They also wouldn’t have a reason to kill her, unless of course, she’d been hired as a hit woman.
The fact Pete found her crying in the alley was suspect. Had she been in on the plot to poison wedding guests, realized the seriousness of the situation, had a sudden change of heart and refused to finish the job?
Mercedes nudged her mother’s arm and motioned toward the building.
Carlita dropped to her hands and knees and peered under the frame of the truck. She could see Dominic standing with his back to her and facing another unknown figure. He stood close to the other person, and she could hear them talking in low voices.
The brief conversation ended. Dominic turned on his heel and began walking at a fast clip.
With Dominic out of the picture, Carlita could clearly see Mike Russo. He watched Dominic for a moment before stepping back inside.
The screen door slammed shut.
“Let’s go.” Mercedes took off after Dominic, leaving her mother behind.
Chapter 25
Carlita hurried after her daughter. By the time she reached the corner, she’d lost sight of Mercedes and Dominic.
She heard loud voices coming from nearby. One of the voices belonged to Mercedes.
“Where is it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dominic said. “Why are you following me?”
“Hello.”
Her manager’s jaw dropped when Carlita joined them. “What’s going on?”
“What did you do with the employee file folders?” Carlita pointed at Dominic’s empty hands. “Did you give them to Mike Russo?”
“You two are crazy. I think it’s time for you to look for another restaurant manager.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Carlita shot back. “In fact, I was thinking the police will be interested in the fact you gave my employee folders to my competitor, a man I thought was my friend, Mike Russo.”
“That’s absurd. I don’t know Russo.”
“You’re lying.” Mercedes waved her cell phone in the air. “I have proof you left the restaurant with our employee file folders, yet you didn’t have them when you were in the alley behind the restaurant talking to Russo.”
Dominic’s countenance changed in an instant and a menacing sneer marred his face. “So what if I took the file folders? Maybe I lost ‘em.”
“Inside Russo’s restaurant?” Mercedes shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think you ditched the employee applications for other reasons. You lied about knowing Monica Clay and Duane Sorensen, and now you’re lying about the applications.”
“Those two employees listed you as a reference, yet you claim you didn’t know them,” Carlita said. “Again, I’m sure the authorities will be interested in talking to you.”
“It’s your word against mine,” Dominic jeered. “Prove it.”
“We will when we give the authorities copies of the applications, the ones we made before we set the trap and waited for you to come after them. We have proof you knew the victims,” Carlita said. “You came highly recommended by Mike Russo, President of the Savannah Area Restaurant Association. You were a plant.”
Dominic’s expression turned from a sneer to a look of fear. “You’re messing with the wrong people.”
“Mike Russo?” Carlita switched tactics. “Maybe if you tell the authorities everything you know, they’ll go easy on you.”
Dominic lunged forward. Things moved fast as Mercedes yanked her gun out of her pocket and aimed it at him. “Back off!”
“Whoa.” The man lifted both hands. “You two are looney tunes. I think you killed your own wedding guest, you killed Monica Clay, and you also killed Duane Sorensen.”
“Sorensen is still alive,” Carlita said. “He’s also ready to talk.”
Dominic’s mouth dropped open. “He’s still alive?”
“Yes,” Carlita fibbed. “He’s ready to tell the authorities exactly what happened the day of the wedding, how you and he, along with Monica Clay, were hired by Mike Russo to poison my guests and ruin my business.”
“Everything was going as planned until Monica Clay freaked out,” Mercedes said. “You all thought she was going to talk. Duane knew they were in trouble and you were coming after them, so they bought bus tickets and planned to leave town.”
“Y-you.”
Carlita could see Dominic was at a loss for words. She had no proof Russo was involved. She did suspect Dominic. He was working in the kitchen around the time Megan was served what she now suspected was poisoned food.
“No wonder you came so highly recommended by Mike Russo. It was a setup. You and Mike planned to take out several of my guests,” Carlita guessed. “Megan’s tray was full of tainted food, but she panicked and only served it to one person.”
She continued. “You got to Monica and took her out, but somehow, Duane slipped through your fingers. I’m sure you have people out there trying to hunt him down right now. I also bet you’re the one who placed an anonymous call to the crime hotline, telling the authorities I was responsible for Megan Burelli and Monica Clay’s deaths.”
“The cops will never find me.” Dominic stumbled back and then took off running.
Mercedes started to pursue, but Carlita stopped her. “Let him go. We need to get to the police station as soon as possible. If Duane Sorensen is alive, the police need to find him, and fast.”
“What do you think Russo will do to Dominic?”
“I don’t know,” Carlita shuddered. “If all of our hunches are correct, he’s responsible. But why kill innocent people?”
“Because you were muscling in on Russo’s territory. My theory is he felt threatened and saw a perfect opportunity to poison your guests, hoping it would run you out of business before you ever opened your doors. Dominic was his man.”
“I guess for some people money trumps everything.” Carlita reached for her daughter’s arm. “C’mon. Let’s go home. We’ll grab our copies of the applications and then
