“And?”
“That none of this woulda happened if she woulda come clean with me from the get-go.”
“Oh Tony.” Carlita threw her hands up in the air. “I’ve had enough. I need to come to grips with the sad state of affairs this family is in. I can’t believe this day.” Frustrated, Carlita stomped out of the living room and slammed her bedroom door.
She paced back and forth, talking to Vinnie’s picture about their sons’ predicaments. More than anything, she wished her Vinnie were there to talk some sense into them, or knock a few heads together, whichever worked.
It was a terrible predicament. She wanted Tony and Shelby to patch things up and she was concerned over Vinnie’s new wife and in-laws. How had all of this happened? She’d tried so hard to make a better life for all of them and it was backfiring in every way.
Her only consolation was Gina and Paulie were doing okay, and Mercedes hadn’t run off and married into the family, at least not yet.
By the time she calmed down enough to leave her bedroom, the house was dark, her sons were gone and she spotted a faint light shining under Mercedes’ bedroom door.
She crept to the kitchen for a glass of water and then headed back to her room.
Grayvie, Carlita’s cat, followed her into the bedroom and leapt onto the end of the bed.
She absentmindedly scratched Grayvie’s ears. “Grayvie, what are we gonna do with my sons?”
Grayvie’s only response was to purr while butting his head against her hand before curling up in a ball and promptly falling asleep.
“I wish I could fall asleep that fast.” Carlita turned off the bedside lamp, pulled the covers to her chin and stared up at the dark ceiling.
Vinnie was probably rolling over in his grave at the behavior of his two eldest sons. Somehow, Carlita had failed…failed at the only thing Vinnie asked of her as he lay there dying and that was to save his sons from the “family.”
She tossed and turned all night, sleeping in fitful spurts, only to wake to the eerie feeling something bad, even worse than what she’d already been through, was about to happen.
Finally, in the early morning hours, she gave up trying to sleep, crawled out of bed and stumbled to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.
The sound of shuffling slippers echoed in the hall and Mercedes emerged from her room.
“I’m sorry, Mercedes. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t. I was already awake.” Mercedes covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. “I worked on my new book for a while and then decided to call it quits early, but just laid there wide awake. I guess I’m more of a night owl.”
“Which explains why you’re up with me at six in the morning,” her mother teased.
“Something like that.” Mercedes pulled the container of coffee from the cupboard while Carlita filled the decanter with water. “I was worried about Shelby and Violet, thinking what numbskulls my brothers are being. Has Vinnie lost his mind?”
“I’m beginning to wonder.” Carlita shook her head. “I don’t have anything against Brittney. She seems like a sweet girl. Still, there are a million other women out there Vinnie could have married. Why her?”
“Maybe he truly does love her.” Mercedes dumped fresh coffee into the basket. “We need to give her a chance, for Vinnie’s sake. What’s done is done.”
“You’re right.” Carlita turned the coffee pot on. “I guess I’m still in shock. Then we’ve got poor Shelby. I don’t know how we can help her, but we better move fast. She’s convinced the police are working on her arrest warrant.”
“I would like to be there when you talk to Shelby.” The coffee finished brewing. Mercedes poured a cup and handed it to her mother. “We can always ask for Elvira’s help.”
“Bite your tongue,” Carlita said. “You think we’re in a bind now, let Elvira stick her nose in this. She already offered, when I ran into her last night while Violet and I were out walking Rambo.”
“She has a nose for sleuthing, I’ll give her that.”
“She does. Thanks for the coffee.” Carlita carried her coffee to the bathroom and began getting ready for the day. As she showered, she thought about Violet. What would happen to the young girl if Shelby were to be convicted of her ex’s death?
At nine on the dot, Carlita and Mercedes crossed the hall and knocked on Shelby’s front door. There was a small muffled sound coming from the other side. It opened a crack and then opened wider, but it wasn’t Shelby who answered.
An older, gray-haired and heavyset man peered down his nose at them. “This is a no-solicitation building. We’re not interested.”
Chapter 6
The man started to close the door. Carlita wedged her foot between the door and the frame. “I’m not soliciting. My name is Carlita Garlucci and I own this building.”
“Oh.” The man turned his head. “Shelby. You got company.”
Shelby appeared in the doorway. “Thank you. I can handle this.”
The man grunted, giving Carlita a warning look and then limped away while Shelby joined Carlita and Mercedes in the hall. “I’m sorry. Uncle Jerry can be a little abrupt, not to mention we’re all on edge.”
“That…that’s your uncle?” Mercedes asked.
“Yes. He showed up on my doorstep early this morning after seeing Robert’s murder plastered all over the news. Actually, he and my aunt showed up on my doorstep.”
“I’ve never heard you mention family nearby.” Carlita said the first thing that popped into her head.
“My parents died years ago. Uncle Jerry and Aunt Ginny are the only family I have left.”
“At least you have family,” Mercedes said. “What do your aunt and uncle think of Robert’s death?”
“They’re glad he’s gone. There was
