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“Good idea.”
Carlita, with Mercedes by her side, entered the pawn shop through the rear entrance. Tony stood near the front, talking to a customer. After finishing, he made his way over. “Hey, Ma.”
“Hey, Son.” Carlita noticed several shoppers milling about. “Business is brisk.”
“Yeah. We get quite a few people swinging by here after eating at Ravello’s.”
“Dual stop shopping is music to my ears.” She changed the subject, briefly filling her son in on the two suspicious strangers. Carlita showed him the photo. “Do you recognize either of them?”
Tony studied the snapshot. “Nope. Never seen them before in my life.”
“Maybe it was a weird coincidence. Maybe they were checking the place out, thinking we might be interested in selling,” Carlita said. “Either way, it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye out in case they come back.”
“You got it.” Tony folded his arms. “Has Elvira lined up her expert archaeologist yet?”
“She has a call in and is waiting to hear back. I have no doubt she’ll stay on top of it.”
“And in the meantime, she’ll sneak into Pete’s place on the sly,” he said.
“She’ll have to figure out a way to get through the three sets of locks Pete installed.”
Tony grinned. “She almost gave up a little too easily. I figured she would throw some sort of tantrum.”
“And have Pete kick her out? They’ve gone around a couple times. I think Elvira knows she’s treading on thin ice and needs to be on her best behavior.”
An employee appeared with a question about a set of golf clubs, and Carlita and Mercedes headed out, stopping when they reached the back hall.
“What are your plans for tonight?”
Mercedes shrugged. “Hanging out at home. I invited Autumn over for dinner and movie night. I found a recipe for lasagna chips and dip I’m gonna make.”
“Lasagna chips and dip? It sounds yummy.” Carlita checked her watch. Pete was still working at The Flying Gunner and wouldn’t be home for a couple of hours. “Would you like some help?”
“I would love it.”
Back inside the apartment, Mercedes turned her classical music on. She loaned her mother an apron, and the two got to work. It was like old times—mother and daughter whipping up an Italian feast in the compact yet well-appointed kitchen.
Because Pete had more than his share of culinary gadgets, Carlita passed all of hers on to her daughter. Mercedes hadn’t taken the time to rearrange the cupboards, which meant her mother had no trouble finding what she needed. “What’s first?”
“Making chips out of lasagna noodles.” Mercedes boiled the noodles while Carlita prepped for the dip. The first step was browning the Italian sausage. After cooking, she crumbled the meat. She stirred in ricotta, yogurt, spaghetti sauce, garlic and seasonings before bringing the contents of the saucepan to a boil.
As soon as the sauce thickened, she set it aside and began helping Mercedes with the noodles now draining in the sink.
Working as a team, Carlita stabbed the cooked noodles with a fork and Mercedes took over, frying them to a golden brown.
They finished frying the last batch and set them aside to drain. The last step was sprinkling a parmesan cheese mixture over both sides.
“Now all we gotta do is add some cheese to the sauce.” Mercedes poured the sauce in a microwavable bowl, added an Italian cheese blend, and popped it into the microwave.
After the cheese was melted, she gave it a good stir and set it on the counter.
Carlita’s mouth watered. “This looks delicious.”
“It’s time for a chef’s sample.” Mercedes reached for a crispy lasagna chip. She dipped it in the cheesy sauce and took a big bite.
Her mother did the same, savoring the Italian flavors. The small bites of spicy sausage added texture. She polished off the first chip and reached for another one. “I need to make this for Pete.”
“You can take some with you,” Mercedes generously offered.