“Why you? You wouldn’t hit my radar as a suspect.”
“Because I tried to tase Rutger. Because his body was found feet away from where the incident took place and….” Reese hesitated, “because I have a few shiners in my past.”
“A few shiners?” It was Sam’s turn to look surprised. “You have an arrest record?”
“It’s old. Decades old. I should’ve had it expunged. I had no idea it was going to come back and bite me, so now I’m trying to figure out who took Rutger out.”
“We are, which means we have some research to do before Reese heads to work.” Carlita slid her chair back and reached for the empty plates. “I’ll clean up. You two relax and enjoy your coffee while you make googly eyes at each other.”
Reese followed suit and stood. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but you two make such a cute couple.”
“Thanks.” Sam smiled, the dimple in his cheek deepening as he turned to Mercedes. “Did you hear that? We’re perfect for each other.”
“I give up.” Mercedes crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair. “We might as well take an ad out in the Savannah newspaper and announce our commitment.”
“I like the idea,” Sam laughed.
“We better get out of here before Mercedes starts throwing dirty dishes at me.” Carlita and Reese made quick work of clearing the table, insisting the couple stay put and enjoy their coffee.
Reese even refilled their cups before returning to the kitchen to help Carlita. “Why is Mercedes so determined to downplay their relationship?”
“Because she thinks I’m determined to marry her off. She’s been attracted to Sam from the moment they met but refused to admit it. She and my eldest, Vinnie, are stubborn as mules.”
Reese scraped the scraps into the trashcan and handed Carlita the dirty plate. “Then he’s got his work cut out for him.”
“He does, but I also think Sam enjoys the chase and is up for the challenge.”
The women made quick work of cleaning the kitchen and then Carlita dragged a dining room chair next to her desk chair. She grabbed the list of the Savannah Six names and began tapping the keys. “Savannah arrest records.”
A link popped up at the top of the page and Carlita began entering the names. The first two - Quinton Jackson and Axel Bell, had no prior record, or at least no county arrest record.
Up next was Kellen Saylor. “No previous record for this guy other than his recent involvement with the Savannah Six and attacking the ferry captain,” Reese said.
Carlita consulted her notes. “He moved to the area not long ago. Maybe there hasn’t been enough time for him to build up a rap sheet here.”
“But Quinton and Axel didn’t have records, either.” Reese tapped the sheet. “Why didn’t the police write these two up after the incident on board the ferry not to mention the incident with the other trolley at the cemetery?”
“Maybe because they’d never been in trouble before and were let off with a warning,” Carlita theorized. “Let’s check out the lone woman, Lisa Zant.”
There were several misdemeanors under her name, but nothing any young person couldn’t have done in their youth. Carlita studied the woman’s mugshot and the tattoo ring around her neck. “Why would someone want to tattoo their neck like that?”
“I dunno. Davis Rutger had one around his neck, too. Maybe it was some sort of marking like gang members do,” Reese said.
Last on the list was Clifton Boggs. He had several previous run-ins with local authorities. “He’s got the longest rap sheet of the bunch.” Carlita skimmed the first page and clicked the button at the bottom to pull up the second page. “Looks like he’s a lifetime local.”
“More like lifetime troublemaker. Wait a sec.” Reese pointed at the computer screen. “Check it out.”
Chapter 19
Carlita’s eyes squinted as she scanned the report. “He was arrested for violence against a law enforcement officer last spring. I noticed that earlier. In fact, I jotted down a note.”
“What if he was second in command?” Reese asked. “Maybe he and Rutger got into it, and Boggs took him out.”
Carlita studied his picture, noting the same ring of tattoos around his neck. “I think he has the same tattoo ring.”
She typed in Davis Rutger’s name, pulled up his profile and clicked on his online records and mugshot, confirming he sported the same tattoo as Lisa Zant and Clifton Boggs. Carlita faced her friend. “Do you recall if they all had tattoo rings around their necks?”
“I don’t, but then it was so chaotic once we got going, I was lucky I was able to keep the trolley on the street.”
Carlita grabbed an ink pen and scribbled tattoo ring next to Davis Rutger, Clifton Boggs and Lisa Zant’s name. She jotted question marks next to Kellen Saylor, Axel Bell and Quinton Jackson. “Autumn mentioned her brother, Steve, had done some tattoo work on the Savannah Six months ago, before they gained their notoriety.”
“We should get the scoop from him,” Reese suggested.
“It’s worth checking out.” Carlita finished researching the site and logged off. “Half of the group had the same tattoo. Kellen Saylor and the other two did not.”
“At least not at the time the mugshots were taken,” Reese pointed out.
“True.” Carlita carefully folded the sheet of paper with the Savannah Six’s names. “Steve’s shop, Shades of Ink, is right around the corner.”
“I’m game.” Reese slid out of her chair. “The more information we have, the better off we are.”
The women headed out the door when Carlita remembered an interesting remark Sam had made about Davis Rutger’s body. She turned around and headed back to the balcony.
Sam and Mercedes sat close together, their heads almost touching. Carlita rattled the doorknob to announce her presence, and
