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“Where is it?”
“Morton Street.”
Elvira curled her lip.
“I know. It’s not in a great area, although Annie Dowton seems to think it wasn’t too bad of a deal. Tony, Mercedes and I took a look around yesterday. The place is nothing but a shell of a building.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, how much do you owe?”
Carlita rattled off the amount.
Elvira made a choking sound. “For a dump on that side of town? I wouldn’t pay over a thousand for a place on Morton Street.”
“Neither would I, but like I said, Annie didn’t seem to think the price was too far off. Still, why Vinnie purchased the property from a less-than-reputable lender when he had these over here on this side of town is beyond me. The lender lived out of the country. I don’t think he had any idea what he was investing in. He’s here now and sent his associates to collect on the debt.”
“And if you don’t pay?”
“If I don’t pay, there’s a chance my businesses will end up looking like the building Vinnie bought.”
“Reading between the lines, I’m guessing they’re mob men. They’re gonna blow them into smithereens, shoot ‘em up or firebomb them,” Elvira said. “I’ve watched enough reruns of The Sopranos to know they’ll get their money one way or another. A piece of free advice…make sure your properties are heavily insured.”
“Which is another thing. My son, Vinnie, is here. He’s been doing a little digging around. Rumor has it my husband bought the place and then torched it to collect the insurance.”
“And this mob lender found out, so he’s gonna squeeze every penny he can get out of you.” Elvira slowly stood. “It sounds like you have a mess on your hands.”
“There is another minor issue. They were hinting around about how even if I pay off Vinnie’s debt, I’ll be required to use their protection services. For a fee, of course.”
Elvira let out a low whistle. “A good old-fashioned shakedown. You’ll never get rid of them.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. Either way, the Sicilian mafia has the Garlucci family in their sights.”
“What about Vinnie? I mean, I guess I never asked, but is he part of the same family? Maybe he can help.”
“Unfortunately, the two are unrelated. They’re two separate families.”
“The Castellinis versus the…”
“Lombardos. The boss’s name is Danny Lombardo. I noticed an addendum to the original loan papers. There was an original lender and then this Lombardo guy took it over.”
“Probably by killing someone.” Elvira shook her head. “You can’t make this stuff up.”
“It appears not. Especially if it involves my family.”
“Like I said, good luck.”
“Thanks. I’m going to need it.” Carlita turned to go.
Elvira stopped her. “It looks like the archaeologist chick is trying to squeeze a visit in within the next month or so. At least it’s a little positive news, right?”
“Yeah.” Carlita attempted a smile. “I’ll take all the positive news I can get right now.”
Chapter 14
“Are you sure they’re gonna show?” Vinnie glanced at his watch for the umpteenth time.
“They told me I had twenty-four hours. We met right here yesterday at nine. They don’t strike me as the type of people who don’t show up.” Carlita craned her neck, anxiously peering out the window.
What if Lombardo decided he wasn’t in the mood to negotiate and was plotting to blow her properties to smithereens?