Merry Masquerade in Savannah: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Cozy Mysteries Series Book 8)

by Hope Callaghan

  Chapter 11

  “The storm is going to hit Savannah?” Carlita eased onto the edge of the bed, staring at the angry red and yellow glob on the television screen.

  “If this storm’s track continues, Tybee Island will take a direct hit with a category one hurricane.” Mercedes glanced out the window. “I think we’re already seeing some of the edges. The forecaster called them the outer bands.”

  As if on cue, the bedroom window creaked as a gust of wind pounded the windowpane.

  Carlita’s stomach churned. “Maybe we should head home before it’s too late and we’re trapped here.”

  “Check out the ticker at the bottom of the screen. It looks like the local authorities have already issued a mandatory curfew starting at six o’clock. They’re telling everyone to finish their last minute preparations, fill their gas tanks and head home.”

  Carlita glanced at her watch. It was still early and they had plenty of time to make it to Walton Square. “Let’s track down Tori. Maybe she has better information on the storm or can at least tell us what to expect.”

  Mercedes hopped off the bed. “I love this place. I hope we can stay. Besides, even if it hits, it’s only going to be a category one.”

  “Only? Only a category one hurricane? Mercedes, we’ve never been through a hurricane.”

  “How bad can it be?” Mercedes shut the television off and followed her mother into the hall.

  The hall lights flickered and Carlita glanced at them nervously. “What if the power goes out?”

  “You worry too much.”

  When Mercedes and Carlita reached the lower hall, they circled through the formal dining room, the butler’s pantry and into the kitchen. “I think we made a wrong turn.”

  One of the kitchen staff looked up. “Mrs. Garlucci?”

  Carlita nodded. “Yes. I’m Carlita Garlucci and this is my daughter, Mercedes.”

  “I hear you’re stayin’ with us for a couple days.”

  “That was our plan, but it appears there’s a storm off the coast and coming our way. We’re thinking of driving home before it hits.”

  “Ah.” The woman waved a spoon in the air. “Tis only a cat one if it hits. We’ll be gettin’ a little rain, a little wind, and perhaps a tornado or two. Montgomery Hall is a sturdy fortress, to be sure,” the woman replied, a hint of an Irish lilt in her voice. “I’ve been livin’ in this area for many a year. This is only a wee bit of a storm. Nothin’ too much to worry about.”

  “See?” Mercedes elbowed her mother. “We have nothing to worry about.” She turned to the woman. “We were on our way to the drawing room for tea and cookies, but took a wrong turn.”

  “I’ll take ya there.” The stout gray-haired woman wiped her hands on the front of her apron and limped around the side of the counter. “I’m Mrs. O’Brien, but you can call me Mary. There’s a fresh batch of shortbread cookies, and also a few chocolate chip cookies for you ta snack on.”

  Carlita pointed at Mary’s leg. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes ma’am. Just a bum knee,” Mary said. “That and I’m gettin’ old I suppose.”

  The woman continued talking as they slowly made their way out of the kitchen, through a side door and down the long hall. “I suppose Lucien or Byron showed ya to yer rooms.”

  “Yes, and they’re wonderful,” Mercedes gushed. “I have a claw foot tub in my bathroom.”

  “Mrs. Montgomery has a lovely home, to be sure.”

  “I take it you enjoy working at Montgomery Hall,” Carlita said.

  “Oh, I do. Tis a wonderful place and Mrs. Montgomery is very generous. We all have lovely rooms and only have to share a bath with one other. The bath is in between the bedrooms.”

  “Jack and Jill,” Mercedes said.

  “Yes, that’s what we have. We get plenty of time off. There’s a big garden out back. It’s my favorite part of the property, but I also like to visit the farmer’s market on my mornings off and purchase what I think we might need for the week.”

  “You’re in charge of the kitchen?” Carlita asked.

  “Yes, I am. That and housekeeping. Most of us here at Montgomery Hall wear more than one hat. I’ve got a couple of part-time girls who pitch in after school, but most of the cooking is done by me. Although it’s not much work anymore since Mrs. Montgomery stopped entertaining a few years ago. I was surprised when she decided to hold the Merry Masquerade.” Mary tsk-tsked. “Such a lovely party, too, except for the unfortunate death of Ava Torrez.”

  “You knew Ava?” Mercedes asked.

  “Yes. Montgomery Hall is a small estate. We’re a tight knit motley crew,” Mary said. “One big happy family until.” She abruptly stopped talking and clamped her mouth shut.

  “Until…” Carlita prompted.

  “I don’t like to talk ill of the dead, but Ava, she was a troublemaker. She made poor Iris’ life miserable. Couldn’t keep her hands to herself, chasing after my nephew, Patrick.”

  Carlita’s eyes lit. They’d hit the jackpot. Mrs. O’Brien was Patrick’s aunt.

  Mary chattered on. “I knew she was gonna be trouble from the day she came in for an interview, actin’ all high an’ mighty. The sad thing was I was willin’ ta overlook her attitude, but she wasn’t much good at workin’ either.”

  “She didn’t like to work?” Mercedes asked.

  “You could say that, and she was as messy as they come. Why, the other day when I handed her a feather duster and asked her to dust the library and the drawing room, she looked at it as if she’d never seen one before.”

  “So you were in charge of Ava?” Carlita asked.

  “I was. I put her wherever she was needed, but like I said, she wasn’t much good at cleaning.” Mary sighed heavily. “She and Iris took a dislikin’ to each other from the moment they met. I tried to keep the two women apart, but Ava seemed dead set on antagonizing poor Iris.”

  They reached the drawing room door and Mary O’Brien paused. “The investigators questioned all of us last night. We were up until the wee hours of the mornin’ trying to not only clean up after the party but also come to terms with Ava’s death.”

  “It’s unfortunate it occurred during the party,” Carlita said.

  Mary glanced down the hall and then lowered her voice. “I suppose there’s a chance someone came in and took Ava out, but I think it twas an inside job. Someone who works here at Montgomery Hall did her in, what with the weapon of choice bein’ one of Mr. Montgomery’s prized weapons.”

  Byron passed the other end of the hall and glanced in their direction. When he started towards them, Mary took a step back. “I best be gettin’ back to my dinner preparations. I hope you’re hungry.”

  Mercedes rubbed her hands together. “What are we having?”

  “Shepherd’s pie. It’s a slight variation of the recipe from back home.”

  Carlita had never tasted shepherd’s pie. “What’s in it?”

  Mary rattled off the ingredients as Byron approached. “Ground lamb, mixed with corn, English peas, some spices, carrots and onion. For the topping I use russet potatoes mixed with sour cream and cream cheese and broil it in the oven.”

  Byron waited until Mary finished speaking. “Mary will only make her famous shepherd’s pie when we have company. It’s delicious.”

  “We can’t wait to try it,” Carlita said.

  Mary’s cheeks turned a tinge of pink. “You’re all bein’ way too kind. I best be runnin’ along.” She limped down the hall and Byron turned to the women. “I hope she finishes making it before the storm blows in.”

  “I hope the storm misses us completely,” Carlita said. “We’ve never been through a hurricane before.”

  “This one is on the lower end of the scale, but it will still knock down a few limbs, and we’ll have a lot of wind and rain.”

  Byron placed both hands behind his back. “Mrs. Montgomery will be along shortly.” He led them into the drawing room and to the silver tray sitting on the side bar. “If
the tea is too cold, ring the bell next to the door and Mrs. O’Brien will bring a hot pot.”

  Carlita thanked Byron for the information and he exited the drawing room.

  Mercedes was already sampling a shortbread cookie. A small piece broke off and she caught it with her hand. “Oh my gosh. These are delicious. Try one.”

  She handed her mother a cookie and Carlita bit the edge. The buttery cookie melted in her mouth. “These are delicious,” she mumbled. “I can see the pounds packing on already.”

  Tori breezed into the room. “I’m sorry for the delay. Pirate Pete just left. He would have stopped by to say hello, but he’s anxious to get off the island before the authorities close the bridge.”

  “Already?” Carlita cast a worried glance out the window. Their chances of getting off the island before the storm hit were growing slimmer by the minute.

  “It’s the wind. For safety reasons, they close the bridge when the wind gusts reach a certain level.” Tori noted the look of concern on Carlita’s face. “Don’t worry. From what we know, the storm is moving fast. You’re safer here than in your own home.” She pointed to Mary’s cookies. “Mary makes the best cookies.”

  “Yes, she does.” Mercedes reached for another cookie, chocolate chip this time. “She said we’re having shepherd’s pie for dinner.”

  “And she makes a fabulous shepherd’s pie,” Tori nodded. “Do have a seat. Did you find your rooms acceptable?”

  “Acceptable?” Mercedes rolled her eyes. “I’m ready to move in. They’re awesome.”

  Tori smiled. “I’m glad to hear you like them. After you finish, I’ll take you on a tour of Montgomery Hall. We can go over what I know about Ava’s death and I’ll fill you in on a few small details.”

  “Perfect.” Carlita nodded. “Mary has already given us some information since Ava worked for her. She also mentioned the same thing that you did, that Patrick, your pool and maintenance man may have been the cause of some of the animosity between Ava and Iris.”

  While they sipped tea and sampled cookies, Tori told them the investigators stayed until the early hours of the morning conducting a thorough search of the main house and the pool house, questioning each of the employees and even EC Security Services’ employees.

  “It appears Ava had been lying inside the pool house for at least an hour before her body was found by one of EC Security Services’ employees. Naturally, the young man was shaken up after finding her body.”

  The women finished their tea and cookies, and Iris silently appeared to remove the dishes.

  “Shall we begin our tour?” Tori asked.

  Carlita nodded and pushed herself out of her chair. She was halfway to the door when a rumble of thunder shook the house. The lights flickered and then the power went out.

  Chapter 12

  It took a couple of minutes for Carlita’s eyes to adjust to the lack of light.

  “No need to worry,” Tori said. “I’m sure Lucien and Byron are on their way to fire up the generators.” She no more than got the words out of her mouth and the lights flickered again, before slowly coming back on, but not nearly as bright.

  “We’ll be able to run power to the main part of the house, the refrigerators, the heating and cooling units, and other necessities. Unfortunately, the upstairs bedrooms won’t have power, but we have plenty of flashlights and emergency candles on hand.”

  Mercedes pressed the palms of her hands together. “I’ve been meaning to ask you if Montgomery Hall is haunted, you know with ghosts.”

  “Of course it is.” Tori smiled. “No old Savannah manor would be complete without a ghost or two. I’ve never seen one, but have felt a presence on numerous occasions, especially in my conservatory and in William’s cigar room across the hall.”

  She pointed to the drawing room door. “We’ll begin the tour in my office where we can perhaps assemble a list of suspects.”

  Tori led them out of the room and down the hall. They entered another smaller side door. It opened to a wing of the house Carlita had never seen before.

  “The original plan was for this room to be our conservatory.” Tori walked down the hall and stopped in front of a set of double doors. “But I fell in love with the light, airy interior and claimed it as my office.”

  She pulled a skeleton key from her pocket and stuck it in the lock. “As a rule, I don’t keep my office locked, but with the recent string of incidents I started locking it.” The door creaked as Tori pushed it open. She flipped the light switch before motioning them inside.

  The arched entrance opened to a two-story wall of windows that covered three sides of the room. In the center of the Saltillo floor was a Mediterranean medallion inlay.

  A tiffany lamp on the corner of the mahogany L-shaped desk beckoned them into the room.

  “This room is gorgeous.” Mercedes stepped over to the window. “If it were me, I would hang a hammock by this window and sleep under the stars at night.”

  “It is my favorite room as well,” Tori said. “When William was alive, we would spend our evenings in this wing of the house…him in his cigar room, some nights with his business partners, while I would drag my telescope out for an evening of star gazing.”

  Her heels clicked sharply on the tile floor as she crossed the room and made her way behind the desk. “Please, have a seat.”

  Carlita sank into a chair facing the desk. The smell of old leather filled the air. Mercedes plopped down in the chair next to her mother and patted the armrest. “I bet these set you back a pretty penny.”

  “Mercedes,” Carlita chided.

  “It’s all right. They did cost a pretty penny and they were worth every cent.” Tori opened a desk drawer, pulled out a notepad and set it on top. “We can start with a list of suspects and what we know.”

  She picked up a pen. “I hate to do this, but I’m afraid we must put Iris at the top of the list of suspects. We can also add Jenny, one of my part-timers. Mrs. O’Brien said Jenny and Ava exchanged words shortly before the party started.”

  Carlita interrupted. “Does Jenny live here, as well?”

  “Not full-time.” Tori shook her head. “Jenny has been here for a couple of days. She arrived the day before yesterday to help with the party preparations.”

  Tori went on to explain that although the authorities had only conducted a preliminary examination of Ava’s body, they believed she had been dead for at least an hour before her body was found. “The employees’ living quarters are on the second floor and in the back, with a private entrance accessed via the rear courtyard. It’s the only way in and out for them. Once the storm lets up, I’ll take you there and show you around.”

  Carlita shifted in her chair. “You said Ava was hired on a recommendation. I’m sure you do thorough background checks on all of your employees before hiring them. Nothing stood out that may have been a red flag?”

  “Well.” Tori frowned. “I dare say I’ve been remiss in my background checks and some things may have slid by.”

  “You don’t check out your employees before hiring them?” Mercedes asked.

  “I do and I don’t. If they come highly recommended by a friend, then I normally don’t bother. If it’s someone answering an ad and not a personal referral, then I run a thorough background check.”

  “There’s gotta be motive and opportunity.” Carlita tapped her finger on the arm of the chair. “All of your employees would have opportunity to take Ava out, with access to the drawing room and the weapons. The motive will prove to be a little trickier. Obviously, Iris had motive…Patrick. Jenny may or may not have had motive.”

  “Oh, she had motive,” Tori said. “Mrs. O’Brien said she overheard part of the argument between Ava and Jenny. Ava threatened to report Jenny for using her cell phone during working hours, which is a big no-no. I pay my employees to work, not to text their friends.”

  “We’re up to two with motive and opportunity,” Carlita said. “Is there anyone else you can think of who might
be considered a suspect?”

  Tori fidgeted in her chair. “There is one more.”

  “And…” Mercedes prompted.

  “It’s Lucien. The police questioned him extensively.”

  Carlita shook her head. “Why Lucien? Did Ava tick him off too?”

  “No, but Lucien has a criminal record.” Tori slid out of the chair and stared out the window. “He was in jail years ago on an attempted murder charge.”

  “Well, that doesn’t look good,” Carlita admitted. “Where’s the motive? Surely, he wasn’t after Patrick, too.”

  “No, but he didn’t care for Ava.” Tori crossed her arms. “My employees…and I hate to refer to them as employees, because they’re more like family. Ava managed to – how do you say? Upset the applecart. She was a troublemaker and she even reported Lucien, telling me she thought he was a stalker and was watching her everywhere she went.”

  “Do you think it’s true?” Mercedes asked.

  “Yes. As I said, we’re like family. Lucien and Iris are close, like brother and sister. Lucien and Duke, our guard dog, are protective of all of the women here at Montgomery Hall. Lucien didn’t trust Ava, so he was keeping an eye on her.”

  Tori waved her hands. “I wish I’d only known how bad it was and had let Ava go before the situation escalated into her death. I’ve assured all of my staff that I’m backing them one hundred percent, but the truth of the matter is, someone killed Ava. I believe the killer was someone who had access to the drawing room and was familiar with the layout of this place. The sooner the authorities can figure out who murdered Ava, the sooner life at Montgomery Hall can return to normal.”

  The howling wind began to die down and Mercedes cast a hopeful glance out the window. “Maybe the storm is almost over.”

  “Not yet, I’m afraid. We may be on the backside of it now.” A bolt of lightning flashed from the sky and struck an oak tree in the backyard.

  Crack. The limb peeled off and fell to the ground with a loud thud. “We better step away from the windows,” Tori said. “Let’s continue on to the cigar room.”