“How can they?” Autumn asked. “We haven’t done anything wrong. I mean, sure it doesn’t look good meeting a total stranger at night, in a remote area, he may be dead and I’m carrying a loaded gun.”
“Maybe he’s just unconscious,” Mercedes said. “I better call Ma to let her know there’s a chance we’re on our way to jail.”
***
Carlita Garlucci hummed as she rearranged the array of flatbreads. Soon, Paulie, Carlita’s youngest son, would return with Gina and the kids.
Gina had originally planned to fly down the previous Saturday, but the triplets, Carlita’s grandchildren, had all come down with colds and Gina wanted to wait until they were feeling better.
She managed to find a last minute flight into the Hilton Head / Savannah Regional Airport, and although it would be late by the time they arrived, Carlita thought they could at least munch on a quick snack and spend a few minutes catching up before heading off to bed.
It would be Gina’s first visit to Savannah and Carlita wanted everything to be perfect. She hoped her daughter-in-law would fall in love with Savannah and love it so much; she would head back to Clifton Falls, New York, pack her bags and the family would move south.
Carlita was trying not to get her hopes up. Gina was born and raised in New York. It was her home. Her parents lived there. Her siblings lived there. Paulie was mayor of Clifton Falls and had a promising career in politics.
“Perfect.” Carlita placed the potholder inside the drawer and pulled her apron off. She had the whole week planned for the family. While Gina and Paulie spent time alone, patching things up after Gina practically kicked her husband out of the house, she would spend time with Gracie, Noel and Paulie, Jr. or “PJ” for short.
They would visit the children’s museum, the wildlife center and spend some time at Forsyth Park, which sported two large children’s playgrounds. High on her list was a trip to the famous Leopold’s Ice Cream for some sweet treats.
She glanced worriedly out the window at the darkening skies. Mercedes had gone out earlier, vaguely mentioning meeting a contact to discuss an old Savannah murder mystery she planned to use in an upcoming novel.
When pressed for details, Mercedes told her mother she was meeting a fellow author, Jon Luis, a man who knew a great deal about the colorful characters and rich residents of Savannah. She assured her mother it was perfectly safe, that she’d done a thorough background check on Mr. Luis and he was on the up and up. Just to be safe, she’d asked Autumn to go with her.
Rambo, Carlita’s pooch, trotted through his doggie door and Carlita followed him out onto the deck. She placed both elbows on the railing and breathed deeply. Her thoughts wandered to Gina and Paulie again. She couldn’t wait for her daughter-in-law to meet Shelby and Violet, to meet Cool Bones, another one of the tenants who lived in her apartment building.
Carlita frowned as she thought about her other tenant, Elvira Cobb. The woman was trouble with a capital “T.” She’d nearly gotten herself killed during a recent investigation, and if it hadn’t been for Carlita and her children, she would likely be six foot under.
“What on earth is keeping Mercedes? I better find out what’s going on,” she told Rambo, and then headed back inside the apartment.
It took a few minutes for Carlita to remember where she’d left her cell phone. When she picked it up, she noticed she’d not only missed a call from her daughter, but the volume on her phone was turned down.
She turned the volume up and then dialed Mercedes’ cell phone.
“Hey Ma. I tried calling you,” Mercedes said.
“I had the volume turned down. I was gettin’ worried about you. You on your way home?”
“I don’t know,” Mercedes said. “I got to the spot where I was supposed to meet Jon Luis and found some guy lying on the ground and unresponsive, so Autumn and I called the police.”
“Is…he gonna be all right?”
“No. The cops just told us he’s dead.”
Chapter 2
Carlita tightened her grip on her cell phone. “Where are ya? I’m gonna come down there.”
“I’m at the end of West River Street, near the last of the tourist shops,” Mercedes said. “We’re in the end parking lot, right next to the creepy factory on the river. You can’t miss it. The place is swarming with cops.”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Carlita said. “Don’t say nothin’ else to the cops until I get there.”
“Autumn and I already agreed we’re going to insist on having an attorney present for questioning.”
Carlita told Mercedes that she was on her way and then hurried to her bedroom to grab a sweater and her purse.
She was halfway to the front door when it swung open and her middle son, Tony, stepped inside. “I closed up shop. Paulie called. Him, Gina and the kids are about ten minutes away.”
“You’re gonna have to hang out here and hold down the fort to wait for them.” Carlita shifted her purse to her other arm. “Mercedes was supposed to meet some guy down by the riverfront, to interview him for her new book. When she got there, she found a body and called the cops.”
“Was it the guy she was supposed to meet?”
“She thinks so,” Carlita said. “I’m headin’ down there now.”
“Tell her not to talk to the cops,” Tony said. “Don’t let her take the heat, neither. The cops’ll try to coerce a confession.”
“How do you know so much about this?” Carlita waved her hand. “Never mind. I don’t wanna know. I’ll call you as soon as I
