“Whatcha doing?” Brittney had crept up behind Carlita, and she jerked back. “Brittney! You scared me half to death.”
“Sorry. I thought you heard me.”
“No. I was working on something for a friend. How are you feeling today?”
“I feel fine, but I’m bored. I mean, not that you’re boring or anything.”
“You could take the trolley across town and do a little shopping,” Carlita suggested.
“Shopping sounds like fun.” Brittney brightened. “Will you go with me?”
Shopping wasn’t necessarily what Carlita had in mind, but she didn’t have the heart to tell her “no.” “I suppose I could.”
What she’d planned to do was finish checking out the Savannah Six and then head next door to the vacant lot to have a look around. “Why don’t you grab a bite to eat first.”
While Brittney ate, Carlita finished checking out the “six” members. Nothing else struck her as a possible clue. It was obvious the group was trouble which meant they had their share of people who had a motive to take Davis Rutger out.
Brittney finished her bowl of cereal and banana. “I’ll run to the bathroom to get ready.”
“I’ll be waiting.” After Brittney left, Carlita headed across the hall to Autumn’s apartment. She could hear the soft strains of music coming from inside and gave the door a sharp rap. It flew open, and Mercedes appeared. “Hey, Ma.”
“How’s it going?”
“Great. Autumn’s at work. I’m covering an afternoon shift at Ravello’s. How’s Brittney?”
“Bored. We’re heading to the City Market district to do some shopping. Before we do that, I want to run over to the vacant lot and take a look around.”
“To search for clues?”
“Yeah. Reese thinks the police are targeting her, so I offered to help.” Carlita told her daughter what she’d found so far…the names of the Savannah Six members. “I noticed a pattern. These guys and the woman were targeting tourist-related businesses. The trolleys, the shuttle ferry, local students on a ghost tour. Why target them?”
Mercedes shrugged. “Because most of what’s around here is touristy stuff and convention centers.”
“True.” Carlita tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I wonder about the guy who was attacked. The authorities haven’t released his name. I bet Reese knows who it is.”
“I’m sure.”
Carlita ran back to the apartment, grabbed her cell phone and returned to Autumn’s apartment where she tapped out a message to Reese.
It took a couple of minutes before Reese replied with the man’s name.
“Phil Duce,” Carlita repeated the name. “Why does Phil Duce sound familiar?”
“It sounds familiar to me, too,” Mercedes said.
“I’m gonna check it out.” Carlita began searching for the internet app on her cell phone.
“I already got it.” Mercedes waved her phone in the air. “Phil Duce owns Black Stallion Club.”
“Whoa.” Carlita’s eyes grew wide. “Pat Duce owned the club. Remember? She was running an illegal gambling ring. I thought the cops shut that place down after she was arrested for murder.”
“It looks as if someone in the family opened it back up. Phil Duce owns the nightclub.”
Carlita’s cell phone rang. “Hey, Reese. Are you sure the person who was attacked and tossed out the back of your trolley was Phil Duce?”
“One hundred percent. I got his name from Detective Polivich.”
“He owns Black Stallion Club.”
“The place is a dump. Wait a minute…” Reese grew quiet.
“What?”
“I was in there a coupla days ago. Some of the other drivers and I met up there for drinks after work. So, you’re saying the owner of the Black Stallion Club was the guy Rutger pushed out the back of my trolley?”
“If it was Phil Duce. Mercedes did a search. The club has some shady ties to illegal gambling and other questionable business practices.”
“Maybe Duce hired someone to take Rutger out,” Reese said.
Carlita began to pace. “This all makes perfect sense. Ten bucks says Davis Rutger and his gang were harassing Duce. Duce got tired of it. He followed the Savannah Six on board the trolley where there was some sort of confrontation. That’s when Rutger pushed Duce out the back of the trolley.”
Reese picked up. “Duce’s ‘friend,’ or someone close to him, plotted a revenge kill. After tying him up and torturing him, they strangled him and dumped his body near the place where Rutger targeted Duce. Now, all we have to do is get the name of the person who took Rutger out.”
“Maybe we should pay a visit to the club,” Carlita said. “Where is Elvira when we need her?”
“What’s wrong with asking Elvira for help? She likes to hang out in shady places.”
“Elvira is missing.”
“Huh?” Mercedes whispered, and Carlita motioned to her. “I’ll tell you in a minute.”
“Listen, I’m at my next stop, and Detective Polivich is on the other line. I’ll call you later.” Reese didn’t wait for a reply, and the line went dead.
Carlita stared at the phone. “I think we’re onto something. Rutger and his thugs were targeting local businesses. I think they targeted the Black Stallion Club. Duce, the owner, went after Rutger. There was some sort of confrontation on board the trolley. Rutger and his group of thugs pushed Duce out the back of the trolley injuring him and sending him to the hospital. One of Duce’s associates or friends went after Rutger and took him out.”
“The killer or killers dumped his body near the scene of the altercation as a warning to the other members of the Savannah Six,” Mercedes picked up.
“Reese needs to point all of this out to the detectives,” Carlita said. “I still want to run across the street to have a look around.”
“I’ll go with you. I’ve got some time to kill before I have to head to work.”
“We have to wait for Brittney.”
“I almost forgot about her.” Mercedes followed her mother to
