Turmoil in Savannah: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 13) by Hope Callaghan (read book txt) 📕

“I don’t understand why.”

“I tried to tase Rutger and throw him off the trolley. There’s something else.” Carlita’s friend tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “I’ve been arrested before.”

She hurried on. “It was years ago when I was younger and did stupid stuff. I was involved in a series of petty thefts, and now it’s coming back to haunt me.”

“But nothing since then,” Carlita said.

“Nope.” Reese shook her head. “Not even a traffic ticket.”

They finished a complete loop of the trolley route and reached Carlita’s stop. She waited for the trolley to pull alongside the curb and stood. “I’ll start digging around as soon as I get home and call you later.”

There were tears in Reese’s eyes as she thanked her friend. “I don’t know what to do. If the authorities arrest me, Buzz is going to fire me for sure.”

“I’m sorry, Reese. You happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hang in there. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” Carlita waited for the trolley to pull away before crossing to the other side and stepping into the alley.

Dernice, who was standing next to Elvira’s car, ran out to greet her. “Hey. Carlita.”

Carlita slowed. “Good morning, Dernice. I was just thinking about Elvira last night. How’s she doing?”

“She’s gone.”

Chapter 12

“Gone?” Carlita blinked rapidly. “Elvira went somewhere?”

“She took off,” Dernice said. “Her purse and favorite backpack are gone, too. She didn’t leave a note, didn’t take the car. Just up and left. I tried calling her cell phone. It went right to voice mail.”

“Maybe she decided to get out of the house, take a break and she’ll be back.”

“I’m thinking she’s going to be gone awhile. She cleaned out one of the business accounts. Fifteen thousand bucks.” Dernice snapped her fingers. “Gone.”

“No kidding.” Carlita grew thoughtful. “The good news is she probably isn’t planning to do herself in because she wouldn’t need money.”

“She doesn’t need money. She needs help.” Dernice tapped the side of her forehead. “I hate to say it, but my sister’s gone a little whacko. Last night, she told me she was convinced the government wired our home and they’re spying on us. Then she said something about hearing voices.”

“Have you contacted the authorities?”

“I’m on my way down to the police station to file a missing person’s report. I wanted to give you a heads up in case she tries to contact someone - me or you.”

“Have you checked with other family members?”

“We have no other family, just her daughter, Zulilly, and you.”

“Me?” Carlita asked.

“Elvira thinks of you as family.”

“I…I’ll be sure to let my children know Elvira’s gone missing, and we’ll keep an eye out for her.”

Dernice thanked her and promised to let her know as soon as she heard anything. Carlita promised to do the same and then watched Dernice make her way to the parking lot, her shoulders slumped as if she was carrying the weight of the world.

Carlita prayed a silent prayer for Dernice and Elvira before trudging back upstairs. She could hear Brittney moving around inside the bedroom. The door was closed, so she headed to her desk in the dining room.

She forwarded the picture she’d taken of Reese’s list to her email and logged onto the computer. Carlita printed it off and set it aside. First up was an online search. She typed in “Savannah Six, Savannah, Georgia.”

Several recent news stories popped up. Carlita vaguely remembered hearing about a couple of the incidents but hadn’t followed the stories. The most recent was about Davis Rutger’s death and how the authorities were questioning not only the other members of the “six” but also the businesses the group had victimized.

As Carlita read through each of the stories, she began to see a connection. The group had specifically targeted the tourist industry. Not only had they targeted Savannah Trolley Company, the company Reese worked for, but they had also targeted the ferry that shuttled passengers from Morrell Park to Hutchinson Island.

Another involved a recent disturbance at the Savannah Convention Center, and the third was when the “six” had attacked a group of students from Savannah School of Design who were on a local ghost tour.

Carlita jotted down notes about the recent incidents before she started researching Davis Rutger. She remembered hearing Rutger was the governor’s nephew, but the information was somewhat misleading. Although Davis Rutger was the nephew of a governor, he was the nephew of a former California governor.

She made a note about the information and then typed in the first name on Reese’s list, Clifton Boggs. He had a lengthy rap sheet and an arrest for violence against a law enforcement officer. Carlita jotted second in command with a question mark next to his name.

The second, Quinton Jackson, and the third, Axel Bell, were only mentioned in passing.

The more Carlita researched, the more it became apparent Rutger had been the Savannah Six’s ringleader. The fourth name, Kellen Saylor, popped up several times. Saylor was listed as the member who attacked the ferry captain before being taken down by several passengers.

The ferry incident was serious enough that two of the Savannah Six, Davis Rutger and Kellen Saylor, had been detained and given a free ride to the police station. The story reported the two men had been released the same day and the charges against them being “mysteriously dropped.”

The last name to hit Carlita’s radar was not a man, but a woman - the sixth member of the Savannah Six. Her name was Lisa Zant. Although there was a small photograph of the woman with the news story, there was little information about her other than Zant had joined the gang