Tony kept one hand on his jacket pocket, leading the way as they crept to the corner.
Carlita slowed to check her phone. “We need to turn right.”
“Hold up.” Tony motioned toward two cars which were pulled off to the side. Several people stood next to the cars. The lamppost gave off little light, making it impossible to count heads. “We gotta stay outta sight.”
Carlita slipped into a dark doorway and consulted her phone. “Luigi and Ricco are close. They stopped about a block away.”
“To park and walk the rest of the way,” Tony whispered. “The element of surprise.”
“Do you think she’s here, too?” Mercedes leaned forward.
“I don’t know,” Carlita lowered her voice. “Steve said he was a hundred percent certain Lisa Zant was the woman asking about the tattoo. If she’s responsible for Rutger’s death, I have a hunch more than one person was involved.”
A movement behind the dumpster caught Carlita’s attention. “We’re not alone. Is that Ricco and Luigi?”
“No. It’s the cops who were following us earlier.”
The trio remained motionless, watching as the officers quietly crept closer to the parked cars.
“Text Luigi and tell him to get out of here,” Tony said. “Tell ‘em it’s a trap.”
Carlita’s heart pounded loudly as she fumbled with the screen. “I hope they’re payin’ attention.” She thought about the cops who had been tailing them. A frightening thought occurred to her…What if Phil Duce and the Savannah Six had joined forces, planning to take down Vito Castellini’s men by tricking them into a meeting?
Carlita prayed Luigi and Ricco got the message. Her cell phone vibrated, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She cupped her hands around the screen to block the light. The red dot was slowly moving away from the river.
Pop. A popping noise shattered the eerily quiet night air.
Tony shoved his mother and sister against the doorway.
Things moved fast after that, as the people standing near the vehicles scattered and began running in different directions.
The shadows came to life as a small army of figures emerged. “Freeze! Police! Drop your weapons.”
A car door slammed, and one of the vehicle’s engines roared to life. The tires squealed as the car’s driver made a desperate attempt to maneuver onto a side street. It narrowly missed one of the officers, who managed to jump out of the car’s path seconds before impact.
Carlita shifted her attention from the unfolding scene to the dot on the app. The dot had reached the main road leading back to Tybee Island and Montgomery Hall. “Thank God. Luigi and Ricco are gone. What’s happening?”
“I can’t see nothin’, just a bunch of people on the ground and cops everywhere,” Mercedes said.
“We gotta stay put.” Tony crouched low; his eyes trained on the unfolding scene. “The cops tailed us. They know we’re here.”
Carlita eased onto the cement, her joints aching at the awkward position. “I’m gettin’ too old for this.”
“You done pretty good, Ma,” Tony grinned. “You didn’t even smack me when I pushed you back.”
“Cuz you were tryin’ to protect Mercedes and me.”
They stayed hidden from sight for some time, watching as the authorities placed several people inside the back of the police cars. Carlita’s cell phone vibrated again. It wasn’t her tracking app this time. It was Detective Polivich.
“Carlita Garlucci speaking.”
“You can come out now. The area is secure.”
“I figured you were gonna come over here and get me.”
“Fine. I guess I could.” One of the taller men stepped away from a patrol car and made his way to their hiding spot. “Why do you always gotta be in the middle of these messes?”
“Why do you gotta be following me around?” Carlita shook her head. “I was down here having a nice dinner with my children, listening to some good music. Next thing I know, the cops are surrounding people and making arrests.”
“I don’t buy it for one minute,” the detective said. “You knew we were following you.”
“Of course. You’ve been staking out my place for days now.” Carlita extended a hand, and the detective pulled her to her feet.
“So how did you know?” The detective motioned to the cars.
“Know about Lisa Zant and the carving on Davis Rutger’s chest? We heard about it in a roundabout way, did a little snooping around and discovered Zant was the one who was asking about the design.”
“Mick at West End Tattoo Shop. You know him?”
“He’s a friend of a friend. At first, I figured it was Phil Duce,” Carlita said. “He had the perfect alibi.”
“He’s not off the hook. He has some shady dealings. We’re still looking for a couple of his ‘business associates.’ You know anything about them?”
“Business associates of Phil Duce?” Carlita raised a brow. “Now why would I have any dealings with Phil Duce?”
“You tell me,” the detective shot back.
“What I would rather know is the motive for Lisa Zant killing Davis Rutger and if someone else was involved.”
“Kellen Saylor,” Polivich said. “We tapped his phone. We were waiting to figure out who else was involved. The crime scene showed more than one person involved in Rutger’s death. When we found a hair sample in the duct tape securing Rutger, we figured we had something. We got the results back today. It belongs to Lisa Zant.”
“So, you had the carved marking, you had the hair sample, and yet you were still looking for two mysterious men lurking around my place,” Carlita said.
“I was covering all of the bases, doing my job to protect area business owners like yourself.”
“Indeed,” Carlita said. “Are my children and I free to leave or do you plan a police escort home?”
“As free as a bird…unless you have
