“I have it here.”
Elvira held out her hand while Carlita counted out the hundred-dollar bills.
The sight of cold, hard cash seemed to brighten Elvira’s spirits. She carefully folded the bills and shoved them in her pocket. “I have a few tools.” Scurrying to the back of the van, she returned wheeling a hand truck.
She placed a toolbox on each side of the marked spot. “And now for the most important tool.” Elvira lifted a pointed shovel.
Carlita and Pete watched as she eased the tip into the ground and pressed down with her steel-toed boot. She dumped the pile of gravel and dirt into a plastic bucket before digging the next section.
Methodically working her way around the square, she put each pile of dirt into the buckets she’d brought with her.
“What are you going to do with the dirt and gravel?” Carlita finally asked.
“Sift through it although, to be honest, I’m almost certain I won’t find anything in the top layer. If there’s any good stuff, it will be below the surface.”
“I’ll give you a hand.” Pete helped carry the buckets to her van and placed them inside. He returned to where Carlita stood watching. “Do you need me to hang around?”
“Nah. I’ll stay here until Elvira is done. Judging by how many buckets of dirt she’s taking out, her van will be full soon.”
Pete left to head to the pirate ship while Carlita kept a careful eye on Elvira’s efforts. Every once in a while she would set her shovel aside and sift through the dirt. As anticipated, she quickly filled her empty buckets.
After she finished filling them, she loaded her gear back inside the van. “This will take me a day or two to sort through. I figure by this weekend I’ll bring the clean dirt back and get another load.”
“How far down do you plan to go?”
“A few feet.”
Carlita wrinkled her nose. “We’ll need to put some sort of barricade around this. I don’t want anyone stepping into the rut and getting hurt.”
“Already got it covered.” Elvira reached into her van and removed several sets of stakes. She hammered them into the ground, making her way to all four corners of the dig spot before wrapping bright orange ribbons around the stakes and stapling them in place.
“Thank you for marking the spot.”
“No problem. The last thing you need is another lawsuit.”
Carlita’s head shot up. “Lawsuit? Does this mean Yvonne plans to sue Ravello’s?”
“She’s a whacko, so it’s hard telling. It’s possible. Let’s say I wouldn’t rule it out, especially if she finds out the fettuccine was tainted with rat poison.”
“Great.” Carlita placed a light hand on the back of her neck. “I have one more thing to worry about.”
“I might have a little something to persuade her otherwise if she pushes the issue.”
“Persuade her?”
“A bargaining chip,” Elvira said. “I don’t want my bestie to worry about one of my employees.”
“Thanks, Elvira. Any help to avoid a potential lawsuit would be greatly appreciated.”
Elvira promised to let her know how the sample dirt turned out and took off.
Back inside, Carlita swapped her yard clothes for slacks and a button-down blouse. She checked to make sure the lab was open and hopped into her car. She had just finished backing out of her parking spot when her cell phone rang. It was Mercedes.
“Hey Ma.”
“Hey Mercedes. You’re up early.”
“I ran into Luigi and Dernice last night. She said you were heading to the lab this morning to pick up the fettuccine and take it to the police station.”
