Turmoil in Savannah: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 13)

by Hope Callaghan

  Another trolley arrived and parked in front of Reese’s trolley where the passengers began boarding.

  Not everyone had exited Reese’s trolley, and Carlita could see several police officers were still onboard.

  Mercedes had noticed, too. “Those must be the Savannah Six,” she whispered.

  “I was thinking the same thing.”

  The second trolley finished loading the stranded passengers before rumbling off. The ambulance followed the trolley, leaving only the police officers, Reese and the small group still on board behind.

  Anxious to speak with Reese and curious to catch a glimpse of the troublemakers, Carlita and Mercedes waited for another ten minutes before Reese and the detective joined them.

  The blood had dried on the side of Reese’s face, and a purple bruise began to form directly above the gash. “Are you sure you don’t want a doctor to take a look at you?” Carlita asked worriedly.

  “I’ll be fine, although I do have a screaming headache,” Reese touched her temple.

  “It looks as if the police are going to be a few more minutes.” Carlita turned to the detective. “Is it all right for Reese to come back to my place? I’m sure she could use a few minutes to catch her breath and settle her nerves.”

  “Of course. I’ll contact you later,” Polivich told Reese.

  Carlita put a light arm around her friend’s shoulder, and Mercedes and she guided Reese away from the scene.

  Carlita glanced back at the small group now standing next to the trolley, sullen expressions on their faces. “Are those the Savannah Six?”

  Reese followed Carlita’s gaze. “Yeah. They started harassing me right before we got to this stop. I told them if they didn’t knock it off, I was kicking them off. They rushed to the front of the trolley and told me I was the one getting off.”

  “The ringleader…I think they called him Rutger, ran to the back. He threw the emergency door open and shoved a man out. One of the passengers, a woman, started yelling about calling 911 and one of the thugs attacked her.”

  Reese sucked in a breath. “That’s when chaos erupted. I told Detective Polivich I want to press charges.”

  “You should. The police need to do something.” Carlita watched as the group huddled together. “Let’s go inside.”

  Reese slowly limped to the corner with Carlita trailing behind her. She could feel the hair on her neck shoot straight up, and she looked back.

  One of them…a man of medium height, his hair smoothed into a man bun, had stepped away from the others and stood watching them.

  “That’s him,” Reese said. “Rutger. He’s the leader. He’s the one who pushed the passenger out the emergency exit.”

  “He’s watching us.” Carlita and the others picked up the pace, not slowing until they rounded the corner and were out of sight. “Do you still have your taser with you?”

  “I do. Not that it helped. I tried using it, but Rutger knocked it out of my hand.”

  “He sounds like a real jerk.” Mercedes waited for her mother and Reese to climb the stairs to their apartment. “How’s it going?” She motioned toward the bedrooms in the back.

  “You don’t wanna go back there,” Carlita warned.

  “She’s rearranging my stuff,” Mercedes guessed.

  “It’s a…strong possibility.”

  “Great.” Rambo trotted over and nudged Mercedes’ hand. “Rambo already misses me.” She scratched his ears. “Don’t let her kick you out, too.”

  “No one kicked you out. You’re more than welcome to say here with us.”

  “And sleep on the sofa.” Mercedes followed her mother into the kitchen.

  Carlita lowered her voice. “Brittney is pregnant and carrying your nephew. You need to cut her some slack.”

  “I’m trying. It’s just that we have our hands full without Vinnie dumping his problems in our lap. Meanwhile, he’s living it up, free and single at the casino.”

  “I wouldn’t call dodging Louie Esposito, or anyone else, fun and games.”

  “That sounds like a gangster name.”

  Carlita had momentarily forgotten about Reese, who stood quietly listening to the exchange. “You don’t know the half of it, my friend.” She quickly changed the subject. “Can I get you a glass of sweet tea or bottled water?”

  “Tea sounds good.”

  “Mercedes can pour the tea while I show you to the bathroom so you can get cleaned up.” Carlita led her friend to the bathroom and showed her where to find clean washcloths and bandages before returning to the kitchen.

  Reese joined them a short time later. “I feel better already.”

  “I figured we could sit on the balcony and get some fresh air.” Carlita set Reese’s tea on the patio table and motioned to an empty chair.

  “Thanks.” Reese’s hand shook as she reached for the glass. “As soon as the cops and the Savannah Six clear out, I’m gonna head back to the trolley. I already called my boss, Buzz. He had to send over a backup trolley to pick up my passengers.”

  Mercedes slipped onto the balcony and joined them. “I ran next door to Autumn’s apartment. The cops and the troublemakers are still at the trolley stop, but it looks like they’re getting ready to leave.”

  “I hope they throw them in jail,” Carlita said.

  “Fat chance. They shoulda done something when the six stole the other trolley and trashed the cemetery.” Reese motioned to the building on the other side of the alley. “I haven’t seen much of Elvira these days.”

  “She’s ill.” Carlita told them about her conversation with Dernice and how Elvira was under the weather.

  “She told you Elvira might have the plague? More like she is the plague,” Reese joked.

  “I’m not sure if that’s the case. I got the feeling from the way Dernice was acting there’s more to the story.”

  The trio discussed the upcoming holidays and Carlita’s plans to host a party at the restaurant for family and friends. “Since adding Spooky Eats and Inns, business has picked up.”

  “I know the tourists love the new attraction,” Reese said. “Every time I pass out the coupons, I get a bunch who say they’re going to give it a try. Fall is the perfect time for touring haunted inns and restaurants.”

  “I think calling ours haunted is a stretch, but who knows?” Carlita shrugged. “I’ve never taken the time to delve into the history of the restaurant.”

  “But our apartment building was once a casket company,” Mercedes reminded her. “Steve and Autumn told us they heard it was haunted.”

  “Close enough for me,” Carlita quipped. “Thanks for trying to throw some business our way.”

  “You’re welcome. Anytime.” Reese downed the rest of her tea and consulted her watch. “I better head back to the trolley. I’m sure the police and the Savannah Six are gone by now.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” Carlita offered.

  Mercedes returned to Autumn’s apartment while Carlita and Reese headed downstairs. Reese was right. The group was long gone, and the trolley sat empty.

  She followed her friend up the steps. “Did they damage the interior?”

  “I hope not,” Reese said.

  The women slowly walked down the center aisle, inspecting the seats and the interior. While they walked, Carlita gathered small pieces of trash the passengers had left behind.

  They reached the back, and Carlita watched as Reese checked to make sure the rear emergency exit was closed and locked. “I wonder how the passenger who was injured is doing.”

  “Detective Polivich promised he would call me as soon as he had an update on his condition.”

  Carlita followed Reese to the front, watching as she inserted the key in the ignition and fired up the trolley. The merry tune of Jingle Bells echoed from the overhead speaker.

  Despite the seriousness of the situation, Carlita grinned. “At least we’re getting closer to the season, and the music is appropriate.”

  “It’s appropriate all year,” Ree
se joked. “Who doesn’t like Christmas?”

  “Scrooge.” Carlita descended the steps and turned back when she reached the sidewalk, her expression growing solemn. “Are you going to be all right?”

  “I’m fine. Thanks for everything…for calling the cops…for coming to my rescue. Thank Tony for me too.”

  “I will,” Carlita promised. “I’m not sure today was the end of the Savannah Six’s crime wave.”

  “Unfortunately, I have to agree. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them.” Reese gave Carlita a wave and closed the door before pulling away from the curb and driving off.

  On her way home, Carlita stopped to check on Luigi and Ricco, who were camped out in their car. As promised, Dernice had moved the company van, leaving an extra spot for guests and tenants.

  Angelica’s rental was parked in the lot, too. On her way back to the apartment, Carlita decided to swing by her unit.

  She gave the hall door a sharp rap. The door flew open. “Yes?”

  “Hello, Angelica,” Carlita got right to the point. “When are you moving out?”

  “Tomorrow. One of the set guys has a spare bedroom. He’s going to let me crash there.”

  “Good.”

  “I want my deposit back,” Angelica said.

  “You attacked my daughter-in-law.”

  “And she attacked me back.”

  “In self-defense.”

  “Which is what I was doing...defending myself.” Angelica leaned her hip on the doorway. “If I had known about you and your family, I never would’ve moved in here in the first place.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Angelica jabbed her finger at Carlita. “Your husband was Vinnie…Vincent Garlucci, mob man. It’s the talk of the town. People are talking about you behind your back.”

  The blood drained from Carlita’s face and then came flooding back as her anger began to build. She’d worked hard to prove to locals and area business owners that she was an honest businesswoman. She’d also worked hard to leave the crime and family behind, but here it was…almost every day in her face and now an almost complete stranger was bringing it up. “The sooner you leave, the better,” she replied in a tight voice.

  “There’s something else,” Angelica taunted. “You’re being watched.”

  Chapter 4

  “By who?”

  An evil grin spread across Angelica’s face. “Why should I tell you?”

  Carlita briefly closed her eyes and could almost envision Elvira standing in front of her. “I don’t care who’s watching me. I haven’t committed a crime, and neither has anyone in my family or any of my residents…unless it’s you.”

  “Me?” Angelica’s mouth dropped open. “You’re lucky I agreed to move out.”

  Carlita thought about the murderous look in Ricco’s eyes earlier as he started to go after Angelica. “You’re lucky you’re alive.”

  “Is that a threat?” Angelica’s eyes grew wide.

  “Move out tomorrow, and I’ll return your deposit.”

  “Done. I’ll be out before noon. Have my money ready. I don’t want to hang around and wait for you to return what’s mine.”

  Before Carlita could reply, the woman slammed the door in her face.

  “Good riddance.” Carlita tromped up the steps, trying to decide whether Elvira had been a worse tenant or if her soon-to-be ex-tenant beat her. It was a close tie.

  The rest of the evening passed quietly, for which Carlita was grateful. She’d had enough excitement to last her a long time. She settled in at her desk, going over the books, and checking emails.

  She finished the tedious tasks, and her stomach started to grumble. Not wanting to cook, Carlita ran next door to grab some food for Mercedes, Autumn, Brittney and her. The special of the day was creamy chicken fettucine, and a simple Italian tossed salad for the side dish.

  After picking up the food, she stopped by Autumn’s apartment to invite the girls for dinner. The friends began setting the dinner table while Carlita wandered to the bedroom to let Brittney know they were getting ready to eat. She found her curled up in a ball on the bed, fast asleep.

  Carlita quietly closed the door and returned to the dining room. “Brittney is sleeping. She can eat leftovers later.”

  During dinner, mother and daughter filled Autumn in on the events of the day, starting with Brittney’s arrival, the brawl between her and Angelica, and Angelica’s eviction.

  “I heard something about a trolley incident across the street, too. What happened?” Autumn asked. She twirled a forkful of pasta as she listened to Mercedes describe how they witnessed a passenger tumble out of the emergency exit.

  “The Savannah Six are terrorizing the town. The cops won’t do anything because of Rutger.”

  “Rutger is the ringleader,” Autumn said. “His full name is Davis Rutger. He’s the nephew of a former governor.”

  Carlita lifted a brow. “Really? I had no idea. What I do know is he’s trouble.”

  “With a capital ‘T.’ Word around the Savannah Evening News is he moved here from Atlanta after an incident involving illegal weapons’ sales. There was some other kind of trouble he was involved in, but I can’t remember what it was.”

  “It appears he brought his troublemaking past to Savannah,” Carlita said, “and it seems to be escalating. I hope Reese and the man Rutger shoved out the emergency exit both sue.”

  “Good luck with that. I also heard his family is loaded. They’ll pay everyone off to let it go. My brother, Steve, met the Savannah Six. They were in his shop a few months back to have some work done before they started getting into trouble.”

  “Which means they’re hanging around Walton Square,” Carlita frowned. “We’ll need to be on guard.” She remembered Angelica’s taunt, how the Savannah locals were talking about her and her family…and her cryptic comment about how they were being watched.

  “Angelica claims rumors are going around Savannah about me and my family.” Carlita carefully studied Autumn’s face to gauge her reaction. “Have you heard them?”

  “I...” Autumn lowered her gaze.

  “You have.”

  “Yeah. I mean, not like I believe them, and even if there is some truth to what people say, we all have a past.”

  “What have they said?”

  Autumn opened her mouth to reply and quickly closed it.

  “That we’re mobsters…mafia from New York?”

  “I’ve heard that,” Autumn admitted. “So what? I mean, we all have family…not ‘the family’ but family. Besides, if it is true, it’s kinda cool as long as you don’t have rival family members coming around, shooting up the place.”

  “It hasn’t happened yet,” Carlita said.

  “But Brittney upped the odds,” Mercedes mumbled under her breath.

  Mercedes and her mother exchanged a quick glance and Carlita gave her daughter a small nod. “You can tell her.”

  “Pops was a shylock. We told you before he left this place to us, but what we didn’t tell you is we never even knew about it until Ma found a key to a lockbox in Pop’s pocket after he died. We went to the bank to see what was in it and found the deed to this property.”

  “Whoa.” Autumn’s eyes grew round as saucers. “That is one sweet story. Is that it? I mean, has anything else happened since then?”

  “I could write a book, but Ma won’t let me.”

  “Obviously, without elaborating, you now know the gist of our family background. We moved to Savannah to escape my deceased husband’s past, to start fresh.”

  “But not Vinnie,” Autumn interrupted. “Being in the news business, I heard something about the casino he works at in New Jersey having mafia ties. He’s still in it.”

  “Over his head at times,” Carlita sighed.

  There was a muffled sound behind them, and a disheveled Brittney emerged from the back looking sleepy-eyed.

  Carlita watched as she drifted into the dining room. “You missed dinner. I
saw you were sleeping and didn’t want to wake you.”

  “I guess I got too comfy watching television in bed.” Brittney plopped down in an empty chair. “What are you eating?”

  “Chicken fettuccine.”

  “I can’t eat the chicken. The baby isn’t a big fan.” She eyed the salad hungrily. “I can eat the salad and bread.”

  “I hate to eat and run, but I better head home. I have some laundry to catch up on.” Autumn carried her dirty plate to the kitchen. “Thanks for dinner, Mrs. G.”

  “I’m glad you could join us, Autumn. Thanks for letting Mercedes stay with you during Brittney’s visit.”

  “You’re welcome. I like the company.”

  “I’ll be over in a little while,” Mercedes said. “Sam and I are gonna take Rambo and Sam’s pup, Sadie, for a walk.”

  “Rambo will like that.” Hearing his name, the pooch scrambled out from beneath the table. He eyed the leftover food and let out a low whine.

  “Sorry, fella. No pasta for you. Let’s grab a doggie treat instead.” Carlita pulled his box of treats from the cabinet and offered him a handful.

  Carlita’s cat, Grayvie, heard the treat box rattle and darted to the kitchen, circling her legs until she offered him a treat, too. “I wouldn’t dream of leaving you out, Grayvie.”

  Autumn and Mercedes left, and Carlita joined her daughter-in-law at the table. “How are you feeling?”

  “Pretty good. Just really tired.” Brittney stabbed a tomato with her fork. “I talked to Vinnie a few minutes ago. He misses us. I wish that whoever is harassing Daddy and Vinnie would leave them alone.”

  “You’re not the only one. I’m sure you would rather be home in your own bed and in familiar surroundings.”

  They discussed the baby, a boy, possible names, and Brittney’s progress in finishing the nursery.

  Carlita motioned to Brittney’s empty salad plate. “We’ll need to find something a little more nutritious and filling for you to eat than just salad and bread.”

  “I’ve perfected one of Vinnie’s favorite dishes. It’s an unstuffed cabbage roll. I could make it for you.”