorrow. I plan on being there when you dig to make sure you don’t get carried away.”
“Thank you, dear,” Pete said.
“It’s the least I can do.” She handed the sheet to him. “I believe this covers everything.”
He studied the paper. “It’s acceptable.”
“Sign, please.” Elvira handed each of them a pen. “Hold on. On second thought, I would like a diagram of the exact dig location.”
“We can go over the exact location tomorrow,” Pete said.
“What time? I was thinking if I started early, I could put in a solid two hours of excavating before meeting with clients.”
“It isn’t daylight until seven thirty.”
“Seven fifteen-ish with daylight savings, but I’m not splitting hairs,” Elvira said. “Seven thirty tomorrow morning will work for me.”
“How long do you think it will take?”
“Take for what?”
“To dig an eight by eight section,” Pete clarified.
