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

Had Luigi confronted Roxy after she was locked up? Perhaps he had. He had her weapon, which meant he believed she had no way to defend herself.

What if she convinced him to let her out of the bathroom? Once released, she came at him with the knife and was able to injure him before he wrestled it away from her. During the altercation, Roxy was stabbed.

Luigi panicked and tossed her, along with the weapon, over the side of the ship.

But why wouldn’t Luigi have cleaned up the blood? Maybe he didn’t have time.

Elvira waved a hand in front of Carlita’s face. “Earth to Carlita.”

“Sorry. What is it?”

“Take another look and tell me if I’m losing my mind.”

Carlita took another look inside the hole. There was a box in the corner, not unlike the one she and her children had found not long after moving into their building. Their box had been full of gems, enough to pay for the renovations to her restaurant. “It looks like a box.”

“That’s what I thought.” Elvira winced as she rubbed her upper arm. “I need to take a break. I can’t hammer away at this anymore.”

“I think it’s time to stop until you can figure out…”

“I know, I know, whether I’m gonna have the walls crumbling down around me,” Elvira rolled her eyes.

“If you don’t, and they do cave in, you’ll never find out what is in that box. It will be buried under a pile of rubble,” she pointed out.

“True.” Carlita could see Elvira was considering her logic. “I guess you’re right. The box will have to wait for another day.” She dusted off her hands and handed Luigi the pick. “Now that we’re knee-deep in this investigation, perhaps it’s time to have a chat with your dear daughter-in-law, Brittney. Maybe she knows more about Roxy’s past.”

“Why would she know?” Luigi asked.

“Girl talk, chit-chat, stuff women share amongst themselves.”

“Roxy wasn’t the chatty type.”

“Maybe because it was you.”

“Elvira does have a point. Roxy may have opened up to Brittney in a way she wouldn’t have to one of her co-workers,” Carlita said. “She’s at the zoo with the rest of the family. They should be back later this afternoon.”

“Perfect,” Elvira gave her a thumbs up. “I have a little more investigating to do before I head out to check on some jobs.” She pointed to Luigi. “What’s your schedule look like?”

“I’m working security for a holiday contest. This time it’s a gingerbread house competition over at the convention center,” Luigi said. “I’m still waiting for a big brawl or blow out.”

“Your job is to prevent brawls and keep everyone calm,” Elvira said, “not wait for one to happen for your entertainment.”

“Spoilsport,” Luigi joked.

The trio parted ways when they reached the top of the stairs. Carlita returned home to an empty apartment. She checked her computer and emails and discovered that the pictures from the party were ready for pickup at the office supply store.

When she got there, the pictures were already packaged and in the pickup bin. Carlita opened it to make sure she had the correct order and was thrilled to discover they had turned out even better than she anticipated.

There was a five and dime around the corner from the office supply store. Carlita headed there next and perused the aisles, searching for picture frames…one for each of her children plus her, and then one more for Cool Bones’ band picture.

She made a mental note to remind him about the Christmas Eve dinner as she placed the frames in her handbasket and began making her way to the checkout.

Carlita made a sudden detour when she spotted barrels of penny candies. There were Pixy Stix, whistle pops, candy necklaces, ribbon candy, root beer barrels, taffy, red wax lips and pop rocks, along with assorted small toys, all perfect for stocking stuffers. Carlita filled the paper bag she found on a nearby rack and then carried her purchases to the counter.

Back home, she assembled the pictures and frames, and then individually wrapped each before carefully placing them under the tree. She set the one for Cool Bones aside with a plan to track him down later.

Carlita grabbed the last bag of unwrapped gifts from her bedroom closet and swapped it out for the candy that would be placed in the children’s stockings, which would be hung on the fireplace mantel the following evening, Christmas Eve.

She carried the gifts to the table and turned on some Christmas music before she tackled wrapping the gifts she’d purchased for each of her children.

Vinnie’s was a multi-purpose tool with his initials engraved on the side. Up next was Paulie. Since becoming mayor of Clifton Falls, he’d taken up aerial photography as a hobby and was interested in topography as well. With that in mind, she figured a drone would be something he could tinker with.

Tony’s gift was the easiest. Carlita had picked out a smartwatch for her son, who had been on a health kick ever since Shelby’s diagnosis.

Mercedes had been the hardest until Carlita thought about what interested her daughter – surveillance and weapons. When Sam mentioned a local indoor shooting range where several part-time officers worked, Mercedes’ eyes lit up, and Carlita promptly purchased a membership for her.

Not wanting to leave her daughters-in-law out, Carlita had selected hand-crafted Christmas ornaments for each of them. Brittney’s was a designer shoe ornament. For Shelby, it was a heart-shaped locket with a diamond chip in the center. For Gina, who was a huge Disney fan, Carlita had ordered a trio of collectible Disney princess ornaments, something that would be easy to pack and transport home.

For the grandchildren, she’d picked up gifts suggested by their parents. She briefly wondered about the family surprise Vinnie would be