Christmas Family Style in Savannah: A Garlucci Family Saga Novel (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Bo by Hope Callaghan (summer reading list txt) 📕

at it as basically the same.” Elvira looked at the clock. “I have a gig protecting Santa over at the mall. Those kids get downright vicious when it gets close to Christmas. I’m off at six. What time would you like to chat with Brittney?”

“She’s shopping with my other daughters-in-law. They won’t be back until later.”

“Perfect,” Elvira beamed. “We’ll plan on meeting after dinner. Say around seven. Bring Vinnie along. I could stare at that hot hunk all night.”

“You sure you want him to be there? Looking at all of that hunkiness could be a distraction,” Dernice teased.

“I can handle it.” Elvira walked Carlita to the back of the building and followed her into the alley.

They weren’t alone. There was someone else standing there, staring at the back of Elvira’s building.

“It looks like someone has been waiting for you,” Elvira whispered in a low voice. “I gotta get going. Good luck.”

Before Carlita could reply, Elvira stepped back inside and closed the door behind her.

Chapter 13

“Been waiting for you, Mrs. Garlucci.” Jersey Joe folded his arms. “Who was that?”

“My neighbor.”

“I know. Which one? Elvira or Dernice?”

“Elvira.”

“She owns a security company.”

“She does.”

“Were you discussing Roxy’s death?”

“We were. Elvira and her sister were on the ship last night.”

“And they hired Luigi after he moved down here,” Joe said. “Luigi didn’t like Roxy.”

“That was between them.”

Joe pulled a cigar from his pocket and lit the end. “Your daughter struck Roxy in an unprovoked attack.”

“You’re wrong,” Carlita interrupted. “Roxy was coming on to Sam, and Mercedes stopped her.”

“That’s one version, perhaps not necessarily the correct one. If I may continue?” Joe lifted a brow.

“Sure.” Carlita waved dismissively. “Don’t let me stop you.”

“After Mercedes struck her in the jaw, Roxy punched her in the gut, knocking her down. Luigi and Ricco became involved, which is when your boyfriend fired off a shot to break it up. He then had Ricco and Luigi escort Roxy to the back of the ship, where he locked her up.”

“In a nutshell. Listen.” Carlita shifted her feet. “I don’t know how you personally felt about Roxy, whether you even knew her, but I can tell you the woman rubbed everyone she met the wrong way.”

“She had a talent for it,” Joe said. “My opinion of Roxy doesn’t matter. She’s dead. Vito wants to get to the bottom of it, and he sent down the best, which is me, to handle it.”

“You’re an attorney.”

“I am, although I have a small clientele.”

“Mostly ‘family,’” Carlita guessed.

“I don’t discuss my clients.”

“And I don’t discuss my children. My daughter did not stab Roxy, nor did she push her over the side of the ship.”

Joe took a puff of his cigar and blew it straight at her, filling the air with a sickly-sweet ammonia aroma.

“Disgusting.” Carlita coughed as she waved her hand in front of her face. “You’ve assaulted my nostrils.”

“It’s not a smell for everyone.” Joe actually cracked a smile, as if entertained by Carlita’s discomfort, and she briefly wondered if this was one of the tools in his “persuasive” arsenal – intimidation.

“Let’s discuss your boyfriend, Pete Taylor. According to my sources, you accompanied Pete and Roxy to the back of the ship, where he locked her in a small bathroom like a wild animal.”

“Because she was acting like one,” Carlita snapped. “Roxy tried to pull a gun on someone while the ship was offshore. I consider that grounds for containment. She was a loose cannon, and while I hate to speak ill of the dead, she was rude, overbearing, aggressive and confrontational. She left Pete no choice.”

Joe ignored Carlita’s rant. “After the incident where Roxy was placed in the bathroom, do you recall seeing anyone go back there?”

Carlita briefly thought about the photo of Santa on the stairs. “No.”

“No one?” Joe repeated.

“Not until Pete and I went back there after the ship docked. It wasn’t until that moment we realized she was gone.”

“The cops are crawlin’ all over the place,” Joe said. “I need to have a chat with your tenants, the former cop, the chick next door and the guy whose band was playin’ there. The cop interests me the most.”

“Why?”

“Good cop. Bad cop. Maybe he was a bad cop.”

“And what if I tell you I don’t want you talking to them?” Carlita knew she was pushing her luck, but the man was getting on her nerves.

“You won’t,” Joe said confidently. “Or at least, you shouldn’t if you know what’s good for you. Your defensiveness makes me think you have something to hide.”

The threat hung in the air. What if Vito decided to send even more of his “associates” down to investigate?

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“That’s what I thought.” Joe ground the end of his cigar on the exterior of her brick building before casually slipping it into his front pocket and sauntering off.

He stopped when he reached the parking lot and cocked an imaginary pistol before climbing into his rental car and driving off.

Carlita didn’t wait around to find out which way he went. Instead, she headed inside and made a beeline for the pawn shop. Vinnie and Tony were in the back, standing close together.

“Hey, Ma,” Vinnie said. “Joe is lookin’ for you.”

“He found me and then interrogated me. He wants to talk to my tenants. He already has information on them. He also knows what the cops are up to.”

“Vito’s got a local police connection,” Vinnie said.

“I figured as much. While I have you both here, do you remember seeing anybody go to the back of the ship after Roxy was locked up?”

“Nope,” Vinnie shook his head. “Brittney wanted to go back there to check on her, but I talked her out of it. Roxy