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

The server returned. She set Carlita’s water in front of her and then carefully placed Vinnie’s large Coke near him.

“Thank you.”

“You…you’re welcome. The food should be out shortly.” This time, she did a small curtsy, backing away from their table and making her way to another one nearby.

“I’m sure you’ve already discussed Roxy’s death with Joe,” Carlita stabbed at her ice cubes with the end of her straw.

“Yeah. Vito musta put some serious pressure on Joe. He’s all business.”

“This doesn’t look good for Mercedes or Pete.”

“Or Ricco or Luigi,” Vinnie added. “There was one incident I keep thinkin’ about. And the more I’m thinkin’, there may be another person of interest.”

Chapter 14

Carlita’s heart skipped a beat. “Who is it?”

“That’s the part I don’t know.” Vinnie shook his head. “Roxy said she thought one of the guests onboard looked familiar. When I asked her who it was cuz’, you know, if Roxy knew them, it was probably someone involved with the ‘family.’”

“What did she say?”

“She said I wouldn’t know the person, it was a stranger. It happened not long after we left the port.”

“And she never mentioned the person again?”

“Nope. Course there was so much goin’ on, I forgot all about it until Joe started hammering me for information.”

The food arrived, and Carlita watched the server place a large bowl of pasta in front of each of them. A thick slice of toasted garlic bread was nestled on the side.

Her mouth watered as the savory aroma of fresh garlic wafted up. “You’re in for a real treat, Son.”

“It looks delicious.” Vinnie unfolded his dinner napkin, gave it a brisk snap and then tucked the tips into the top of his shirt. He scooped up a spoonful of pasta and took his first bite.

Vinnie closed his eyes. “Ma, this is delicious.” He polished off the rest and promptly filled his spoon again. “What is this?”

“Broken spaghetti risotto. It’s made with garlic, red pepper flakes and a variety of cheeses.”

“There’s something else.”

“Pine nuts.”

“That’s the secret ingredient. This one’s a keeper.”

“Thanks. Wait ‘til you sample the dessert.”

The conversation shifted to the rest of the family. Vinnie told her their plan was to return home the day after Christmas so he would be back at the casino in time to catch up and get ready for one of their busiest days of the year…New Year’s Eve.

“You oughta come up for another visit,” Vinnie said. “I’ll even give you some casino cash to try your luck.”

Carlita wrinkled her nose. “I’m not much of a gambler.”

“Then come up to spoil the baby.”

“Now that I can do.” Carlita ate half her bowl of pasta and then asked Melanie to package the rest. “We’ll take two of the cheesecakes for dessert.”

“Another excellent choice.”

Vinnie patted his stomach. “I’m gonna gain ten pounds before this visit is over.”

“You could stand to put a little meat on your bones,” Carlita joked.

Melanie returned with their dessert, Carlita’s leftovers and two cups of black coffee. “Thank you. You read my mind.”

“Enjoy,” Melanie smiled at Vinnie, and Carlita could’ve sworn she winked. She waited until the woman walked away. “Did she just wink at you?”

“She did.”

“It’s a good thing Brittney isn’t here.”

“She would rip her hair out,” Vinnie laughed.

They lingered over coffee and dessert with Vinnie insisting the tiramisu cheesecake was one of the best he’d ever tasted. Carlita had recently found the recipe online, and after spending several days tweaking it in her kitchen, she deemed it perfect for a rollout at the restaurant. In fact, she planned to make her own cheesecake for Christmas.

The cream cheese and sour cream blended perfectly, and the small amount of coffee combined with the cocoa sprinkled on top was the icing on the cake.

Vinnie ate every bite and scraped the last little bit off with his fork. “You got a real winner here, Ma. I’m glad all of the businesses are doin’ good.”

“So am I.” Carlita dabbed at her mouth and reluctantly placed the napkin on the table. “We better head back. The girls should be returning soon.”

“And I wanna give Tony a break.”

Back at the apartment, Carlita parted ways with Vinnie to check on Mercedes, who was across the hall. She gave Autumn’s front door a gentle rap.

There was a muffled sound, and the door opened. “Hi, Mrs. G.”

“Hello, Autumn. Did you enjoy last night’s boat parade?”

“I did.” Autumn leaned her hip on the door. “Steve and Paisley missed out on an awesome parade. Paisley caught a bug and wasn’t feeling too good.”

“I’m sorry they couldn’t make it.”

Her tenant peered over her shoulder and glanced down the hall. “Some guy in a suit stopped me downstairs and asked me a bunch of questions. Is he one of Vinnie’s employees?”

“Not quite. He’s someone Roxy’s boss, Vinnie’s father-in-law, sent down to find out what happened last night.”

“That Roxy lady was off the charts. I told Mercedes I wouldn’t be surprised if they found out she was on drugs and stabbed herself.”

The idea of Roxy being on drugs hadn’t occurred to Carlita. It was possible. Roxy had been wound up, but she’d chalked it up to her recently being promoted to the position of Brittney’s bodyguard and was gung-ho to prove to the “boss” she could handle it.

Even if she had been on drugs and stabbed herself, it still didn’t explain how Roxy had managed to get out of the bathroom. There was no way she could have done it without help.

“You didn’t happen to see anyone going up that way after Pete locked her up, did you?”

“Nope. I was too busy watching the fireworks. Other than that, it was a great night. I