“I spilled my shake on Reyna’s leather jacket.”
Carlita scooted around the table and followed the women to the back.
Mother and daughter found Reyna standing at the sink attempting to remove the sweet, syrupy liquid.
“You’ll need to take the jacket off,” Carlita said. “I have a leather skirt at home. A dab of water and it will be as good as new.”
The woman reluctantly removed her jacket, revealing a heart tattoo with wings on each side, identical to the person who had sneaked in and out of Sonny Skidz's hospital room.
“What a pretty tattoo,” Mercedes said.
“Thanks, but don’t even think about touching it,” Reyna growled. “You’ve done enough.”
Carlita ignored the warning. “Hey, Mercedes. This one is similar to the tattoo you were thinkin’ about getting.”
“It is.” Mercedes removed her phone from her pocket. “Mind if I snap a picture?”
“As long as you don’t touch me.” Reyna, clearly aggravated by the mess Mercedes had created, barely flashed the tattoo and continued wiping chocolate off her sleeve. “I think I got it all.” She slipped the jacket back on. “Do me a favor.”
“What?”
“Stay away from me.” Reyna stormed out of the restroom, leaving Carlita and Mercedes behind.
“Well?” Mercedes asked. “Was that it?”
“I’m almost one hundred percent certain her tattoo is the same one, and in the same spot as the hooded figure who sneaked out of Sonny’s hospital room shortly before his death.”
Chapter 32
Mercedes peeked around the corner, checking to make sure the coast was clear. “Remember when we first got to the fairgrounds and you slipped up?”
“By mentioning Sonny’s nickname, Sonny the Enforcer?” Carlita asked. “Rocky got upset. What a stupid mistake on my part. I’m not sure if he believed me when I told him I’d heard someone mention it.”
“Reyna said something about stealing people’s properties when they’re down on their luck and short on cash,” Mercedes said. “Rocky changed the conversation PDQ.”
“What if…”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Sonny was swindling residents, working as a tax records supervisor.”
“Let me see if I can figure out exactly who is in charge of selling properties with delinquent taxes.” Mercedes grabbed her cell phone, her fingers flying over the screen. “Guess what.”
“He was.” Carlita’s mind whirled as she finally started putting the missing pieces in place. “Sonny was in charge of coordinating the sale of properties. What if he took cash payments in exchange for putting their homes back in good standing with the tax collector?”
“Wouldn’t that be something?” Mercedes craned her neck. “We should probably get back out there.”
“As soon as this ride is over, I plan to do some digging around.”
The rest of the meal wrapped up without incident. After paying for their food, the group gathered in the parking lot.
“Well?” Creed casually leaned against his bike. “Are you lovely ladies interested in joining the Thursday Riding Club?”
“We don’t have motorcycles,” Mercedes said.
“You can always ride with one of us.”
“Thank you for the offer. We’ll think about it.” Carlita’s scalp tingled. She turned to find Cyclone Courtney watching her. Their eyes met, and Courtney quickly looked away. “We should get going. I've gotta get to work.”
