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

by Hope Callaghan

  Lucien emerged from his room. “I thought I heard someone.”

  “We were searching Ava’s room again,” Tori explained. “The investigators will be here shortly and we wanted to make sure…”

  “Make sure you didn’t miss anything the first time you searched it?” Lucien guessed.

  Tori wagged her finger at Lucien in a failed attempt to appear indignant. “Far be it from me to tamper with a police investigation.”

  “Of course.” The smile never left Lucien’s face as he winked at his employer and she smiled back.

  The women continued to make their way down the steps and onto the back lawn. Mercedes was the first to speak. “What did you find in the bathroom Ma?”

  “Women’s toiletries. Perfume, deodorant, makeup. Patrick is entertaining a female after hours.” Carlita turned to Tori. “What did you find?”

  “I found a pair of pink panties, ones which would most definitely fit Ava Torrez.”

  “What about Iris?”

  Tori sniffed. “Iris wouldn’t shack up with a man, no matter how enamored she was with him.”

  “Or Jenny?” Carlita suggested.

  “I suppose it’s possible.”

  “I managed to snap a picture of the inside of the medicine cabinet.” Carlita glanced over Tori’s shoulder. “It will have to wait. It appears you have company.” She held out an arm to stop Tori. “You should take them to search Patrick’s room first.”

  “I agree.”

  Detective Wilson strode across the lawn. “Mrs. Montgomery.” He extended a hand. “Thank you for agreeing to meet us on such short notice.”

  “By design, I’m sure,” Tori said. “I trust you brought your search warrant?”

  “I did.” Detective Wilson nodded.

  Zachary joined the group and focused his attention on Mercedes. “Hello Mercedes.”

  “Hi Zachary. Detective Jackson. Mrs. Montgomery graciously offered to let us stay with her while we have some minor repairs done to our apartment.”

  “Isn’t one of your apartment units vacant?” Zachary asked.

  “It is, but we’re trying to get a new tenant in there and didn’t want to mess it up,” Carlita said.

  “I see.”

  Carlita could tell the young detective wasn’t buying it, but then he didn’t have much of a choice. They weren’t breaking the law…for once.

  “If you’ll excuse us, we’d like to have a private word with Mrs. Montgomery,” Detective Wilson said.

  “Of course.” Carlita grasped her daughter’s arm and led her to the side of the pool house. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket, switched it on and studied the picture she’d taken. “These are definitely female toiletries, but whose?”

  Carlita handed the phone to her daughter. She thought of Ava’s spotless efficiency and Mrs. O’Brien’s claim that Ava was messy. It was possible Ava was ready to fly the coop, but what if she wasn’t? What if she was shacking up with her co-worker, Patrick?

  She thought about the business card Weston had given to Ava, the one she stuck inside her bra, not long before her body was found.

  Mercedes handed the phone back to her mother. “What do you think?”

  “That Patrick killed Ava. Think about it. Patrick has access to the entire estate. Follow me here. What if Patrick was stealing the pieces from the drawing room and selling them to pawnshops? Ava, who was messing around with Patrick, somehow found out, perhaps found one of the stolen pieces inside his room, and threatened to turn him in.”

  “We were in kind of a hurry after hearing someone in the outer hall,” Mercedes said. “Maybe we missed something when we searched Patrick’s room.”

  Carlita and Mercedes watched as Tori led the detectives to the employee entrance. They were upstairs for what seemed like forever before the trio emerged, grim expressions on their faces.

  “Well?” Carlita and Mercedes hurried over. “Did you find anything?”

  “We found women’s undergarments and some women’s toiletries in Patrick O’Brien’s room,” Detective Wilson said. “We also found an antique gun.”

  “It was one of William’s guns,” Tori said. “It appears Patrick was getting ready to make another trip to the pawnshop.”

  The authorities didn’t have to wait long for Patrick to return to Montgomery Hall where he was promptly arrested for possessing stolen items. Despite the overwhelming evidence, he insisted he was innocent and someone was framing him.

  When Tori mentioned the empty wine cups Elvira found in the trash, the ones that were being sent to the crime lab for fingerprints, Patrick became incensed, insisting he was innocent.

  Iris, who was with Patrick when the detectives began to question him, was understandably horrified. Patrick’s aunt, Mrs. O’Brien, collapsed as one of the officers read Patrick his rights, handcuffed him and loaded him into the back of the squad car.

  Mrs. O’Brien insisted on going to the police station, so Chad Olsen offered to drive her there.

  Iris refused to take the evening off, even though Tori tried to get her to go to her room to rest, insisting that she needed to work to keep her mind off all that had happened.

  Tori managed to reach Jenny, who returned to Montgomery Hall and promised to stay indefinitely, depending on what Mrs. O’Brien decided to do.

  Shortly before the dinner hour, Tori called all of the employees to the dining room where she briefly explained what had happened.

  Dinner was a somber affair, and Carlita couldn’t help but notice how Mrs. O’Brien’s larger-than-life personality was sorely missed.

  Carlita and Mercedes turned in early and despite the beautiful surroundings and attentive wait staff attending to their every need, they were ready to go home.

  ***

  Mercedes knocked on her mother’s bedroom door early the next morning. Carlita, who had difficulty sleeping, was already up and dressed.

  “You look like I feel.” Mercedes glanced behind her. “We should try to keep quiet. I heard a rattling noise in the hall late last night. Another guest must’ve come in after we went to bed.”

  “I never heard a thing. I just finished packing and am out of coffee. Let’s run down and grab a cup. I don’t want to bother Mrs. O’Brien.”

  The women crept down the stairs to the kitchen where the overhead stove light was burning, but the room was eerily quiet.

  “I’m sure there’s some coffee around here somewhere.” Mercedes began searching the kitchen counter and she jumped when a voice echoed in her ear.

  “Can I help you find something?”

  The women turned to find Tori standing in the doorway.

  “We were looking for coffee and didn’t want to bother Mrs. O’Brien,” Carlita said.

  Tori nodded and shuffled into the kitchen. “It’s in the pantry to your right.”

  “Thanks.” Carlita studied her friend’s face. “You look like you could use a cup, too.”

  “Last night was a rough one. Mrs. O’Brien is inconsolable. Patrick is like a son to her. I was finally able to convince her to take a sleeping pill and take today off. It was late before we turned in.”

  The coffee finished brewing and Carlita handed Tori the first cup. “Poor Mrs. O’Brien.”

  “She’s adamant that Patrick had nothing to do with Ava’s death.” Tori smoothed her hair. “I didn’t sleep well. I had a dream about William. He was trying to show me something he was holding, but before I could see what it was he disappeared.”

  Mercedes hopped onto an empty barstool. “Between Patrick’s arrest, Mrs. O’Brien’s breakdown and the late night guest who came in, I’m surprised you got any sleep.”

  Tori set her coffee cup on the counter. “What late night guest? The only two guests here are you.”

  “I could’ve sworn I heard someone rattling something in the hall.” Mercedes’ eyes widened. “Maybe I heard your husband, William.”

  “Mercedes,” Carlita chided. “If it isn’t the Indians roaming around, it’s a ghost.�
��

  Tori sipped her coffee and eyed Mercedes over the rim. “Or perhaps Mercedes heard William and I saw him. Regardless, I can’t figure out what William was trying to show me.”

  “I’ve had troublesome dreams about Vinnie, too.” Carlita glanced at her watch. “We need to think about heading home to help Tony and check for storm damage. I’m sorry things turned out the way they did.”

  “Me too. Before you go, I’m sure we can scrounge up a quick breakfast.” Tori walked over to the pantry. “We have cold cereal.”

  Carlita could see Tori still needed to talk. “Sure. We can eat first.”

  The women chatted about Patrick’s arrest and Mrs. O’Brien while they ate their cereal and finished their coffee. After washing the breakfast dishes, mother and daughter headed upstairs to retrieve their suitcases.

  Tori was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. “I can’t reach Chad. He must be running errands or is out working somewhere on the grounds.” She opened the front door. “I’ll accompany you to your car. I know where he keeps the keys.”

  Mercedes was the last to exit the house and she cast a wistful glance behind her. Despite all that had happened, she’d enjoyed her time at Montgomery Hall and secretly hoped that Tori might invite them as guests again, under different circumstances, of course. She pulled the door shut and followed her mother and Tori through the courtyard and down the short trail to the detached garage.

  Tori used her master key to unlock the service door before opening the overhead door and flipping the lights on. “The office is over here. I might need a bit of help identifying which keyring is yours.”

  She led them into the small office and to a key rack hanging on the wall. “Do any of these look familiar?”

  “There they are.” Mercedes reached around her mother and pulled their keyring off the hook. “You have a lot of keys.”

  “Yes.” Tori nodded. “We keep an extra set for each of the employees’ vehicles in case we have to move vehicles around. And, as you know, guests’ keys are kept here as well.” She turned to go and abruptly stopped.

  “What on earth?” Tori pulled a key ring from the rack. “This looks like my master key.” She turned it over in her hand. “What would Chad be doing with a master key? I need to find out if this is, in fact, a master key.”

  The women left their bags by the door and hurried down the path to the house.

  Tori picked up the pace. “If this key fits the pool house and the employee entrance door, it’s a master key. Those are two different locks.”

  Carlita and Mercedes silently followed Tori to the pool house door. The key fit and the lock turned. “Let’s try the employee door.”

  They made a beeline for the employee entrance. Carlita held her breath as Tori slipped the key into the lock and it easily turned. “Chad Olsen has a master key.”

  Carlita turned to her friend. “Tori, the day you visited Beachy Bargains Pawn Shop to sell your…merchandise, did you drive yourself?”

  “Heavens no! I rarely drive and I would never drive all the way to Hilton Head by myself. Patrick drove me.”

  Carlita stared at the open door and her heart began to beat. “Is he the one who normally drives you around?”

  Tori’s face grew pale. “No. Chad does, but he wasn’t able to go that day. I asked him first and when he wasn’t available, I asked Patrick.”

  “But you told him where you were going?” Mercedes asked.

  “Yes.” Tori nodded.

  Carlita clasped her hands. “Did Patrick go into the pawnshop with you?”

  “No. I don’t involve my employees in business dealings, especially something like the loose gems,” Tori said. “He waited in the car.”

  Mercedes began to pace. “So it could be he didn’t know that the pawnshop purchased antique weaponry.”

  “True.”

  “How did you find out about the pawnshop in Hilton Head?” Carlita asked.

  “I found their ad online. They’re one of the bigger pawnshops within an hour’s drive. I called to verify they purchased loose gems before making the trip.”

  “I’m going to check something.” Mercedes pulled her cell phone from her back pocket and switched it on while Carlita peered over her daughter’s shoulder. “Get fast cash for gold.” She scrolled the screen. “Bingo! Check this out. Their online ad says, ‘We pay top dollar for antique weaponry.’”

  Mercedes stared at Tori. “What if Chad set Patrick up? Think about it. Yes, we found women’s toiletries in the bathroom Patrick and Chad shared. What if Ava was shacking up with Chad and not Patrick? What if Chad planted the weapon and the panties in Patrick’s room, knowing that the investigators would be back with a search warrant?” She pointed to the key. “He has the perfect opportunity.”

  “What was his motive for killing Ava?” Carlita asked.

  “The same as it was when we thought it was Patrick,” Mercedes said. “She probably found a weapon in Chad’s room, attempted to blackmail him, he killed her and then framed Patrick.”

  “Chad’s second motive may have been revenge,” Tori said. “Let’s suppose that Ava was chasing after Patrick, but using Chad in the meantime.”

  Carlita pressed her fingers to her temples. “What if we’re way off and Patrick really was Ava’s killer as well as the person who stole weapons from William’s collection?”

  Mercedes snapped her fingers. “The pawnshop. Surely, someone there would be able to identify the person who sold them the antique weapons, either Patrick or Chad, or if they even sold them to Beachy Bargains.”

  “There’s only one way to find out,” Carlita said. “I think it’s time to call Detective Wilson to let him know what we found.”

  They made their way back inside and to Tori’s office. The first thing she did was call Detective Wilson and explain to him what they’d found. He asked her to email or text a photograph of Chad Olsen and he promised her he would contact her as soon as he questioned the pawnshop employees.

  Tori thanked the detective and disconnected the line. “The master key I found. That was what William was trying to show me. I’m certain of it!”

  Carlita offered to stay with Tori until they knew for sure that Chad wasn’t involved, but she assured her friend she had Byron and Lucien and would meet with them to fill them in on what had transpired.

  As they pulled out of the drive, Carlita cast her daughter a worried glance.

  Mercedes patted her mom’s arm. “Don’t worry. Tori is a smart lady. She’ll guard the information until she’s positive Chad is or isn’t involved.”

  When they got back to the apartment, Carlita busied herself with unpacking her suitcase. She spent some time in the pawnshop helping Tony, but kept her cell phone close by, waiting for Tori to call with an update.

  By early evening, she couldn’t stand it any longer. Carlita turned her cell phone on to give her friend a call and realized that she’d missed her call. She quickly dialed Tori’s number. “Hi Tori. It’s Carlita. I see I missed your call.”

  “I’m glad you called me back. You’re never going to believe what Detective Wilson discovered.”

  Chapter 22

  “Chad was the thief?” Carlita guessed.

  “Yes, he was. Detective Wilson contacted Mr. Goldstein, the owner of Beachy Bargains Pawn Shop. He personally identified Chad from the photograph I sent. Mr. Goldstein met with him twice, and Chad sold him two of William’s weapons, although he used a fake ID to try to hide his identity.”

  “So we can at least link him to the robbery,” Carlita said.

  “There’s more. Detective Wilson put a rush on the lab results for the plastic drink cups Elvira found in the trash. After the results came back, he picked Chad up for questioning about the robbery and took his fingerprints. They matched a set of prints on one of the drink cups.”

  “So you think Chad tried to frame Patrick by planting evidence in his room?”

  “Right again. I still believe he used the master key he sho
uldn’t have had in the first place to access Patrick’s private quarters. Because Chad was in charge of all of the vehicles on site, he knew who was on the grounds and who was gone. He waited until Patrick was gone to sneak into his room.”

  Tori continued. “The police are still holding Patrick, but I’m certain that he’s innocent. Patrick is innocent and Chad is the real killer. It was my dream. William helped me by showing me the keys.”

  Carlita had a sudden thought. “What are you going to do about the weapons Chad sold?”

  “I asked Mr. Goldstein if I could buy them back. I would like them for sentimental reasons, of course, but if he doesn’t agree, I’m not sure there’s much I can do about it.”

  Tori promised to update Carlita as soon as she found out anything else before hanging up.

  Carlita ran downstairs to fill Mercedes and Tony in on what had happened and then returned to the apartment. She was anxious to get their empty apartment rented, began working on a new ad to lower the monthly rent, and hoped to drum up more interest.

  She suspected the only reason it was still vacant was the holidays. Who wanted to move when they were busy buying gifts and wrapping presents?

  The days flew by and it was the end of the week before Carlita heard from Tori again. “Let me guess. There’s another break in the case.”

  “Yes! Chad confessed to killing Ava. Ava stumbled upon one of William’s antique weapons in his closet, recognized it and hinted that she might report him. Chad lured her to the pool house where he stabbed her with the dagger. Just as we thought, he planted Ava’s pink panties in Patrick’s room, along with a stolen weapon. The best part is that the police finally released Patrick from jail and all charges have been dropped.”

  “I’m surprised Chad confessed,” Carlita said.

  “Detective Wilson was finally able to track down Ava’s cousin, who had been out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday. She told the detective that Ava confided in her that she was dating a co-worker, Chad, but had a crush on another co-worker.”

  “Patrick,” Carlita said.

  “Yes. Patrick.”

  “I’m sure Mrs. O’Brien is thrilled.”