“It’s either him or Detective Wilson,” Carlita said. “You better answer it.”
Mercedes nodded. “Hello?”
“Yes, this is Mercedes Garlucci. Yes, Detective Wilson. I was going to call you…you do? He did?”
Carlita leaned closer, eager to hear what the detective was saying.
Mercedes’ eyes widened. “I told you last night. I never met Mr. Luis in my life. I have no idea why he had my address scribbled on a pad of paper inside his home.”
Chapter 4
“Maybe he was checkin’ you out before he met with you,” Tony said in a loud whisper.
“Tell him about the other authors in your group,” Carlita added.
Mercedes nodded. “Well, I was gonna call you anyways. I wanted to tell you I meet weekly with a group of other authors and we’ve been discussin’ Jon Luis. They all knew about our meetin’.”
“I see. Okay. Yeah. I’m not leavin’ town.” Mercedes told the detective good-bye. “Jon Luis died of a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. It doesn’t sound like Detective Wilson is gonna look into questioning any of the authors in the group, but he is gonna question Autumn since she was packing heat last night. I think his plan is to try to pin Jon Luis’ death on me or Autumn.”
“I figured Autumn’s gun was gonna get her in hot water one of these days.” Carlita wiggled out of the chair and stood. “There’s not much we can do about it this morning. I’m headin’ downstairs to check on Paulie and the family. They should be out of bed by now.”
Tony and Mercedes followed their mother into the apartment where Grayvie, Carlita’s cat, gazed at them with mild interest. Carlita patted his head and scratched his ears. “Ever since I moved this table over by the door, Grayvie likes to sit on top and watch out the window.”
Rambo waited until Carlita shut the door before bolting through the doggie door. “And this stinker refuses to use anything but his doggie door.” She rubbed his back before giving a small treat to each of her pets. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Carlita exited the apartment and made her way to Tony’s apartment where she could hear the excited chatter of her grandchildren through the closed door. She rapped lightly and Paulie opened the door.
“Ma to the rescue. The kids are climbing the walls already,” he groaned.
“Good. I thought I would take them to Morrell Park and then stop by Leopold’s for some ice cream for breakfast.”
“You’re gonna let them eat ice cream for breakfast?” Paulie asked. “Don’t let Gina find out. She’ll have a cow.”
Noel had joined her father at the door and her eyes grew wide. “Mommy is going to have a cow?”
“Daddy is being funny,” Carlita said and then wagged her finger at her son. “That’s what Nonnas do. They let their grandkids eat ice cream for breakfast.” She pointed to the stairs. “Let’s go get Aunt Mercedes.”
Mercedes and Tony were waiting for Carlita and her grandchildren in the upper hallway.
“Are you coming with us, Uncle Tony?” Gracie asked as she slipped her hand in his.
“No Gracie. Uncle Tony has to work. Maybe you and Nonna can stop by later, on your way back.” He gave his nieces and nephew a group hug.
“We’ll bring you ice cream,” Noel said solemnly.
Tony laughed. “But it will melt before you get it back here.”
“I’ll lick it on the way.”
“I bet you would,” Carlita said. “Maybe Uncle Tony can go with us next time.” She turned to her son. “Don’t forget to grab your key before you head out.”
“I’m leavin’ now,” Tony said. “Got the keys here.” He pulled them from his pocket and dangled them in her face before following the women and children downstairs. “Looks like it’s gonna be a beautiful day.”
“You’re right,” Carlita nodded. “I think we should go to the park first.”
Morrell Park was bustling with dog walkers, kite flyers and Frisbee throwers. “Who wants to take the ferry across the river to Hutchinson Island?”
“Me,” three small voices shouted in unison.
“This way.” Carlita led them down the sidewalk, to the far end of the park and the Savannah Belles Ferry, which was getting ready to dock. They made their way to the back of the line.
“We’re gonna go over there.” Carlita pointed across the river, to the convention center and adjacent high-rise hotel.
Paulie hopped up and down on one foot. “Someday I’m going to be a captain and sail all over the world.”
“I can’t swim.” Gracie moved closer to her grandmother.
“I hope we won’t have to swim.” Mercedes swooped down and picked up her niece. “We can sit on the lower deck, so you don’t have to look at the water.”
They waited for a handful of passengers to disembark before boarding the small ferryboat.
Gracie buried her face in her grandmother’s arm as the ferry slipped away from the shoreline, but it didn’t take long before she lifted her head and stared out at the water.
“See? It isn’t so bad,” Carlita said.
When they docked on Hutchinson Island, the group trekked up the ramp and steps to inspect the convention center. The center was locked and the parking lot empty, so they wandered around the hotel grounds, circling the meticulously landscaped gardens and large pool.
“Can we go swimming?” Noel asked.
“Not now,” Carlita said. “Maybe later you can put your swimsuits on and I’ll take you to the water fountains and splash park.”
There wasn’t much else to see, so they headed back to the dock and waited for the ferry to return. After boarding, they chose a bench seat on the side where they could look out the windows.
When they reached the other side, they wandered down the sidewalk, stopping to marvel at a large freighter
