“Maybe she jumped off and swam to shore,” Carlita suggested hopefully.
“She could have,” Pete said. “Except with all the other boats in the parade, there’s a good chance someone would have hit her.”
Visions of Roxy diving over the side of the ship and into the water to escape only to be struck by an unsuspecting boat coming up behind them crossed Carlita’s mind.
“Roxy ain’t that stupid,” Ricco said. “No one in their right mind would jump off the side of the ship at night with all those other boats around.”
“Let me talk to my other kids before we do anything,” Carlita said. “There’s an off chance someone heard or saw something.”
It was getting late, and Carlita was exhausted. Her concern over Roxy’s disappearance and indications of foul play weighed heavily on her mind. Vinnie and Ricco headed out while Pete walked Carlita to her car.
“I’m sorry, Pete. This is all my fault. If Roxy hadn’t been such a pain, this never would’ve happened.”
“You can’t blame yourself, lass. No one knew what was going to happen.” Pete opened her car door. Even though it was dark, she could see the look of concern etched on his face.
Pete had worked hard to make the evening special, from the surprise boat ride to Santa’s visit to the delicious food and wonderful music, all spent with family Carlita hadn’t seen in months.
“Thank you for everything,” Carlita tilted her head back, so she was looking Pete in the eyes. “No matter what happened to Roxy, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
Pete offered her a tired smile, and she wondered if she looked as tired as he did. “Aye, lass. One way or another.” He gave her a quick kiss before backing away and waiting for her to drive off. In her rearview mirror, she could see his shoulders slumped as he trudged back to the ship.
Paulie’s children, as well as Shelby and Violet, had already gone home by the time she arrived at the apartment. The baby was asleep in Vinnie and Brittney’s room, leaving Carlita’s children, along with Sam, Ricco and Luigi, gathered in the living room, solemn expressions on their faces.
Something told Carlita she was about to hear some bad news. “What is it?”
“This.” Vinnie led his mother to the television. He grabbed the remote and replayed a clip from the eleven o’clock evening news.
Carlita could feel the room start to spin as she stared at the television screen.
Chapter 6
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have breaking news. A holiday tradition took a tragic turn this evening when a woman’s body was found floating in the Savannah River by a boater participating in Merry Bay’s Christmastide Boat Parade.”
There was a recorded clip of the parade, taken from what Carlita believed was the Savannah shoreline. It cut to another clip of two police boats, their bright searchlights beaming across the waters.
“We have very few details surrounding the tragic discovery and will have more on the story tomorrow morning during our Live at Five Show.”
Carlita slumped into an empty chair, staring blankly at the television.
“Vinnie told us what happened to Roxy. You think this might be her?” Tony asked.
“I…yes. I wonder if Pete has heard.” She fumbled for her cell phone and sent a brief text asking him to call her.
The phone rang seconds later. “I already heard. One of my kitchen crew told me about it before he left. He said he noticed a police boat patrolling the water and got a call from a friend who knew he was on the ship tonight.”
“What if it’s Roxy?” Carlita asked.
“We’ll find out soon enough.” Pete thanked her for the heads up, attempted to assure her he would handle it and then ended the call.
Carlita wearily waved her phone in the air. “Pete knows. One of his employees noticed a police boat patrolling during the ride back and told him about it.”
Ricco nervously twisted his watch. “I gotta tell Vito what went down.”
“Let’s wait until we’re a hundred percent certain,” Vinnie said. “There’s still an off-chance Roxy managed to free herself, saw an opportunity to get off the ship and took it.”
A small glimmer of hope welled up inside Carlita. The woman was tough as nails. There was a chance she managed to escape, had another incident with a guest onboard the ship – maybe even an employee – and then found her own way off to avoid being locked up again.
Carlita felt a light hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Sam Ivey standing behind her. “I’m sorry, Carlita. There’s nothing you or your family can do until the authorities release more information. I suggest we call it a night.”
“You’re right.” Carlita raised her voice. “It’s getting late. We’ve all had a long day. It might not be a bad idea for Ricco and Vinnie to keep their phones handy in case Roxy surfaces. Other than that, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
One by one, Carlita’s children headed out. Mercedes walked Sam to his apartment and then returned to Autumn’s apartment across the hall. Autumn had left as soon as the ship docked.
While Brittney and Vinnie got ready for bed, Carlita switched her computer on and did a quick search of the local news. There were brief mentions about the discovery with similar statements but few details.
She took Rambo out for a final bathroom break and could see the lights were still on in Elvira’s place. They had just returned to their building when Elvira’s back door flew open, and she emerged.
“Hey, Carlita,” Elvira waved her over. “I didn’t get a chance to thank Pete for a great party.”
“I’ll pass it on,” Carlita promised.
“I’m sorry for kinda inviting myself. I figured everyone else was going and seeing how you and I
