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“Marshland Investment Group. Your father named it Marshland Investment Group.” Carlita dropped her head in her hands. “What was he thinking?”
“Not very clearly,” Tony said. “What I keep going back to is…why now? Why wait all this time?”
“Maybe Lombardo only recently bought the debt, or has been here watching, waiting for the moment he thought he could get the most money out of us and then bam!” Mercedes slapped her palms together. “He decides to swoop in and try to take it all.”
“It’s better than hanging onto a burned-out wreck in a rough side of town,” Carlita said. “But why firebomb the place?”
“Maybe he didn’t do it and someone else did,” Tony said. “Where’s the tax bill going?”
“Good question.” Carlita’s fingers flew over the keys. She pulled up the second page of the tax bill and then the third. Oddly, it didn’t list the address.
“I’m hitting a dead end.”
“Ask Annie,” Mercedes suggested. “Maybe she knows how to find it.”
Carlita grabbed her phone and sent a text, asking Annie if she knew how to find it. She received a prompt reply.
It can be tricky. Do you want me to look it up?
If you don’t mind.
Not at all. Standby.
A minute passed, and then two. Finally, Annie forwarded an address. Carlita nearly fell out of the chair when she found out where the Morton Street tax bill was being sent.
Chapter 10
The mailing address for the property over on Morton Street is somewhere in Sicily, Italy, Annie texted back.
Carlita’s brows furrowed. “Sicily. I don’t know anyone in Sicily.”
“Maybe Pops did, or it’s this Danny Lombardo,” Tony said. “Something tells me Vinnie will be able to fill in the blanks once he gets here.”
Carlita thanked Annie and eased out of the chair. “It’s getting late. Go home. Have dinner with Shelby. If you want, Pete and I can pick Vinnie up at the airport.”
“You sure? I was the one who offered,” Tony said.
“Positive.”
“If you don’t mind. The baby likes to keep her up at night and she’s been kinda tired lately.” Tony and wife Shelby’s baby was due in a few months and Carlita couldn’t be more thrilled.
The only person more excited was soon-to-be big sister, Violet. To Carlita, the only foreseeable concern on the horizon was the family outgrowing their apartment, which was above Ravello’s. While more spacious than Carlita’s other units, she suspected they would soon run out of room.
When she brought the subject up, Tony said the couple had already discussed it. He hinted at perhaps expanding the size by turning the storage area she’d used for last Halloween’s haunted house into usable living space.
The issue would be coming up with the money for the renovations, something Carlita planned to offer. But now, with Vinnie’s debt looming over her head and paying out a sizeable chunk to get the debtor off her back, it might not be possible. Hence, another concern lingering in the back of her mind.
“Don’t worry about it. You take care of your family. Vinnie, Mercedes, Pete and I will figure it out.”
“I have a better idea. How about we all meet at your place later? I’ll bring Violet with me to give Shelby a break.”
“It’s a deal. I’ll text both of you when we’re on our way back from the airport.”
Carlita and her son parted ways in the alley. Dusk had settled in and she picked up the pace, making a fast trek back home. Pete was already there, waiting for word.
Thinking a quick meal of sandwiches and soup would be easiest, she brought him up to speed while they ate. “Vinnie’s on his way. I’m pretty sure what he found and what we’ve discovered means we’re dealing with new mafia, a new family.”
“It would be difficult running their business from across the ocean,” Pete pointed out.