Vinnie chuckled. “I’m not handing out cash.”
“Dinner is at six with the gift-giving starting at seven for the kids,” Carlita reminded them. She turned to Cool Bones. “I picked up a gift for your granddaughter, as well. All of the children will be getting gifts.”
“Thank you, Carlita,” Cool Bones said. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“You’re very welcome, and I wanted to.”
The plan was for the family gift exchange to start after the guests left the party, which was the Garlucci family tradition.
Elvira returned home after making Carlita promise to call her if she heard anything. Vinnie headed to the pawn shop to help his brothers. Cool Bones and Carlita headed upstairs. She stopped him when they reached the upper hall. “I’m sorry about Lee Strange.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Cool Bones smiled. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” His expression grew solemn. “Do you think Lee’s in trouble?”
Carlita considered the question. The “family” had its own way of dishing out discipline. Although she had never witnessed firsthand how Vito handled a “situation,” something told her Lee Strange was in serious trouble. “Yes. I think he is.”
The rest of the afternoon passed quietly. Carlita spent most of it in the restaurant, prepping the food for the evening’s festivities. Mercedes joined her not long after she got there, followed by Gina, Brittney and Shelby.
The women chatted and laughed as they cooked. They reminisced about Christmases past, and Carlita even forgot about Lee Strange for a few minutes.
At five, with the last preparations in place and the final few Christmas dishes baking in the oven, the women returned home to freshen up and get ready for the party.
Carlita caught a glimpse of Vinnie, who was out on her balcony. He gave the women a small wave, and she could see he was on his cell phone.
Back inside, Brittney went to tend to the baby and get ready first while Carlita joined her son.
“All right. Got it. Brit, the baby and I will be heading back early on the twenty-sixth. Merry Christmas to you, Vito.” He ended the call.
“Well? Any news on Lee Strange?”
“Yeah. He committed suicide a couple hours ago.”
Carlita’s hand flew to her throat. “Committed suicide?”
“According to Vito’s source.”
“Joe Mariani.”
“Yes. Mariani told him he put some pressure on Strange, wanting him to return to New Jersey to face the music and cough over the cash he took. Mariani went to pack up his stuff at the hotel. When he got back to Strange’s place, it was swarming with cops. His connection at the precinct told Joe that Lee Strange had committed suicide.”
Carlita reached out to steady herself. “Then, the cops don’t have a confession.”
“Oh, they have a confession, all right. Strange left a note behind, confessing to stabbing Roxy on the ship. She got one in on him before he got hold of the knife. He stabbed her in the neck before tossing her over the side of the ship.”
Carlita’s head spun. Roxy’s killer was dead. Perhaps when Strange realized the “family” had found him and he knew his fate was sealed, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Or…perhaps Mariani had forced Strange to write a confession note before killing him.
“Do you think Strange killed himself?” Carlita asked.
“I don’t know. What I do know is that I wouldn’t have wanted to be in his shoes. He was going to pay a steep price not only for stealing but also for killing Roxy. Things weren’t lookin’ good.”
“But why confess?” Carlita wondered aloud. “What would it matter?”
“We may never know what happened during those last moments of Strange’s life,” Vinnie paused as if he wanted to say something else.
“What is it?” Carlita prompted.
“Knowing the ‘family,’ there is no way Mariani would have left Strange to go and pack.”
“Meaning Strange was not alive when Joe Mariani left his place.”
“You can take it for what it’s worth,” Vinnie said. “What I do know is that Mercedes, Luigi, Pete and everyone else is off the hook.”
Chapter 24
Carlita carried the large pan of lasagna to the serving table. Mercedes was right behind her with the carved ham. Gina and Shelby followed with roasted turkey and a huge bowl of loaded mashed potatoes.
There was more, from the candied yams to the bowls of stuffing. There were piping hot dinner rolls and fresh cranberry sauce. Shelby brought two pans of her favorite baked macaroni and cheese.
While the women arranged the main dishes, Carlita’s sons carried the pies, cakes, cookies and pastries to the dessert table.
Pete, who had arrived early, set up the beverage station right next to the desserts.
At five ‘til six, Carlita did a final inspection of the dining area. The list of invitees was the same as those she’d invited for Thanksgiving dinner, but this one included even more…the extra family members, along with Cool Bones and his family. Annie would be bringing a friend who was spending the holiday alone.
One of Reese’s co-workers who had no family and nowhere to go would also be attending.
She and Pete stood by the door, greeting the guests. Elvira and Dernice arrived first. Elvira held up a dish. “I brought my specialty.”
“Not Natto again,” Carlita joked.
“No. No natto. It’s spinach dip with toasted crackers,” Dernice said. “It’s some good stuff.”
Carlita did a double-take and really looked at Dernice. “Dernice Cobb. Look at you.”
Dernice beamed as she did a small twirl showing off her new hairdo. There were blond streaks of highlight tucked in among soft layers of brown. Her hair was cut to the nape of her neck, and bangs framed her face.
Carlita leaned in. “Are you wearing makeup?”
“Just a pinch. The gal at the beauty shop talked me into it.”
Elvira made an unhappy noise.
“Elvira Cobb,” Carlita chided.
