Pirates in Peril: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Cozy Mysteries Series Book 10)

by Hope Callaghan

  “Now that my good friend and partner has given me some much-needed working capital, I’ll start interviewing employees tomorrow. I figure within two weeks we’ll be christening this beauty.” Pete admired the side of his ship. “I’ve got a few names I’m kicking around.”

  “We can’t wait to hear what you come up with.”

  It was a short drive to Glenda’s house. The front porch lights were blazing brightly and Carlita eased the car into an empty parking spot directly in front of the house. “Don’t say anything about sneaking on board the Mystic Dream.”

  “Mum’s the word.” Mercedes patted her mouth.

  Carlita climbed the front steps and waited for the girls to join her before pressing the buzzer. The door slowly opened and Glenda’s butler, Reginald, peered down at them. “Yes?”

  “Hello, Reginald. Carlita Garlucci. Glenda is expecting me…expecting us.”

  Reginald opened the door wider and motioned them inside. “Follow me.” His heels clicked sharply on the gleaming floor as he escorted the women down the long hall, to the back of the house.

  He stopped abruptly in front of a door Carlita knew opened to the library. He knocked twice before opening the door and stepping to the side.

  Glenda sat facing the fire while her husband, Mark, was seated across from her. She sprang from the chair. “Carlita. I almost forgot you were stopping by.”

  The first thing Carlita noticed was the pale and pinched expression on her friend’s face. “Let Reginald take your wet jackets.” Glenda’s hand shook as she motioned to Reginald.

  Carlita waited for the butler to exit the room before turning to her friend, a concerned expression on her face. “Are you okay? You’re pale as a ghost.”

  “The authorities left here not long ago. They claim to have found some information in Lawson’s office.”

  Chapter 14

  “I’m guessing it wasn’t good.”

  “It was a log of dates, if you will, where Lawson claims Mark was harassing him, trying to shut down the Mystic Dream and destroy his business.”

  “Where did he come up with that crazy notion?” Carlita asked.

  “I have no idea. There was also another name the detective mentioned, one I didn’t recognize.” Glenda turned to her husband, a blank expression on her face. “Do you remember the name, Mark?”

  “It was Kyle Flinch,” Mark said.

  “Flinch…Flinch.” Carlita repeated the name. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

  Mercedes tapped her mother’s arm. “TG Flinch. Remember her? She owns The Ghost Roast. The Ghost Roast is the site of the Madison Square murders.”

  “Ah.” Carlita lifted a brow. “She was the goth girl. She scared the you-know-what out of me when we met her. Sweet gal, though. I wonder if she’s related to this Kyle Flinch.”

  “It’s not a common name,” Glenda said. “The investigator asked a bunch of questions about the downtown building project, how well Mark and Lawson knew each other and the last time he saw Lawson.”

  Carlita interrupted. “You mentioned yesterday that Mark planned to confront Lawson about his accusations.”

  Glenda turned, giving her husband an anxious glance. “Yes. Mark did and unfortunately, it wasn’t a pleasant exchange.”

  “Were there witnesses?” Carlita asked.

  “Yes.” Mark slowly rose from the chair and limped across the room. “I accused Lawson of being a bully and informed him he didn’t own the City of Savannah. He told me he would have his cousin, the mayor, shut down my project. I got a little hot under the collar. I told him he’d better not do that or he would be sorry. One of Lawson’s employees was there during our entire conversation.”

  “We suspect the authorities are working on a search warrant,” Glenda said. “I would warn Pete if I were you.”

  “The authorities have already talked to Pete.” Carlita went on to explain Pete was concerned after having his own confrontation with Lawson, and spent the previous night on board the pirate ship, expecting Lawson to try something.

  “Let me guess…Pete was there alone at the time of Lawson’s attack and he has no alibi,” Mark said.

  “Yes, so it looks like both of you are in the same boat,” Carlita grinned. “In the same boat, get it?”

  Glenda briefly closed her eyes. “Unfortunately, yes.”

  “I’m sorry. That wasn’t funny.” Carlita patted her friend’s arm. “Let’s hope Lawson comes out of his coma and can tell the authorities who attacked him.”

  The five of them chatted for several more minutes and then Carlita told them they needed to get going. She thanked the couple for letting them stop by to ask questions and then the trio followed Reginald to the front.

  Carlita waited until they were on the steps and Reginald closed the door behind them. “What do you think? Do you think Mark Fox struck Lawson?”

  “I don’t know Mark,” Mercedes said. “If truth be told, we don’t know Glenda that well, either. Lawson sounds like a real jerk and has his share of enemies. Either Mark has horribly bad luck or he was involved in the attack.”

  “I can’t imagine Mark Fox attacking Lawson,” Autumn said. “He doesn’t strike me as the violent type.”

  Carlita and the girls made their way down the steps. “What about Kyle Flinch? That’s the first I heard his name.”

  “We ought to check it out.” Mercedes slipped into the passenger seat and reached for the seatbelt. “He might be able to shed some light on Lawson.”

  A sudden thought popped into Carlita’s head and she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “What if the authorities put a hold on Pete’s pirate ship license?”

  “Or they revoke the license,” Mercedes said. “We’ll be out a cool twenty-five k.”

  “We can’t let that happen,” Carlita vowed. “We know Pete didn’t attack Lawson. We have to figure out who did and I think we move on to the next logical person.”

  “Kyle Finch?”

  “Him and Pridgen.” Carlita glanced at the clock on the dash. “I bet The Ghost Roast is still open. I’m hungry for a snack. You up for it?”

  “You’re driving.” Mercedes settled into her seat. “Maybe we’ll see a ghost while we’re there.”

  “I would love to go with you, but I need to get home.” Autumn glanced at her watch. “Cole is meeting me at the apartment.”

  After dropping Autumn off, Carlita headed to the restaurant. Although it was well past the dinner hour, they were still busy.

  “I see a table for two.” Mercedes and Carlita zigzagged past several tables until they reached a small table near the back. It offered a clear view of the front of the restaurant and a partial view of the kitchen.

  “I wonder if TG is here,” Carlita said. “Do you remember her real name?”

  “Tierney Grant. Tierney Grant aka ‘The Ghost,’ remember?”

  “Yeah. Catchy for sure.” A male server approached and handed them each a menu. “Welcome to The Ghost Roast. Can I get you something to drink?”

  “Water will be fine.” Carlita glanced at the man’s nametag, Jim. “We’re wondering if TG, I mean Tierney is around.”

  “She’s in the back. Would you like to see her?”

  “If she has time. She may not remember us. Tell her it’s Carlita and Mercedes Garlucci. She gave us a ghost tour a coupla months ago.”

  “Sure thing. I’ll be back in a minute to take your order.”

  The women perused the appetizer section of the menu. “Jalapeno poppers sound good,” Mercedes said.

  “Uh-uh.” Carlita patted her stomach. “I’ll be up all night.”

  “Mozzarella cheese sticks with marinara sauce?”

  “I think I can handle those.”

  The server returned a short time later with Tierney trailing behind, a wide smile on her face. “Mrs. Garlucci, Mercedes. It’s nice to see you again. Have you opened your restaurant yet?”

  Carlita smiled back. “You have a good memory, Tierney.”

  �
�It goes with the territory. Are you here to munch or pick my brain?”

  “Both,” Mercedes said. “We’ll take an order of the mozzarella sticks with an extra marinara sauce.”

  “Good choice. Tierney’s marinara sauce is the best.” The server jotted the order on his notepad and walked away.

  “Do you have a minute to join us?” Mercedes asked.

  “Sure.” Tierney dragged a chair from the empty table next to them and plopped down. “How’s business on your side of town?”

  “We haven’t opened Ravello yet. We’re close, though. That’s not the reason we’re here,” Carlita said.

  “Oh?” Tierney lifted a brow.

  “Have you ever heard the name Lawson Bates?”

  “Bully Bates?” Tierney asked.

  Carlita lifted a brow. “I take it you’re not a fan, then.”

  “Not at all. He’s a ruthless business owner.”

  “Lawson’s riverboat, the Mystic Dream, was damaged a couple of days ago. Last night, someone attacked him and he’s in the hospital in a coma,” Mercedes said.

  “We have friends who are also business associates and are suspects in both the attack and the fire,” Carlita added.

  “Someone finally went after Lawson. I’m surprised it took this long.”

  “The reason we’re here is the authorities mentioned another name…Kyle Flinch. It’s not a common name and we wondered if you knew Kyle.”

  “Are you serious?” Tierney’s mouth fell open. “Kyle is my brother. He works for me, but before that he worked for Lawson on the Mystic Dream.”

  “Then consider this a courtesy visit and your warning the authorities will soon be talking to Kyle about Lawson’s attack.”

  “They can talk away,” Tierney said. “Kyle was here all last night, until closing. After closing, we went back upstairs to our apartment. Kyle is staying with me until he can afford a place of his own.”

  “You were with him all night?” Mercedes quietly asked. “I’m sure the authorities are going to ask the same thing.”

  “Well, I mean, he was in the apartment all night.”

  “Would it be okay if we asked Kyle a couple of questions?” Carlita asked. “Maybe he can shed some light on why Lawson would name him.”

  “Sure. He’s in the back cooking. I’ll go get him.” Tierney popped out of the chair. She returned a few minutes later, carrying their plate of mozzarella sticks and accompanied by a young man who looked a lot like Tierney.

  “Kyle, this is Mrs. Garlucci and her daughter, Mercedes.” Tierney slid the plate of food onto the table. “They want to ask you a couple of quick questions about Lawson Bates.”

  The young man eyed them warily as he swiped his bangs from his eyes. “Okay.”

  “I need to head back to the kitchen.” She patted her brother’s shoulder and smiled at Carlita and Mercedes before walking away.

  “We’ll make this quick. I know you’re busy. How well do you know Lawson Bates?” Carlita asked.

  “I worked with him for about six months. I started out in the kitchen prepping. By the time I finished, I was a server. Lawson liked to ‘cross train’ his employees. One week you worked in one spot. Another week you worked somewhere else.”

  “Did you like working for Lawson?” Mercedes asked.

  “In the beginning he was all right. After a couple of months, he started acting weird.”

  “Weird like how?”

  “Like secretive. He kept hiring and firing people. As far as I know, he never gave anyone a raise. In fact, he kept threatening to cut our wages. By then, The Ghost Roast was getting busy and Tierney needed help anyway, so I quit.”

  Mercedes reached for a mozzarella stick. “I wonder why he would name you as one of the suspects who may have set fire to the Mystic Dream.”

  Kyle shrugged. “We got into an argument and I walked out. I told him one of these days he was going to tick off the wrong employee and they wouldn’t put up with his crap.”

  “And he remembered that?” Mercedes dipped her stick in the sauce and took a big bite. “I betcha there was more than a coupla employees who had it in for Lawson.”

  “That’s a fact. I was working on a petition before I left, demanding my three-month review. I even told him I was going to contact the labor board.”

  “You mentioned Lawson was acting secretive,” Carlita said. “Secretive as in how?”

  “For starters, he would never let any of us close the restaurant. He always insisted on being the last one out. One night, a couple of weeks before I quit, I decided to hide out to see if I could figure out what he was up to and why he would never let anyone close with him.”

  Kyle explained he clocked out and walked off the ship. He waited nearby for the rest of his co-workers to leave and then snuck back on board before Lawson locked up.

  “He didn’t see you sneak back on?” Carlita asked.

  “No. There’s a set of side stairs that lead up to the main deck area where Lawson’s office is located. Not many employees know about them. I found them by accident. I saw Lawson heading down to lock up, so I knew the coast was clear. I snuck into the storage closet next to Lawson’s office. There’s a gap in the door and I figured I could see what was going on if Lawson returned. I stayed in there for a long time. I almost gave up, but didn’t because Lawson left the lights on. I knew he would at least come back to shut them off.”

  “Did Lawson return to his office?”

  “Yep.” Kyle nodded. “He wasn’t alone. He was with another man.”

  “Could you hear what they were saying?”

  “I could hear them talking. Actually, it sounded like they were arguing.”

  Carlita shifted in her chair. “What were they arguing about?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  Chapter 15

  “I thought you said you heard them.” Carlita shook her head, confused.

  “Oh, I heard them all right and if I spoke Spanish, I would’ve been able to understand what they were saying. All I know is from the tone of the conversation, it wasn’t a friendly one.”

  Kyle explained Lawson and the stranger went into Lawson’s office and shut the door. He stayed inside the closet for another hour before the men emerged. “Lawson shut off all of the lights and I hung out inside the closet a little longer until I was certain the coast was clear.”

  “How did you get out?” Mercedes asked, remembering how Autumn and she used the rope ladder hanging off the side of the ship to make their getaway.

  “I couldn’t leave through the main entrance. I would’ve tripped the door alarm. Instead, I made my way down to one of the lower decks. There’s a window inside the galley that doesn’t latch. I snuck out through the window.”

  “It’s a shame you didn’t know what they were saying,” Mercedes said.

  “I do know a couple of words. Dinero for money and recoger. They said recoger a few times, so I looked it up,” Kyle said. “It means pick up.”

  “They were talking about money and pick up. Maybe the man was one of the food vendors,” Carlita theorized.

  The server interrupted when he returned to the table to ask if they needed anything else.

  “That’s about it.” Kyle abruptly stood. “I better get back to work. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help.”

  “You did help.” Carlita thanked him for his time and watched Kyle walk away before turning to her daughter. “What do you make of it?”

  “It’s hard to tell. It could be something, or it could be nothing. The fact the man showed up after hours is interesting…maybe.” Mercedes reached for another mozzarella stick. “This marinara sauce is delicious. I’m trying to figure out what makes it so tasty.”

  Carlita reached for a cheese stick, dipped it in the sauce and bit the end. “The garlic gives it a nice flavor. Maybe we should serve these as appetizers at Ravello.”

  “It would be a huge hit.” Mercedes polished off the rest of her food. “I wonder if Tierney would mind sharing the recip
e.”

  Tierney dropped by their table while they were gathering their things and Mercedes complimented her on the sauce.

  “Thanks. It was my grandmother’s recipe and a restaurant favorite. Would you like a copy?”

  “We would love the recipe.” Mercedes rattled off her cell phone number and Tierney jotted it down on her notepad. “I can’t wait to visit Ravello after you open.”

  “Now that you have our number, we should keep in touch.” Carlita said.

  “It’s always nice to have someone else in the restaurant business to bounce ideas off,” Tierney said.

  “I agree.” Carlita smiled. “Thanks again for bringing Kyle out to talk to us.”

  Tierney walked them to the door. “I hope the authorities are able to figure out who attacked Lawson.”

  Mercedes thanked Tierney again. She stepped onto the sidewalk and held the door for her mother. “I wonder if one of Lawson’s employees attacked him. I wish we could track some of them down.”

  “I got a few thoughts on that.” Carlita climbed into the car. “The fact Lawson’s property was damaged while no one was around, his attack was at night and Kyle confirmed Lawson was doing business dealings after hours are all clues. We gotta figure out how they all tie in together.”

  “Motive and opportunity,” Mercedes said. “Unfortunately, there seems to be ample motive and opportunity for Pete and Mark Fox.”

  “Then there’s Emmett Pridgen,” Carlita pointed out.

  When they got back to the house, Carlita went straight to the computer, anxious to pore over the photos Mercedes and Autumn had taken inside Lawson’s office. She not only wanted to look for clues, but also see how Lawson ran his restaurant operations.

  She scrutinized the menu planner first, before examining the kitchen inventory. The last thing she studied was the Mystic Dream’s profit and loss statement. She scanned the list and paused when she reached the labor column.

  No wonder Kyle and the other employees threatened to file a petition. Lawson’s labor costs were low, and although Carlita wasn’t in the restaurant business quite yet, she remembered reading the rule of thumb for restaurant wages was twenty to thirty percent of gross revenue, except for certain workers.