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Over the past few years, the woman had spent countless hours digging, excavating, and tearing down walls, searching for treasure. Which could have been an enormous waste of time if not for the fact the Garluccis had found treasure hidden in their basement not long after moving to Savannah.
Admittedly, the pirate lore was intriguing. There was no denying the markings Elvira found in her tunnel matched the ones found in Pete’s. Not to mention the fact the structural engineer confirmed there was a hollow space behind the tunnel wall, only steps away from the Savannah River.
As fascinating as the idea of gold doubloons and treasure being found was, it hadn’t kept Carlita up at night. It was either there, or it wasn’t. Once again, she only hoped Elvira wouldn’t have a total meltdown if they didn’t find anything.
Halfway down the main corridor, Carlita could hear voices. One in particular stood out amongst the hushed murmurings.
“…because the lighting is terrible,” Elvira complained. “We need to put the tripod at this angle.”
“This is ridiculous,” Pete snapped. “Why do we have to illuminate the wall? It’s old. It’s dirty, and soon it will have a hole chiseled out.”
“To record the momentous moment. This is a day for the history books.”
“You hope,” Tony warned. “It could be empty.”
“Bite your tongue.”
Mother and daughter rounded the corner. Tony, Shelby, Elvira, Dernice, Luigi, Pete, Kris, and Stuart Wempley, their structural engineer, gathered in a semi-circle smack dab in between the support posts, recently installed to ensure the structure remained secure.
“There they are now.” Elvira clapped her hands. “Finally.”
“Finally?” Carlita glanced at her watch. “We’re right on time.”
“Let’s get to it.” Elvira dragged a large duffel bag past the tripod. Attached to the top of the tripod was a big round spotlight.
“Nice light,” Carlita commented.
“Thanks. I figured if Channel 11 wasn’t going to show, I would record this myself.”
A familiar figure appeared, only steps behind Carlita and Mercedes. It was Autumn. “The crew is on standby. I’m here to see if there’s anything worth reporting.”
“Smart move.” Elvira winked. “I was about to call your competitor and give them the inside scoop.”
“Again, there might be nothing behind the wall,” Carlita warned.
“Such a Debbie Downer.” Elvira hummed under her breath. She began unzipping the duffel bag and removing various tools. “We’ll need to proceed with caution. I figure our best strategy is to start small and expand the opening as needed.”
Carlita and her husband exchanged a glance.
Pete shook his head and briefly closed his eyes. This would either be the end of Elvira driving him nuts—or merely the tip of the iceberg. He’d never come right out and said it, but Carlita could only imagine how many times he regretted letting the obsessed woman talk him into chipping away at his tunnel wall.
Engineer Wempley cleared his throat. “You’re not starting with the sledgehammer, are you?”
“No, I’m not.” Elvira frowned. “Did you listen to what I said? I’ll start with a cold chisel and a crowbar and work my way up to the bigger tools.”
“Hang on. Let me snap a picture.” Carlita coaxed Pete into standing next to Elvira. They posed for a photo, shaking hands. Elvira beaming brightly.
Pete? Not so much. His look was more along the lines of “let’s get this over with.”
He grabbed a hand tool and he and Elvira began chipping away at the concrete wall, an equal distance from the end and where it “t’d” off from the main tunnel.
Chip. Chip. Chip. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes. Half an hour.
Elvira rocked back on her heels and tugged at her hardhat. “This is going to take forever. We need to move onto bigger and better tools.”
“I agree,” Pete said. “We’ll be here for days at this rate.”
They swapped out the smaller tools for sledgehammers. Positioning themselves between the designated spot, they began whacking away. Bits of concrete flew everywhere, striking them, the floor, the onlookers.
