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“How is the burglary starting to make sense?” Mercedes asked.

“Whoever broke into our businesses knew we were at Steve’s place.”

“We were thinking the same thing. Now that we confirmed the ticket we found is from the fundraiser and sold during the event, my guess is the burglars or at least one of them showed up to scope the place out, figure out who was there and maybe even bought a ticket to make it look good.”

Carlita picked up. “After purchasing the ticket, they started making their rounds. The pawn shop, Elvira’s place, your store.”

“But they didn’t plan on me and Faith leaving a few minutes early to come home,” Ken said. “I agree. We need to ask around to find out if anyone else was hit.”

Carlita thanked him for the information and he promised to let her know if they stumbled upon any other potential clues. She caught up with Mercedes, who had stopped by the front counter to tell Faith goodbye.

“I hope they catch these burglars,” his daughter said. “I don’t like the idea of them lurking around our neighborhood.”

“Me either,” Carlita said. “Although if they have half a brain, I doubt they’ll be back here, trying to break in.”

Exiting the store, mother and daughter backtracked. They reached Shades of Ink tattoo shop and noticed the lights were on. Through the window, Carlita could see Steve standing at the counter.

He caught her eye and hurried to the door to let them in. “Hey, Carlita, Mercedes.”

“Hey, Steve. How’s it going?”

“It was going great until the cops showed up a little while ago to ask me about some break-ins in our neighborhood last night.”

“The pawn shop, Elvira’s place and Colby’s Corner Store.” Carlita filled him in on what they knew. “The bottom line is we think whoever broke in was here last night.”

“Scumbags.” His eyes flashed with anger. “I hope they catch them.”

“Us too. I’m sure the investigators checked out your camera recordings while they were here.”

“They did. There’s a lot of footage. We didn’t have time to go over every second of it, so I forwarded copies to them.”

“Which may or may not help,” Mercedes said. “There were a lot of people here.”

“A ton.” Steve shifted his feet. “You mentioned you found a ticket and linked it back to the rolls we had here.”

“We did. The purchaser bought a ticket for Colby’s $200 gift basket.”

“So maybe Ken was the target,” Steve guessed. “They didn’t win, got ticked and decided to help themselves to his merchandise.”

“Or it could be a coincidence.” Carlita told him they planned to email the Walton Square business neighbors to find out if anyone else had been burglarized.

“We can do it while you’re here,” he said. “In fact, I was getting ready to email thank-you notes and have the list up on my computer.” He tapped the keys. “What do you want to say?”

“I don’t want to alarm them,” Carlita said.

“But we also want them to be on guard,” Mercedes chimed in.

“True. I’ll thank them and mention the burglaries.” Steve grew quiet, focusing his attention on the screen.

Tappity…tap…tap…tap. “And…send.”

“You can type almost as fast as me,” Mercedes teased.

Steve flexed his fingers. “I use the keyboard to exercise my fingers. It helps keep them limber and steady when I’m tattooing.”

“Interesting. I never knew there was tattoo finger training,” Carlita joked.

“Paisley taught me that little trick.”

Carlita looked around. “Where is Paisley?”

“She’s covering a shift over at Ravello’s.”

“I’ve been so busy with the fundraiser I haven’t kept track of the restaurant.”

Steve sobered. “Thanks again, Carlita. You have no idea how much pressure this took off Paisley and me.”

“You’re welcome.”

His computer pinged . “I’m already getting replies to the email.”

Carlita slipped in behind him. “Mind if I look over your shoulder?”

“Not at all.” Working his way from the top, Steve clicked on each of the replies. All sent heartfelt messages with words of encouragement. Several expressed concern over the burglaries, but none mentioned being broken into.

He finished going through them. “It looks like you, Ken and Elvira, were the lucky ones. I meant to ask. What did they steal?”

“Nothing from the pawn shop. As far as Dernice can tell, nothing is missing from Elvira’s place. Ken said they stole a bag of pork rinds, some vitamins, supplements and energy drinks.”

“No cash or booze?”

“Nope.”

Carlita’s cell phone chimed. It was a text from Shelby, asking if she still planned to stop by to see the baby. She quickly texted back, promising she and Mercedes were on the way. “We need to get going.”

Steve followed them to the door. “Would you like me to forward my camera recordings of the party to you?”

“If it’s not too much work.”

“Not at all. I’ll be happy to.”

Carlita thanked him, and she and Mercedes took off. During the short walk back to the apartment, the women threw out ideas about why the three businesses were hit.

“Let’s try to figure this out.” Mercedes lifted a finger. “Ravello’s wouldn’t be a good target. Neither would Sandy Sue’s Bar-B-Que. There’s not much in a real estate office that would be worth breaking in for. Ditto for an ice cream shop or Pete’s pirate ship.”

“True. I suppose our place and Colby’s would be higher up on the list.”

“Maybe it was all about location,” Mercedes said. “All three are in close proximity to each other.”

Carlita pondered her daughter’s theories. “And after they got caught breaking into Colby’s, the burglars got spooked.”

Mercedes tapped the side of her forehead. “You gotta think like the thugs and try to put yourself in their shoes.”

“They certainly don’t seem to be professionals. Hopefully, it was a random act and won’t happen again.”

Shelby must have been waiting for them because as soon as they reached her apartment, the door flew open. She stood holding baby Melody. Big sister Violet was by her side.

“Nana.” The young girl threw her arms around her grandmother.

Carlita knelt next to her and gave her a big hug. “How’s my Violet today?”

“I’m good. Melody is kinda cranky.”

Mercedes covered her mouth to hide her smile. “Uh-oh. Why is she cranky?”

Violet lifted both hands and shrugged. “I think she has gas.”

“She’s been doing a lot of burping,” Shelby said.

The baby whimpered, and she began rocking her back and forth.

Carlita took Melody from her mother, noticing the dark circles under her daughter-in-law’s eyes. “I have today off. Why don’t you let me spend a few hours with Melody and Violet over at my place so you can have a break?”

“I…” Shelby hesitated. “Violet wasn’t exaggerating. The baby is cranky. Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.” Carlita cradled the infant. “I might be a little rusty at baby care, but I’m sure it’ll come back quickly.”

“To be honest, a nap sounds wonderful. I’m exhausted.”

“I’ll help Ma,” Mercedes offered. “I might have to cover a shift at the restaurant but it won’t be until later.”

Carlita smoothed Violet’s hair. “Why don’t you help Mommy gather up some stuff for Melody and art supplies for you?”

“Okay.” Violet ran off to pack her things.

Shelby gave Carlita a grateful hug. “I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

The baby, who had stopped crying, began fussing again.

Carlita grinned. “We’ll be fine. Melody, Mercedes, Violet and I are going to have a grand old time.”

“I’ll go check on Violet.” Shelby hurried off. She returned moments later, carrying an overstuffed baby bag. Violet, with her favorite pink and purple backpack on her back, sneaked past her mother, dragging a large tote bag behind her. “I have games, art supplies and even some snacks.”

Her mother made a timeout. “Hold on. You only need one bag.”

“But I have a lot of stuff. I want to show Nana and Aunt Mercedes my new sketch pad and scented markers.”

“It’s all right,” Carlita chuckled. “Mercedes has an extra hand.”

“Melody just ate, so you should be good for a couple of hours.” Shelby gave her the next feeding time.

“Got it.” Mercedes reached for the baby’s bag and Violet’s extra tote chock-full of goodies. “Instead of going all the way over to Ma’s, we can hang out at my place.”

“And play,” Violet added.

“Yes. Lots of play. I used to have a box of scented markers.” Mercedes leaned down and whispered in her ear. “The cherry is my favorite.”

Violet beamed. “Mine too. We can share.”

“If you’re going to take all of this, why don’t you borrow our wagon.” Shelby grabbed the handle of a red wagon and steered it into the alley. “This thing is great for hauling the kid's gear around town.”

“Thank you. I think it will work perfectly.”

“You’ll need Melody’s baby bouncer and a bottle. Like I said, she’ll start fussing in a couple of hours.” She ran inside and returned carrying a bouncer and a travel bag. After Violet and Mercedes loaded the rest of the gear, Shelby flipped the bouncer upside down and placed it on top. “Are you positive you want to do this?”

“Absolutely.” Carlita shifted her tiny granddaughter to her other arm. “We’ll be fine. Rest, relax, recharge. Take a nap or a long hot bubble bath, or maybe even both.”

“I will. Nap first and then maybe a bath. It will be like heaven.” Shelby thanked them again. “Call if you need anything.”

“We will.” Carlita tightened her grip on the baby and waited for her daughter to steer the wagon into the alley. “Are you ready for this?”

“I hope so.” Mercedes laughed out loud. “If not, something tells me I’m in for a crash course in childcare.”