Christmas Family Style in Savannah: A Garlucci Family Saga Novel (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 15)

by Hope Callaghan

  One by one, Carlita’s children headed out. Mercedes walked Sam to his apartment and then returned to Autumn’s apartment across the hall. Autumn had left as soon as the ship docked.

  While Brittney and Vinnie got ready for bed, Carlita switched her computer on and did a quick search of the local news. There were brief mentions about the discovery with similar statements but few details.

  She took Rambo out for a final bathroom break and could see the lights were still on in Elvira’s place. They had just returned to their building when Elvira’s back door flew open, and she emerged.

  “Hey, Carlita,” Elvira waved her over. “I didn’t get a chance to thank Pete for a great party.”

  “I’ll pass it on,” Carlita promised.

  “I’m sorry for kinda inviting myself. I figured everyone else was going and seeing how you and I are pretty tight, I didn’t think Pete would mind if me and the others tagged along.”

  “I don’t think he was completely surprised,” Carlita said. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself despite the disturbance.”

  “That Roxy chick.”

  “Right.”

  “Speaking of her.” Elvira leaned her hip against the door. “On our way home, we crossed over the bridge and noticed some police boats cruising on the river. I figured something was going on, so I turned on my ham radio when I got home. A woman’s body was picked up by one of the other parade boats.”

  “I heard,” Carlita said.

  “What happened to Roxy after Pete escorted her to the back of the ship? He didn’t happen to toss her over the side, did he?”

  “No.” Carlita’s eyes slid to the side. “He didn’t toss Roxy over the side.”

  “So, it wasn’t her they found.”

  “I don’t know,” Carlita answered truthfully.

  Elvira’s eyes grew wide. “You mean, it could be her body?”

  “Maybe. After The Flying Gunner docked, we went back there to let her out, and she was gone. Unless she possesses some superpowers and managed to remove the metal bar Pete placed across the door, someone else let her out.”

  “Luigi took her piece. I watched him do it.” Elvira let out a low whistle. “This isn’t good.”

  “For any of us,” Carlita said miserably. “Where did you say you heard about it?”

  Elvira repeated that the information had been broadcast on her ham radio. “If it was her, there are more suspects than Santas at the mall.”

  “Exactly,” Carlita grimaced. Rambo trotted to their apartment door. “Thanks for the heads up. I think Rambo is ready to head to bed.”

  Before slipping back inside, Elvira promised she would do a little more digging around and let Carlita know if she learned anything the next morning.

  Carlita made quick work of getting ready for bed and then spent a restless night tossing and turning, not only because of Roxy’s disappearance but also because of all the noises in the house. Once, she heard the baby cry and then the muffled sound of steps in the hall.

  Rambo had heard it too and gave up his comfy spot on his doggie bed to guard their bedroom door.

  Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, Carlita stumbled out of bed and tiptoed to the kitchen, where she started a pot of coffee. After it finished brewing, she carried a cup to the alley while Rambo completed his morning patrol.

  She returned upstairs and to the balcony where Grayvie, her cat, joined her. It was their morning routine to get up early and savor the quiet of the city before the hustle and bustle of the trolleys and tourists kicked in.

  Ravello’s was doing a brisk business, and, like Pete’s pirate ship, several large groups had booked the restaurant for their Christmas parties. The pawn shop’s business had slowed slightly, but not enough to concern Carlita…at least not yet.

  Her apartment units were filled with Luigi settled into the efficiency downstairs, Sam and Cool Bones at the end of the hall and Autumn Winter, directly across from her.

  Life was good for Carlita Garlucci. Having all of her children home for the holidays was something she was determined to enjoy every minute of. As the grandchildren grew older, she knew there would be fewer get-togethers. Paulie and Gina lived in Clifton Falls, a few miles north of New York City. Vinnie and Brittney were in New Jersey, and Carlita’s other two, Mercedes and Tony, lived with her in Savannah.

  It wasn’t the ideal situation, but something Carlita could live with…as long as they were able to visit sometimes.

  There was a small noise behind her, and she turned to see her firstborn standing in the doorway.

  “Hey, Ma.”

  “Morning, Son. How did you sleep?”

  “The baby was up a few times, but not bad.” Vinnie lifted both hands over his head and stretched. “It’s nice and quiet here.”

  “Yes, it’s our own little piece of paradise in the city.” Carlita held up her coffee cup. “Help yourself to some coffee.”

  Vinnie returned moments later, cup in hand, and settled into a chair opposite his mother. “I talked to Ricco. There’s no word from Roxy.”

  “I have a feeling the woman the other boater found is her.” Carlita told him about her conversation with Elvira the previous night. “My guess is they’ll identify her soon enough.”

  Vinnie shook his head. “They won’t. Roxy didn’t have any ID on her.”

  “You mean, no driver’s license or anything?”

  “Nope. By design and Vito’s rules.”

  “That’s crazy. How do you drive a car without carrying a license?”

  “Leave it in the glove box. The only thing Vito requires is carrying a piece and a cell phone.”

  “Well, then they’ll eventually figure out who she is via her cell phone,” Carlita said.

  “If that was her, it got wet, so it won’t work.”

  “So, you’re saying the authorities are going to have a hard time identifying her.”

  “Yep. I figure the cops will release a sketch or some kind of photo asking for the public’s help,” Vinnie said.

  Carlita thoughtfully stared at her son. On the one hand, it would buy them some time to try to figure out what exactly had happened to Roxy – if it was Roxy, and judging by what she now knew, she was almost one hundred percent certain it was her.

  On the other hand, if they didn’t file a missing person’s report and waited for the investigators to come to them, it would look suspicious. But then, there were so many other pieces to it. In other words, it was getting complicated.

  Pete locking Roxy in the bathroom. The trail of blood. Luigi arguing with Roxy and taking her weapon. Mercedes arguing with her over flirting with Sam. Dernice and Elvira arguing with her. The list went on and on.

  And there were witnesses…Cool Bones and the Jazz Boys, Pete’s restaurant staff, Pete’s ship employees, Autumn, Mark and Glenda Fox.

  Vinnie voiced her thoughts. “This ain’t good.”

  “No, it’s not. We’re going to have to report Roxy as missing this morning,” Carlita said.

  “I was thinking the same thing.” Vinnie downed the rest of his coffee and slowly stood. “Before we do that, I need to let Vito know what’s goin’ on.”

  “I’m sorry, Son,” Carlita followed him inside the apartment.

  “Me too, Ma. This isn’t the best way to kick off a family holiday.”

  Vinnie made a quick trip to the bedroom. He returned carrying his cell phone and a pack of cigarettes.

  “I thought you quit smoking,” Carlita said.

  “Don’t start on me. Brittney nags me enough.”

  Carlita followed her son out of the apartment and down the steps. They stopped when they reached the stoop. Vinnie lit a cigarette, took a deep drag and then blew it out over his mother’s head.

  Her heart went out to him. She had no idea how Vito would react but was almost certain it wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation. To give him some privacy, Carlita wandered to the end of the alley.

  It was still early, and the streets were nearly empt
y. The city had decorated the Victorian-era lampposts with green and red Christmas trees. Although Carlita hadn’t kept up on it, Mercedes had told her there were several holiday events taking place in the city squares that week and leading all the way up to Christmas Day.

  Reese had planned a surprise for the grandchildren later that day, which would tie into Christmas cookie decorating for kids at the visitor’s center that afternoon. Now the fun-filled activities were all up in the air, depending on how Roxy’s disappearance played out.

  Carlita’s visions of magical Christmas memories were in jeopardy. Her concern over her family and how the disappearance was putting a damper on her well thought out plans filled her with a tinge of guilt.

  Here she was worrying about what they might miss out on, and meanwhile, a woman was dead, even if it wasn’t Roxy.

  Carlita thought about how Luigi hadn’t liked her. In fact, he had mentioned her by name right after he moved to Savannah and told Carlita she was taking his place as Brittney’s bodyguard.

  He had called her a tool. The two had fought the previous evening, and Luigi took Roxy’s gun. Had Luigi intentionally confiscated it with a plan to take her out later, when he could get her alone, knowing she was unarmed?

  She had no idea how deep their animosity toward one another was.

  Or maybe it was Ricco. If Roxy was half as bad as Luigi implied, maybe Ricco was tired of working with the woman and had found a way to get rid of her. If Vito was the one who decided who was tasked with guarding his daughter and grandchild, Ricco wouldn’t have much of a say about who he worked with.

  If she treated Ricco the same way she treated everyone else, he may have gotten fed up. There was so much going on last night…the fireworks, the band. It would have been easy for someone to slip to the back of the ship unseen, let her out and then take her out.

  Ricco also knew Roxy didn’t carry identification with her. It would be hours, maybe even days, before the authorities would be able to identify her.

  She slowly turned, her eyes falling on Elvira’s building next door. Dernice had also argued with the woman. What if she’d gone back to confront her, the two argued, Roxy was injured and then ended up going over the side of the ship?

  A chilling thought occurred to Carlita. The argument between Luigi and Roxy had brought the party to an abrupt halt. Pete and Carlita were the last two people to see Roxy on board the ship.

  Vinnie ended his call and shoved the cell phone in his pants pocket. Carlita recognized the look of frustration on his face.

  She made her way back to the stoop. “Were you able to reach Vito?”

  “Yeah. I talked to him.” Vinnie took a final puff on his cigarette and then tossed the butt on the ground. “He wasn’t happy. I got some bad news.”

  Chapter 7

  “What kinda bad news?” Carlita stared at her son.

  “If Roxy doesn’t surface by noon, Vito’s sending someone down to look into the matter.”

  Carlita didn’t like the sounds of that. “Sending who down?”

  “A consigliere.”

  Although Carlita was certain she’d heard the term before, she couldn’t remember what it meant. Regardless, if Vinnie wasn’t happy about it, she knew she shouldn’t be, either.

  “You know, an advisor to the ‘family,’” Vinnie elaborated.

  “So, this…advisor is going to come down and do what? Once the cops get involved, it’s out of our hands.”

  “Jersey Joe will be conducting his own investigation.”

  “Jersey Joe,” Carlita echoed. “Great.”

  When they returned inside the apartment, Brittney and the baby were up, and Carlita could tell from the look on her daughter-in-law’s face she had heard the news. Papa Vito had probably already called her to get her version of the events that had taken place the previous night.

  “Daddy’s sending Joe Mariani down here to look into Roxy’s disappearance.” Brittney bounced the baby on her hip as she talked. It was the first time Carlita could ever recall her looking that nervous…or anxious.

  Something told Carlita that Jersey Joe wasn’t going to help matters. If anything, his arrival would make matters worse.

  “I talked to your father a few minutes ago,” Vinnie said.

  “Me too. I told him Roxy was acting trashy and causing trouble, that Pete escorted her to a holding area until the parade had ended and that now she’s missing.”

  The quick turn of events in less than twenty-four hours made Carlita’s head spin. Her life had gone from calm to chaos.

  Buzz. The doorbell buzzed loudly, causing Carlita to jump. Something told her it was going to be a very long day. She headed to the window to see who was standing on the stoop. Before she could get there, it rang again, and then a third time.

  The baby started crying.

  “Good grief.” She took a quick peek out to confirm her suspicions. The only person capable of being that annoying this early was Elvira. She hurried down the steps and flung the door open. “Give me time to get to the door.”

  “I wasn’t sure if your doorbell was working.”

  “You’re freaking the baby out.”

  “That’s right. I forgot about the munchkin staying with you,” Elvira said. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “I thought I would let you know that it was her. The cops released a sketch, and it was Roxy all day long. They put out a phone number asking anyone who knew her to contact them.”

  Even though Carlita had been almost one hundred percent certain it was Roxy’s body, she still felt as if someone had gut-punched her.

  “You okay?” Elvira asked. “Cuz you just went one whole shade of white on me.”

  “Yes. No. I was hoping it wasn’t her.”

  Elvira shifted her feet. “Let’s take a brief trip back in time and go over the series of events, to refresh our memories.”

  “Mercedes and Roxy fought. Luigi and Ricco sprang into action to separate the two. Roxy went for her gun. Luigi managed to get it from her.” There was something else Carlita remembered. “Pete, with Luigi and Ricco’s help, escorted her to the bathroom. I remember Pete checking her to make sure she didn’t have another weapon.”

  Elvira interrupted. “Did Ricco and Luigi see Pete check her, cuz I don’t remember that part.”

  Carlita thought about it. The events were starting to blur. “No. Now that I think about it, everyone had left by then. It was just Pete and me. He placed the metal bar across the door. I watched him do it. In fact, he double-checked to make sure it was secure.”

  She continued. “Roxy threatened Pete. After the ship docked and the party ended, we went back there to let her out. The door was wide open, and Roxy was gone.”

  “So, maybe she jumped off the side of the ship and decided to swim to shore,” Elvira theorized.

  “Except that there was a trail of blood leading to the railing.”

  “Holy guacamole.” Elvira’s nostrils flared. “That’s new information. So, someone took her out.”

  “It’s beginning to look that way.” Carlita cast a quick glance up the stairs. “Brittney’s father is sending someone down to look into the matter.”

  “The ‘family,’” Elvira whispered. “We’re dead. We’re all dead.”

  “We can’t panic, at least not yet.”

  “Easy for you to say. You didn’t argue with Roxy only hours before her death, and in front of dozens of witnesses.” Elvira began to pace. “That puts Dernice and Luigi in the hot seat too. Luigi took her gun. What’s the boss man going to think when he finds out his former employee disarmed his current employee right before she took a hit?”

  Elvira was right. The possibilities of what Vito might do were endless, and none of them were pleasant.

  Elvira abruptly stopped. “Roxy ticked Pete off too. I mean, he knows the ship like the back of his hand. It wouldn’t be hard for him to slip away for a few minutes, head back there, injure Roxy and then heave ho…overboard she go
es.”

  “I suppose some might see it that way, but Pete did not take Roxy out.”

  “And then there’s Mercedes. She hit Roxy, which is when things really took off. Who’s to say she didn’t slip away and do the deed?”

  The more Elvira pointed out the possible scenarios, the more nauseous Carlita grew. Soon, the cops would be showing up on her doorstep. Jersey Joe would be on her doorstep. Reporters would find out.

  “I gotta…I gotta think this through.” Carlita blindly turned and stumbled back up the stairs.

  Elvira wasn’t far behind and followed Carlita into her apartment.

  Vinnie, who was standing in the living room, took one look at his mother’s face. “It was her.”

  “Yeah,” Elvira nodded. “The cops released a sketch. They’re asking people to come forward, anyone who might be able to identify her.”

  “I need a minute.” Vinnie pulled his cell phone from his pocket and headed to the balcony. He stepped outside and closed the door behind him.

  “Joe Mariani will be on a plane within a couple hours.” Brittney, who heard them talking, wandered into the room.

  “That’s a hitman name if I ever heard one,” Elvira said. “Joe Mariani, the hitman.”

  Brittney shook her head. “Mr. Mariani isn’t a hitman. He’s Daddy’s attorney and close confidant.”

  Elvira shot Carlita a look. There was no doubt in either of their minds that Mr. Mariani was capable of “taking care of business” if he suspected foul play – attorney or not.

  “We need to have a family meeting,” Carlita abruptly said. “We need to get Paulie, Tony and Mercedes over here to help us come up with a plan, and fast.”

  Vinnie returned, his face pinched and expression somber. “Mariani is taking the first flight out. I’m picking him up at the airport as soon as I get the call. At most, we have five, maybe six hours to get a jump start on figuring out what happened.”

  “Right. Right.” Carlita snapped her fingers. “You get your sister and brothers over here. I’m going to call Pete. We need to hustle.”