Carlita exited the vehicle and joined her on the sidewalk. “You took long enough.”
“I made it as fast as I could. Are they inside?”
“Yes.” Carlita pointed to the car parked next to the security services van and described the man who was driving it.
“That’s him…my ex.”
Luigi made his way around the front.
Elvira gave him the once over. “I remember you.”
“Elvira Cobb,” Luigi said. “Glad you could make it to the party.”
“Yeah, well, I’m here, and I don’t need your help. I don’t need a former mobster working for me. I have enough troubles.”
“Elvira,” Carlita chided. “I don’t think you’re in any position to judge. Besides, Dernice hired him.”
“Look where she’s at. She’s in jail.”
“Because of you.”
“I’ll cut you a check and bring it over later, after I get to the bottom of what’s going on in there,” Elvira said.
“You didn’t hire me. You can’t fire me.”
“What do you mean?” Elvira’s face turned bright red. “I can fire you, and I just did. You’re fired.”
“Nope.” Luigi shook his head. “You’re not my boss.”
“I…I’m the owner,” Elvira sputtered. “You’re fired if I say you’re fired.”
Luigi threw her words back in her face.
She clenched her fists and took a menacing step toward him.
Luigi, cool as a cucumber, grinned, as if daring her to hit him, or perhaps he was simply amused by her reaction.
Carlita stepped between them. “We have bigger problems right now. We might need Luigi’s muscle.”
She could see Elvira considering her reasoning and relaxed her stance. “Fine. You can stay until I get to the bottom of what’s going on. I have a gun in my glovebox.”
Luigi patted his pocket. “I got it covered.”
“Let’s go.” Carlita made a move toward the building.
Elvira hurried ahead of her. “I’ll go in first.”
Luigi brought up the rear, giving the vehicles the once over as they walked past. “Hang on.”
“What is it?” Carlita asked.
“Check out the car,” Luigi said.
Carlita studied the man’s car. “What about it?”
“Over here.” Luigi made his way to the passenger side and pointed to the missing mirror. “The mirror is missing. I shot it out the other day when the driver forced Dernice’s van off the road.”
Chapter 26
Carlita’s breath caught in her throat. “You’re right. This looks like the vehicle we saw. Elvira’s ex, Gremlin, is behind all of this.”
Luigi unzipped his jacket pocket. “This might get ugly.”
“We have the element of surprise.” Carlita tried to sound confident but knew they could very well be walking into a bad situation. She started to tell them she thought it was time to alert the authorities. It was too late. Elvira had already entered the building.
Luigi followed close behind while Carlita reluctantly brought up the rear.
Zulilly was the first to notice them. Her jaw dropped. “Mom? What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to talk to your father.”
“I…I thought you were gonna be gone a while longer.”
“Change of plans. When I found out the police picked Dernice up, I knew I needed to come home to see what was going on.”
“I already told you. The police searched Dernice’s van. They found evidence linking her to Kim Turbell’s death and arrested her.”
Elvira took a step forward, her attention focused on her ex. “Are you behind all of this, Gremlin?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You knew Kim Turbell. She was an employee of a company of which you’re part owner.”
“It doesn’t make me a killer. Besides, she was found in your building. Maybe you killed her.”
“I barely even knew her. I was in another state when she was murdered. You know what I think? I think you had something to do with her death.” Elvira moved in for the kill. “Who shot out your passenger side mirror, Gremlin?”
“Dad didn’t kill her.” Zulilly straightened her shoulders and shot her mother a defiant look. “If you had sold the property like Dad asked you to, then none of this would’ve happened.”
“How do you know?” Elvira asked her daughter. “How do you know your father isn’t responsible?”
“Aunt D killed the woman,” Zulilly insisted.
Elvira’s voice softened. “I don’t think she did. I think your father did it. In fact, I have a piece of evidence I believe the authorities will be very interested in taking a look at.”
There was a look of fear in Zulilly’s eyes. The fear disappeared, and her eyes flashed with anger. “This is all your fault. You were greedy and selfish. The only thing you were worried about was Dad not getting his hands on your businesses. But all you had to do was sell the property, and no one would’ve been hurt.”
“Someone has been hurt. A woman is dead, and your aunt is at the police station.”
The man with the mop of curly gray hair, placed a light hand on Zulilly’s arm. “It’s okay. I can handle this.”
“Yes. Let your father handle this,” Elvira mocked as she slowly crossed the room. “Let’s talk.”
“About what?”
“About the death of your employee, Kim Turbell.”
“You’re barking up the wrong tree. Your sister, a convicted felon, has been picked up.”
“She didn’t do it, and you know it. Zulilly as much as admitted you were behind this.”
“I…you’re twisting my words around,” Zulilly’s face crumpled, and Carlita almost felt sorry for the woman who looked like she was going to burst into tears.
“What were you doing, Grem?” Elvira asked in a soft voice. “You never were happy with just one woman. Were you having a fling with a married woman? Did you talk her into leaving her husband or boyfriend…the fling went south and, you did her in?”
“You’re crazy…even crazier than
