“You’re not a distraction, attraction or whatever.” Mercedes’ rant made Sam smile even wider, and Carlita suspected he was enjoying the exchange immensely.
“I give up. Leave your door wide open. Run around in your underwear for all I care.” She uttered something unintelligible under her breath and stomped inside their apartment, slamming the door behind her.
“She sure does like to slam doors,” Sam commented. “Maybe that’s why I leave my door open. I’m waiting for her to ask me if she can slam it.”
Carlita tilted her head. “You would like that.”
For once, Sam was at a loss for words.
“Ah. I see it in your eyes. You do like Mercedes.” Carlita leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. “I think she likes you, too. She just has a funny way of showing it.”
She winked at her tenant and then sauntered back to her own apartment.
Sam was still standing in his doorway when she stepped inside.
“Mercedes?”
“I’m in here.”
Carlita wandered into the kitchen and found her daughter chowing down on a tub of chunky chocolate peanut butter ice cream. “Sam likes you. Really, he does.”
“He has a funny way of showing it.” Mercedes dropped the dirty spoon in the sink before placing the leftover ice cream back in the freezer. “I feel better already. It’s time to get down to business.”
Carlita grabbed the employee file folders and flipped through the applications. “I found Duane Sorensen’s application and telephone number.”
“I’ll make the call.” Mercedes reached for her phone.
Carlita rattled off the cell phone number while her daughter dialed.
What happened next, made them realize they might be onto something with the purple backpack-toting stranger and his companion.
Chapter 16
I’m sorry, but the number you have reached has been disconnected or is no longer in service.
Mercedes ended the call. “Well…that answers that. It appears Sorensen’s cell phone has been disconnected.”
“I say we try the other employee numbers while we’re at it,” Carlita said. “Just because Sorensen lived in New York doesn’t mean he was the one in the alley, carrying a purple backpack and dressed in one of the restaurant’s work uniforms.”
“There’s something else.” She stared at her daughter thoughtfully. “Elvira mentioned the couple she saw waiting for the bus stop were both wearing casual clothing - not work uniforms.”
“But they could’ve easily changed,” Mercedes pointed out. “The backpack could’ve had a change of clothes.”
“You’re right.” Carlita rubbed her hands together. “Let’s finish going through the list.”
All of the other numbers were legit except for one, which had also been disconnected.
“We’ll add Rudy Swanson to the list of possible purple backpack employees, since his number has been disconnected, too.” Carlita jotted his name on a sheet of paper. “Dominic might be able to help since he was in charge of the staff yesterday. He may know if an employee was acting suspiciously, and possibly even remember seeing the backpack.”
“Good idea,” Mercedes said. “We should take a closer look at my video of the courtyard yesterday, right after Megan collapsed.” She sorted through the emails until she found the one with the video.
Carlita slipped her reading glasses on as Mercedes pressed the play button.
“You did a good job of getting everyone and everything,” Carlita whispered.
“Thanks. I tried to pan slowly to get clear shots.”
The beginning moments were of the courtyard entrance and Ricco. There were several guests milling about, all eyes focused off camera and Carlita guessed in the direction of poor Megan.
The video ended abruptly.
“Let’s watch it again,” Carlita said. “I didn’t see anything.”
Mercedes played the brief video a second time, starting with a view of the courtyard gate and Ricco, panning over the guests and ending near the courtyard wall where two of the servers huddled off to the side.
“Stop right there. Can we zoom in on the servers?”
“Yep.” Mercedes tapped the mouse to enlarge the picture. “I don’t recognize the servers, but I’ve only met them once, right after you and Dominic hired them.”
“They look kinda familiar.” Carlita forced herself to focus. One of the servers was balancing a tray of champagne flutes. The other was holding a tray of hors d’ oeuvres. “Let’s say…hypothetically speaking, one of the kitchen workers intentionally slipped something into one of the pre-dinner goodies. They then handed it off to their accomplice…a server, who then delivered it to the intended victim.”
“But why Megan Burelli?”
“It wasn’t supposed to be Megan Burelli. Go back to the footage of her.”
Mercedes rewound to the part where Megan sat face down at the table, surrounded by her friend, Sam Ivey and Carlita.
“There.” Carlita tapped the screen. “Megan is blonde, like Brittney. They look a lot alike. Even Ricco commented that at one point he thought Vinnie was talking to Brittney. It would be fairly easy to confuse the two.”
“I dunno.” Mercedes frowned. “If this was a hit, wouldn’t you want to make sure you took out the right person the first time?”
“They may have gotten confused; thinking the person Vinnie was with was his wife, Vito’s daughter, the target. Oh my gosh.” Carlita’s mouth dropped open. “If my hunch is correct, they were both targets - Brittney and Vinnie. A double hit at the same time. I need to get to Vinnie.”
Carlita’s finger trembled as she dialed her son’s cell phone. Vinnie picked up on the first ring. “Hey, Ma.”
“Hey, Son. I’m sorry to bother you. I have a quick question.”
“You’re not bothering me. I’m hanging out, waiting for Brit to finish her shoe shopping. What’s up?”
“Yesterday, during the wedding while you were out in the courtyard. You remember talking to the woman, Megan Burelli, briefly before Brittney came up and pulled you away.”
“Do I ever,” Vinnie groaned. “She thought the chick was flirting with me. I would never cheat on my Brit.”
“I know, Son. I believe you. I’m not sure if I asked you this already, but while you were standing there, did the servers come around and ask you if you wanted an appetizer or a drink?”
“Yeah. They came around a bunch of times, offering food and champagne, especially the one with the tray of food. I figured she knew I was the owner’s son and was trying to make a good impression.”
“Did you eat the food?”
“No.”
“I know this is an odd question, but do you remember if Megan Burelli ate the food?”
“Yeah. In fact, she told the server she would take my share of the chicken parmesan sticks. She ate them and seemed fine.”
“But she ate them, and you didn’t.”
“Yep.”
“That’s helpful. I have another question. Do you think Megan Burelli resembles Brittney…from a distance or at a glance?”
There was a long pause. “I guess so. Don’t tell Brit I said that, but yeah, I could see a resemblance.” Vinnie cleared his throat. “You think someone was working on the inside, trying to poison Brit or me?”
“That’s exactly what I think. I have other information, which leads me to believe that may have been the case. Vinnie, no one else got sick or poisoned by the food, just Megan, who you admitted resembles Brittney.”
“You think Vito’s inside info was correct. Esposito’s people followed us to Savannah and infiltrated your work staff. They poisoned some of the food, and then tried to serve it to Brit and me? I don’t think Louie’s guys are that smart.”
“They may be smarter than you think. I barely know the restaurant employees. On top of that, Vito sent his men to protect you. He must’ve believed there was a credible threat. It would almost have to be an inside job.”
There was a muffled noise on the other end. “I hear you, Ma. Brit’s done shopping. We can talk about this later.”
“Be careful,” Carlita warned. “You both may still be in danger.”
“Right.” Vinnie thanked his mother for her concern, and hung up the phone, promising they would be by later for dinner.
While Carlita talked, Mercedes printed off a screenshot of the two servers in the courtyard.
“Perfect.” Carlita plucked the copy from the printer. “It’s a little grainy, but I think you can make out enough of their features to identify them. Now all I have to do is show this to Pete to see if we have a match.”
By the time they finished reviewing the employee records, it was time to head down to the trolley to meet Reese. “We better hurry or we’re gonna be late.”
Mercedes joined her mother at the door. “Do you have the print off of the two servers in the courtyard?”
“Right here.” Carlita patted her purse. “We better get a move on or we’re gonna miss the Big Peach.”
Mercedes pulled the apartment door shut. “Good.”
“Huh?”
“Sam finally shut his door.” Mercedes nodded toward the end unit. “Maybe my calling him out did the trick, and he’ll stop spying on us.”
“Sam is not spying on us.” Carlita rolled her eyes. “Or maybe he’s spying on you. He’s a real catch.”
“Yuck,” Mercedes snorted. “Then I hope someone else does the catching.”
The women reached the trolley stop, moments before the Big Peach rounded the corner.
Reese tooted the horn and rolled to a stop. “Whew. What a crazy day. The Peach’s lights went on the fritz again. I swear they’re keeping tune to my CD player. Check this out.”
She adjusted the volume, and Jingle Bells began to play, the trolley’s interior lights keeping tune with the song. “See?”
“Christmas music in the middle of summer? Maybe there’s a short.” Carlita settled into her usual seat, directly behind Reese.
Mercedes took the seat opposite her mother. “I think it’s cool. You should leave it that way.”
“The riders seem to like it.” Reese waited while more passengers hurried across the street, and boarded the trolley. They made their way to the back, leaving Carlita and Mercedes alone with Reese.
“I have some good news, and interesting developments,” Carlita said.
“Pertaining to our investigation?” Reese asked.
“Yes. We might be onto something.”
“I have some news too. Unfortunately, it’s not good.”
Chapter 17
“You were able to get your hands on the mysterious handbag, and it was empty,” Carlita guessed.
“No. I’m good, but not that good,” Reese said. “There’s no video footage of the couple in question. I checked on my break.”
“Crud. So that shoots down one of my ideas to link the mysterious trolley riders to possible restaurant workers.”
“We need to go over our plan to convince Buzz to let us have a lookie inside the mysterious handbag,” Reese said. “He may ask you to describe it. Buzz is kinda funny about the lost and found stuff.”
Mercedes wrinkled her nose. “I see a big problem with that…we don’t know anything about the handbag.”
“You’re wrong. Jim described it to me. It’s small, gray and it has girlie stuff inside.”
“What kind of girlie stuff?” Carlita asked.
“Well…that’s where it gets a little tricky. When I asked Jim to elaborate on the contents, the only thing he could tell me is that it was small and gray and he thinks there was a bottle of hand sanitizer.”
“Hand sanitizer,” Mercedes repeated. “I think I can handle this.”
“Better you than me,” Carlita muttered.
“We’re here.”
Carlita and Mercedes waited near the front entrance while Reese drove the trolley around back to the parking garage. She joined them a short time later. “You ready for this?”
Mercedes sucked in a breath and nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
They followed Reese through the reception area and down a narrow hall, stopping in front of an open door. “Hey, Buzz.”
“Reese. C’mon in,” a gruff voice echoed out.
Carlita followed Reese into the office, and Mercedes brought up the rear.
“We’re here to see if Mercedes can identify her missing handbag,” Reese said.
“Yep.” Buzz shoved his chair back and stood. “Before we do that, can you describe the handbag? We got a couple in the lost and found.”
Mercedes gave her mother a quick glance. “Yes. It’s small and gray. It’s a spare I don’t use often, that’s probably why I accidentally left it on the trolley.”
“I got two gray handbags. Can you describe it a little better?”
“No. I mean, it’s a handbag, and it’s gray.”
Buzz eyed them suspiciously before opening the closet door. He pulled out two handbags and held them up.
Mercedes stared at them, unsure of which one to pick.
“It’s that one.” Reese lunged forward and attempted to snatch the bag he was holding in his left hand, but Buzz held tight, refusing to let go. “Hold your horses. Can you tell me what was inside?”
“I always carry lip balm and hand sanitizer.”
“Anything else?” Buzz dangled the handbag in front of them.
“No.” Mercedes frowned. “Like I said, I rarely use the handbag.”
“Is this yours…or isn’t it?” Buzz’s eyes narrowed.
“It kind of looks like mine.”
“Huh.” Buzz reluctantly handed the bag to Mercedes.
She unzipped the top, stuck her hand inside and pulled out a container of dental floss. Next, she reached in and pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer.
Carlita’s heart pounded loudly as Mercedes stuck her hand inside the bag a third time. She pulled out a pink stapler. “This…doesn’t look familiar.”
“So you’re saying the bag isn’t yours?” Buzz asked.
“I…” Mercedes reached in the bag again and felt around. “It’s empty.” She placed the items back inside and handed it to Buzz. “Nope. The bag isn’t mine. It looks a lot like one that I have, but this isn’t it.”
“No kidding.” Buzz took the bag, giving Mercedes an odd look.
“Mercedes has a lot of handbags,” Carlita laughed. “Even I can’t keep track of them.”
Reese thanked her boss for showing them the handbag, and then quickly ushered her friends out of his office.
Mercedes waited until they were out of the building to speak. “I don’t think your boss believed me.”
“Can you blame him? You weren’t even close on guessing the contents, except for the hand sanitizer,” Carlita said.
“Yeah, but who carries dental floss, and a stapler around in their purse? No one. That’s who.”
“She has a point,” Reese said. “At least he let her look inside.”
Carlita motioned toward the trolley office. “Reese, what if you picked the wrong handbag? What if it was the other one?”
“No, I picked the right one. I forgot one minor detail Jim gave me. He said the handbag had a long strap. The other gray one had a short strap.”
The trio made their way to the end of the street, circling back around the side, and to the front.
“It looks like we’ll have to walk home.”
“I have it covered. Our ride is parked over there, in the hotel parking garage.” Reese pointed to a high rise-parking garage. “I gave the manager a complimentary trolley pass. In exchange, I get free parking.”
“That’s a nice perk,” Carlita said.
The women walked toward the parking garage. “I don’t do swaps with too many people. Frank was down on his luck at the time, pounding the pavement and looking for a job. When I found out, I gave him free rides around town during his job search.”
“How thoughtful of you, Rees
e.” Despite Reese’s gift for gab, at times nearly nonstop, she had a heart of gold and was always willing to help a friend or even a stranger in need.
Carlita was indeed lucky to call Reese her friend. “Thank you for helping us. I’m sorry our fact finding mission was a bust.”
There was a moment of silence, and Carlita could see Reese’s wheels spinning. “At least you still have the video footage of the courtyard right after Megan’s collapse. If I were you…not saying I am, but if I were you, I would have Pirate Pete take a look at it.”
“We were thinking the same thing,” Mercedes said. “He told Ma he thinks he would be able to identify the people he ran into in our alley.”
“It’s getting late. The kids are coming over for dinner. It will have to wait until tomorrow.”
“Over here.” Reese veered off the sidewalk and headed for the parking garage’s side service door.
Flickering yellow bulbs hung from the concrete ceiling, casting creepy shadows inside the parking garage.
Mercedes shivered. “I don’t think I would want to be wandering around in here by myself, especially after dark.”
“This is the valet parking area, for employees only. It doesn’t seem to bother Frank.”
“It would make the perfect spot for a murder mystery,” Carlita said.
“You’re right, almost a little too perfect of a spot.”
“Our ride is over there.” The women crossed to the other side of the parking garage, to a four-wheel drive jeep parked in the corner.
Reese unlocked the doors and motioned for them to get in.
“I never would’ve pegged you for a four-wheel drive person,” Carlita said.
Reese tossed her purse in the back seat and climbed in. “What did you think I would drive?”
“A trolley. Seriously,” Carlita said. “I dunno. Maybe a four-door luxury sedan, something with plenty of room.”
“I wouldn’t be caught dead in a tin tank. Those are for mature adults or senior citizens.”
“Then you’ll never want to ride around in our car.” Mercedes crawled into the back seat. “We have a Lincoln town car.”
Matrimony & Mayhem: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 11) Page 10