“That’s probably a good idea,” Tony patted his pocket. “I got both of your cell phone numbers. I’ll give one of you a call when the coast is clear.”
The men climbed into the black sedan, backed out of the parking lot and turned onto a side street.
“I’ll call the cops,” Tony said.
“Let me drop my purse off upstairs. I wanna be with you when they show up, to make sure we have our stories straight.” Carlita ran upstairs to drop off her purse before meeting her son inside the pawnshop.
“I called the cops. I figured by the time they show up, and we talk to them it’ll be time to open the store.”
“Thanks, Son.” Carlita wandered to the front window, her eyes drifting toward the trolley stop across the street. She thought about the incident on board the trolley the previous day and Reese’s attack.
It was theoretically possible Reese could have tased Davis Rutger, tied him up, strangled him, dumped his body from the back of her jeep and then dragged him to the shed. But Reese didn’t strike Carlita as the “killer-type,” and she had known her fair share.
Carlita remembered the bullet that whizzed by her head the previous night. What if Luigi or Ricco had accidentally offed the man? She quickly dismissed the idea. “The Family” preferred a more streamlined approach to murder.
Besides, there was no reason for the men to murder Davis Rutger. Surely, the man had more than his fair share of enemies after targeting, attacking and harassing numerous residents and tourists in recent months.
Or maybe it was one of his own…the Savannah Six. They were thugs who had no respect for laws or people. Carlita made a mental note to put that bug in the investigators’ ears.
She abruptly turned. “I don’t think we should let on to the authorities we know the victim’s identity.”
“I was thinkin’ the same thing.” Tony shifted his gaze over his mother’s head. “The cops are here.”
Carlita hurried to unlock the front door and led several uniformed officers, along with Detective Polivich, inside.
The detective tipped his hat. “You placed a call about finding a man’s body?”
“I did.” Tony stepped forward. “I was walkin’ our dog, Rambo, this morning. He got away from me and ran across the street to the vacant lot. That’s when I found him.”
“Where is the deceased?”
“This way.” Tony motioned the officers and detective to follow him.
Carlita, determined to hear what the authorities had to say, trailed behind.
They stopped when they reached the entrance to the shed. “He’s in there.”
Polivich eased past Tony and stuck his head inside. “I’ll need to call this in.” He removed his cell phone from his pocket and tapped the screen. After a brief conversation with someone on the other end, he shoved the phone back inside his pocket. “Let me get this straight…you happened to be walking your dog. The dog got away from you, he ran over here and you found the body.”
“Pretty much,” Tony shrugged.
“Did you happen to notice any people or vehicles in the vicinity this morning or last night?” The detective reached into his other pocket, pulled out a notepad and pen and began writing.
“No. I close the pawnshop at six. Ravello’s, our family restaurant, stays open until nine,” Tony said. “I didn’t notice anything unusual.”
Carlita opened her mouth to mention the trolley started up at seven for the BOP - passengers with Business Owner Passes, but quickly changed her mind. The less she brought up Reese and the trolley, the better.
Polivich turned to Carlita. “What about you? You live across the street.”
“My apartment unit faces the back alley. Two of my tenants have windows facing this direction. We can ask them if they noticed anything.”
A crime scene van arrived a short time later, filled with a small army of investigators who began combing the area.
“I’m gonna have to ask you to leave so as not to contaminate potential evidence,” the detective said.
“Of course.” Carlita and her son returned to the pawnshop. “If Ricco and Luigi are right, the investigators aren’t going to find anything.”
“Vito’s guys are experts in the field,” Tony joked.
“Experts in the field of murder,” Carlita sighed.
“You think your buddy, Reese, had anything to do with the death?”
“No. I thought about it. I’ve known enough killers in my life, and I think I have a pretty keen sense of who might be capable. Reese is in the capable but highly unlikely category. Now Luigi and Ricco? Yeah, they could definitely have done the deed. Ricco almost took me out last night.”
“But that’s not their style. Rutger’s death was messy. Besides, I’m thinkin’ it was more of a revenge killing,” Tony said.
“I’m with you on that one, Son. There’s no reason for either of those two to take out someone they didn’t know, even if it was an accident. I just don’t see it.” Carlita remembered the men mentioning seeing someone messing around not long before finding the body and reminded her son.
“It may have been the killer dumping the body.”
“Polivich is coming.”
Detective Polivich passed by the front window before entering the shop. “We got a positive identification of the deceased. Do either of you know Davis Rutger?”
“I think I’ve heard the name,” Carlita said. “Isn’t he the Savannah Six’s ringleader?”
“He is. As you recall, he also happened to have been in this area less than twenty-four hours ago raising havoc on board one of the trolleys.” The detective studied Carlita’s face. “You remember the incident.”
“Of course. My daughter was the one who called for help.”
“But you didn’t know Rutger,” the detective probed.
“Of course not. I’ve never met him in my life.”
The detective turned to Tony. “What about you? A lot
