Page 54

“Who owns it now?”
June shrugged. “I have no idea. I’ve seen a few street people sneaking in from time to time. Then, out of the blue a few days ago, I noticed a lot of activity.”
“Maybe someone is going to buy it and fix it up,” Dernice said.
“I kind of thought the same thing. Two women and a man showed up yesterday. They went inside but weren’t in there for maybe ten or fifteen minutes before they left. Not long after, two men in suits showed up. They spent a good deal of time snooping around. Next thing I know, they were over here asking a bunch of questions.”
“What sort of questions?”
“If I had seen other people hanging around. If the place was being used as a drug house. They wanted to know the name of the other business owners on the block. Questions along those lines.”
“So maybe they were thinking about buying it.”
“I asked them outright. They never did answer,” June said. “The men were both very businesslike with an interesting accent, like they were from another country.”
“Were they British?” Dernice mustered up her best British accent.
“No, more like Italian.” June snapped her fingers. “Yeah. They had Italian accents. You know foreigners are coming here in droves, snatching up prime real estate. Not that this is prime property, but you know what I mean.”
“So how come they put up police tape?”
“Well, this is where it gets interesting. One of the women who came by yesterday came back this morning with a different man. He was a younger guy and very good looking.” June let out a flirty whistle. “If I was sixty years younger, I would’ve run right over there and introduced myself. They went inside. Next thing I know, a bunch of cops showed up.”
“They must have found someone or something inside.”
“A body.” June’s mouth formed a large “O,” and she nodded. “Thank goodness I had my surveillance equipment keeping an eye out, something I need because…well, let’s be honest…this isn’t the best of neighborhoods. They bring out a body. I’m not sure, but I think it may have been one of the men who had an accent. The sheet they had covering him flipped up on his leg. I could see pinstripes, similar to the pinstripes the men who stopped by here were wearing.”
“How awful.” Dernice pressed her hand to her chest. “Have the police been over to question you about it?”
June nodded. “You betcha. I told them everything I knew, even going back to when the Garlucci man owned the place. If you ask me, they should bulldoze it and start over.”
“You might be right.”
“My neighbor on the other side, Barnie Ziffra, who owns a check cashing business, and I both think it would be better to tear it down. Looking back, I bet Barnie is glad he never bought the place.”
“A local business owner tried to buy the property?”
“He thought about it. I told him it was a bad idea. Hopefully, those women who were over there didn’t decide to purchase the place. Like I said, I think it’s cursed.”
“I’m sure the investigators will get it all sorted out,” Dernice said.
“I can tell you one thing for certain…I’ll be sleeping with one eye open tonight.” June grabbed hold of Dernice’s arm for balance and stepped onto the sidewalk. “Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?”
“Thank you for the offer. I should be going. I need to run home and get ready for work.”
June’s shoulders drooped. “Perhaps some other time. If you don’t mind me asking, what do you do?”
“I work for my sister’s security services company. EC Security Services.”
June repeated the name. “I think you mentioned it before. Yes, I’m sure you did. Thank you for coming by and letting me sit on your bike. It was like a mini trip down memory lane.”
“You’re welcome. Someday soon, when we’re able to do a little better planning, I’ll swing by and give you a ride.”
“I would like that, Dernice Cobb. I would very much like to take you up on your generous offer.” June ambled back to her door and made her way inside. She walked to the window, the smile never leaving her face as she waved goodbye.
Dernice waved back and gave her a peace out sign. Settling onto the bike, she slid her helmet on and secured the strap.
With a full tank of gas, Dernice cruised the perimeter of downtown Savannah. Discovering she had a few minutes to spare, she drove toward the main road leading to the highway.