Back home, Carlita slipped the restaurant keys on the hook near the door and kicked off her shoes.
Mercedes popped out of her room. “Well? How did it go?”
“It was an odd meeting.” Carlita sank down on the sofa. “Dominic seemed irritated when he found out I took the applications. He already knew about Monica’s death and Duane Sorensen’s MIA status. I was going to ask him for his thoughts on the employees, if anyone acted suspiciously, but he was acting so weird, I decided not to.”
“Savannah is a small town.” Mercedes flopped down on the chair. “I’m not surprised he heard about the death and the missing employee. Plus, he knew them.”
Carlita frowned. “No, he didn’t know them.”
“Yes, he did,” Mercedes said.
“He told me he didn’t know them. We both agreed we needed to do a better job of screening our employees.”
“He’s lying.” Mercedes marched to her mother’s desk. She returned with the employee file folders. “Check it out.”
She sifted through the applications and handed one to her mother. “This is Monica Clay’s application.”
Carlita’s eyes narrowed as she tried to read the small print. “What am I looking for?”
“It’s on the other side.”
“Okay.” Carlita flipped the application over. She shook her head. “I give up.”
“Down there.” Mercedes pointed to the bottom of the application. “Look right above the signature.”
“I don’t…” Carlita sucked in a breath. “What in the world?”
Chapter 24
“Monica Clay listed Dominic as a reference. He said he didn’t know her. Why did he lie?” Carlita asked.
“That’s not all.” Mercedes pulled out another application and handed it to her mother. “Duane Sorensen also listed Dominic as a reference.”
Carlita stared at the application in disbelief. “No wonder he was desperate to get his hands on the applications.”
She tossed the application on top of the folder and stood. “I want to ask him to his face why he lied to me. I bet we can still catch him. He was at the trolley stop across the street a few minutes ago.”
She flung the front door open and marched down the steps.
“No!” Mercedes ran after her mother. “You don’t want to confront him.”
“Why not?”
“Because there’s a reason he lied to you. Maybe he was behind Megan Burelli’s poisoning. Think about it. If he was involved and you confront him, he’s going to lie or worse.”
“He’ll come after us,” Carlita whispered.
“What if Louie hired him?”
“Then we’re all in danger.”
“Right.”
“If we don’t confront him, how do we find out if he’s involved?”
“We set a trap,” Mercedes said. “If Dominic is involved, we know he’s desperate to get his hands on the applications. He must know or at least suspect Monica and Duane used him as a reference.”
“So how do we set a trap?”
“Dominic has a key to the restaurant,” Mercedes said.
“Yes, and now I’m wondering how I’m gonna get it back from him.”
“You’re not. This is perfect.” Mercedes told her mother they needed to make copies of the applications and then put the originals back in the restaurant’s filing cabinet. “You call Dominic and tell him you changed your mind. After talking to me, you decided to hire a few more people, and you put the applications back inside the restaurant.”
“So he’ll come after them,” Carlita said.
“Yep, and we’re going to let him take the applications. Ten bucks says he’s going to alter the applications and take his name off as a reference.”
“So what? It’s not illegal. Troubling? Yes. Illegal? No.”
“True, but if he’s working with someone else, don’t you think he’ll go for the applications and then take them to his accomplice to get rid of them?” Mercedes asked. “We have a 50/50 chance of someone else being involved.”
“And it won’t hurt to see what he does once he gets his hands on the applications,” Carlita said. “Dominic uses the trolley to get around and guess who’s working today?”
“Reese,” Carlita and Mercedes said in unison.
“Let’s get this sting underway.”
While Mercedes made copies of the applications, Carlita texted Reese and asked her to call as soon as possible. Thankfully, Reese called a short time later.
Carlita briefly explained what happened, how she thought her restaurant manager was somehow involved in Megan Burelli and Monica Clay’s deaths, maybe even Duane Sorensen’s disappearance.
“Oh, I know Dominic. He was just on the trolley. He got off near the City Market. Nice guy. Kind of a braggart, but entertaining.”
“We’re setting up a sting. If our hunch is right, he’ll come back down here to grab the applications. Once he does, we need to follow him, to find out where he goes.”
“He typically gets off on the other side of Walton Square. It always struck me as odd why he wouldn’t walk a few blocks, but hey, who am I to question strange behavior?”
“Would you do me a huge favor and send me a text if he gets back on the trolley?” Carlita asked.
“You betcha. I’m circling around to his pickup area in a couple more stops.”
“Let me text him now.”
Mercedes ran next door to return the applications to the cabinet. Meanwhile, Carlita texted Dominic to tell him she was having second thoughts and would consider hiring more people. In her last sentence, she told him she’d returned the applications to the restaurant filing cabinet.
A breathless Mercedes flew inside the apartment. “The applications are in place. Did you call Dominic?”
“I sent a text. I wasn’t sure I would sound believable.” Carlita’s phone beeped, and she gazed at the screen. “He said he would get right on it. We better be ready to move. I want to see where he goes once he grabs the files.”
“We can hide behind the dumpster,” Mercedes suggested.
“What if he uses the front door?”
“I doubt it. He’s gonna want
