“Of course.” Dominic removed a pan of lasagna from the fridge and set it on the counter. “We have some lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, a couple of pizzas and some cake left.”
“Let me go round up the troops.” Carlita returned to the dining room. “Time to load up on leftovers.”
Violet ran over. “Cake! Cake!”
“We want cake too,” Noel piped up.
“Cake it is,” Gina smiled. “The cake was delicious. The food was delicious.”
“I agree,” Vinnie said. “My favorites were the appetizers.”
Brittney patted her tiny tummy bulge. “I enjoyed everything except for the chicken parmesan sticks. I’m pretty sure there were crushed nuts in them, and I’m allergic to nuts.”
“There aren’t any chicken parmesan sticks left,” Dominic said.
“The mini Italian cheese rolls were delicious,” Brittney hinted.
“I’m sorry. All of the appetizers are gone,” Dominic replied. “We have plenty of spaghetti and meatballs left.”
“Waste not, want not.” Carlita grabbed a stack of to-go containers and passed them out. Everyone loaded the containers with food, including Dominic and the employee.
While they loaded up, Carlita thanked them again and reminded Dominic he had a couple of days off before meeting again to go over the final details for the restaurant’s Friday opening.
After Dominic and the employee left, Carlita checked to make sure the doors were locked. She caught up with her children in the alley. “What a long, but wonderful day.”
“Yes, it was.” Tony gazed down at his bride as he squeezed her hand.
“My feet hurt,” PJ whined.
“These heels are killin’ me, too.” Gina ruffled her son’s hair. “We better head back to the hotel.”
“I want to go swimming.” PJ clung to his mother’s leg.
“I thought your feet hurt.”
“They do.”
“If you don’t knock it off, you’re going to get a nap instead,” his mother threatened.
PJ began crying.
“That’s it, Dad. Time to go.” Gina hugged Tony, Shelby, Carlita and finally Mercedes. “Everything was wonderful. We’ll call you tomorrow morning. Pirate Pete mentioned something about his Pirates in Peril show, and we thought we would take the kids.”
“I want to go, too,” Violet tugged on Carlita’s hand.
“Then that’s what we’ll do. The weekend matinee show starts at one o’clock.”
“Why don’t we meet you there, Ma?” Paulie suggested.
“What about you, Vinnie and Brittney?” Carlita asked.
“We would love to, but we’re going shopping at the outlet mall. I need to find some sensible shoes. Vinnie keeps telling me my stilettos are too high.”
“Brit agreed to buy a pair of two-inch heels,” Vinnie teased.
“But only until the baby comes.” Brittney wagged her finger at her husband. “Then I’m gonna start wearing my heels again.”
“Of course.” Vinnie kissed his wife’s cheek. “So we’ll be shopping tomorrow. How ‘bout we meet for dinner later instead?”
“Sounds good.”
“We’re gonna head out to grab some snacks. Brittney and the baby are craving potato chips and ice cream.” Vinnie and Brittney made their way to their car.
Out of nowhere, a black sedan with tinted windows cruised into the alley. It was Vito’s men. Ricco and Luigi followed Vinnie’s car onto the street.
“I see Vinnie’s bodyguards are still on it,” Tony said. “Shelby and I are gonna go change, grab our bags and head out.”
“At least the reception ended early, and you’ll have plenty of time to get to your hotel.”
The couple planned a short, two-day honeymoon, driving to Hilton Head, where they’d reserved a honeymoon suite at a beachside luxury resort.
The couple promised Violet they would take a longer, family honeymoon trip to Florida and Disney World later that fall.
Violet was excited about the trip but just as excited to be spending a couple of days with Nana Banana and Aunt Mercedes.
Tony and Shelby returned with their bags. Shelby dropped to her knees and pulled her daughter close. “We’ll be back before you know it.”
“I know.” Violet nodded solemnly. “Nana and I will bake cookies for you while you’re gone.”
“We will?” Carlita laughed.
“Yes. I want to bake Nonna Garlucci Italy cookies.”
“Italian Cookies,” Carlita corrected.
“Yep. They’re Mommy’s favorite.”
Shelby smiled. “And they’re your favorite, too.”
Violet wrapped her arms around her mother and then hugged Tony. “Bye-bye, Tony Baloney.”
“See you soon purple cookie eater,” he teased.
“I’m not purple.”
“You’re right. You’re Violet.” Tony gave his new stepdaughter a gentle hug and kissed the top of her head. “Behave for Nana.”
Violet promised she would. Her lower lip trembled as her mother and Tony made their way to the car.
Anxious to distract the young child, Carlita handed the leftovers to her daughter and scooped Violet up. “Would you like to take Rambo for a walk? He’s been stuck inside the apartment all day. I’m sure he misses us.”
“I miss him, too.”
“Why don’t you and Aunt Mercedes go get Rambo, while I stop by Elvira’s place?”
“Haven’t you had enough of Elvira today?” Mercedes joked.
“More than enough. Unfortunately, Elvira may have valuable information on Megan’s collapse. I want to know what she overheard.”
Chapter 9
Carlita rapped sharply on Elvira’s back door while Mercedes and Violet ran upstairs to get Rambo.
She caught a glimpse of movement through the window. Elvira didn’t answer, so she knocked again, harder this time.
The door flew open. Elvira stood in the doorway, clad in a pair of paint-spattered sweatpants and a tie-dyed Grateful Dead t-shirt. A red bandana tied around her head completed the ensemble.
“You look comfy.” Carlita said the first thing that popped into her head.
“I’m painting. It’s my only free afternoon for the next week.” Elvira leaned her hip against the door. “Are you here to critique my attire or did you need something?”
“I want to know what you overheard on your earpiece during the reception.”
“Ah. I almost forgot.” Elvira’s expression grew thoughtful. “Now you’ve got an almost-dead wedding guest on your hands.”
“How do you know…”
Elvira cut Carlita off. “I have my sources. Word on the street is she consumed tainted food.”
“The story is spreading like wildfire?” Carlita pressed a hand to her forehead. “How did you find out?”
“In my line of work, you gotta have connections.”
“Good grief.” Carlita slumped against the wall. “She ate something at the wedding, something tainted.”
“That would be my guess.”
“As far as I know, no one else got sick. What if the health department shuts me down before I even open my doors?” Carlita felt nauseous at the thought that not only was it possible her food was the cause of a young woman’s perilous condition, but that her dream of opening Ravello’s might not happen.
She could feel herself growing hysterical. “What am I going to do?”
“I would wait until the cops show up, find out what they plan to do,” Elvira suggested. “It’s not like you intentionally poisoned the woman.”
“Of course I didn’t, but the authorities might not see it that way.”
“This was a private event. Unless the family wants to pursue a lawsuit, they’re going to have to prove you or your food was responsible.”
Carlita started to pace. “Without samples of the food, they would have a hard time proving it.” She remembered how she and her children had split the leftovers to take home.
She replayed the events in her mind, from the moment she first arrived in the courtyard after finding out about the young woman’s condition. “Wait a minute. Megan collapsed during the cocktail hour.”
“So maybe one of your delectable appetizers was responsible,” Elvira said. “I have my doubts on the food as a whole being contaminated. I ate several tasty morsels of each, and I’m perfectly fine.”
“That’s debatable,” Carlita muttered.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Carlita ignored the question. “The only problem is we didn’t have any appetizers left.”
Elvira gave Carlita a funny look.
“You have leftover appetizers,” Carlita guessed.
“Did I say that?”
“You didn’t have to. Listen, I need the leftover appetizers.” Carlita shoved Elvira aside and barged into her apartment. “Where are they?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The appetizers.” Carlita marched to the refrigerator and yanked the door open. There, sitting on the top shelf was a stack of Carlita’s to-go containers. “You do have leftovers.”
“You can’t just barge in here and help yourself to my food. I planned to eat the leftovers for dinner.”
“I’ll swap you some of the leftover spaghetti and meatballs.” Carlita pulled the containers from the fridge. Keeping a tight grip on the food, she marched to the door.
Elvira lunged forward in an attempt to grab the containers, but Carlita was too quick. She easily slipped away. “This is life or death.”
“You don’t need all of the food, just a sampling of each.”
“Then I’ll take a sample and bring the rest back.” Carlita ran across the alley as Elvira called out for her to stop. She ignored the woman’s pleas, ran upstairs and into the apartment.
“Ma?” Mercedes and Violet emerged from the hall. “We were on our way down. Violet needed to use the bathroom.”
“That’s fine. I have to take care of something. I’ll be done in a couple minutes.” Carlita split each of the leftover appetizers in half. She placed her half in storage containers and left Elvira’s half in the to-go containers.
She added a generous helping of spaghetti and meatballs to one of Elvira’s containers before returning to the alley.
Elvira’s back door was ajar. Carlita tapped lightly. “Elvira? I have the leftover leftovers.”
Elvira tromped out to meet her, an annoyed expression on her face.
“I only took half.” Carlita held out the containers.
“Half my food. Did you replace it with the spaghetti and meatballs?”
“I did.”
“I guess that’ll have to do. The spaghetti and meatballs weren’t my favorite. They were kinda bland.”
“Then don’t eat them,” Carlita said. “Before I leave, I want to know what you overheard on your ear piece.”
“Overheard?”
“You overheard Vinnie’s friends, Ricco and Luigi. Ricco was the one standing near the courtyard gate. Luigi was out back, probably somewhere in the vicinity of where Dernice was working.”
“Oh…that.” Elvira waved dismissively. “It was probably nothing.”
Carlita switched tactics. “I thought you wanted to cut a deal. You tell me what you overheard, and in exchange, I’ll let you put some of your business cards at the restaurant’s hostess station.”
“I’ve given it some thought. It doesn’t seem like a fair exchange.”
“I agree. I’m being way too generous.” Carlita decided to beat Elvira at her own game. “I’ll let you put your business card stand by the station for one month.”
“What?” Elvira’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not fair. I was thinking of a more permanent arrangement and throwing in a finder’s fee.”
“Take it or leave it.”
“Fine.” Elvira sucked in a breath. “They mentioned Megan Burelli, how she was flirting with your son, Vinnie, when he was alone, not that I can blame her. Your son is a real hottie, but his wife? She’s got a temper.”
“Your commentary isn’t necessary. Let’s get back to what you overheard.”
“At first, there was a discussion about some blonde in the courtyard, talking to Vinnie. One of them insisted it was Brittney Garlucci and then all of a sudden, the one named Ricco was like, ‘No. That’s not Brittney. It’s some other chick, flirting with Vinnie. They discussed getting rid of her. I thought they were talking about escorting her out of the courtyard. Next thing I know, an ambulance pulls up, and the woman they were discussing gets carried out on a stretcher.”
“They said ‘get rid of her’”? A chill ran down Carlita’s spine. Had Ricco done something to the wedding guest to cause her to keel over?
“Yep.” Elvira nodded. “Those were his exact words. He said ‘Are you thinkin’ we should get rid of her?’”
The color drained from Carlita’s face. What if one of Vito’s “employees” somehow managed to slip something into Megan’s champagne glass…something potentially lethal?
The mob’s preferred method of murder was gunning people down; although she knew they also resorted to other means of eliminating a “problem.” Surely, they wouldn’t have taken out an innocent woman because she flirted with the boss’ son-in-law.
Besides, Brittney intervened and had taken care of the matter…or had she? Carlita wondered what Vito would do in a situation where his daughter’s happiness was at stake.
“…so I kinda wonder if maybe that wasn’t the case,” Elvira said.
“I’m sorry. I missed the last part of what you said.”
“No, I was just saying I didn’t hear anything else after the discussion about getting rid of her. If they’d actually, you know, done the deed.”
“Nana.” Violet ran down the alley and flung herself at Carlita. “We took Rambo around the block.”
Mercedes joined them. “We’re done walking Rambo.”
“That was quick.”
“Violet told me that her legs are tired,” Mercedes said. “Hello, Elvira.”
“Hello, Mercedes, Violet,” Elvira said. “You both looked classy for the wedding. You clean up nice.” She pointed to the dress Violet was still wearing.
“I love my dress.” Violet twirled in a circle. “I’m going to wear it until tomorrow.”
“No, we’re going to take it off later,” Carlita said. “We should head home. My legs hurt too.” She thanked Elvira for the information before telling her she could drop her business cards off on Sunday.
Carlita waited until they were in the apartment and Violet was watching television on the sofa to fill her daughter in.
“That’s terrible.” Mercedes shook her head. “You don’t think Vinnie and Brittney’s bodyguards did something to Megan, do you?”
“I hope not. I’m not sure how far Vito would go to make sure his daughter, the apple of his eye, is happy.”
Mercedes drummed her fingers on the dining room table. “If she did eat something lethal, how would we know it was ours? No one else got sick.”
“Unless it was a targeted contamination. I stuck some samples of Elvira’s appetizers in the fridge, way in the back. Don’t eat them.” A sudden thought popped into Carlita’s head. “Remember the headless cake topper? How there wasn’t a return address? You don’t think the two are linked, do you?”
“No, I mean it did seem odd to have someone drop off an anonymous, headless cake topper.”
Carlita sprang from the chair. “The more I think about it, the more I wonder. First, we have the headless cake topper, and then the other day, someone broke into the restaurant, but nothing came up missing, and now a possible poisoning. What if these aren’t random coincidences?”
“Uncle Eddie.” Carlita marched to the kitchen and snatched her cell phone off the counter. “Not only did he show up uninvited, but he also showed up around the same time all of these things started happening. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”
; She dialed her brother’s cell phone number. He didn’t answer, so she left a message, asking him to return the call. “He mentioned taking care of a small business matter. What if there was a hit on Vinnie and/or Brittney and his own uncle was the one in charge of taking them out?”
“Do you really think he would try to kill a family member?”
Carlita lifted a brow. “It depends on what ‘family’ you’re talking about.” She quickly dialed her son’s cell phone.
“Hey, Ma.”
“Are you downstairs in Tony’s old apartment?”
“Nah. We’re still shopping for munchies. Brit also found a designer baby boutique she wants to check out. What’s up?”
“I think the young woman, Megan Burelli, became ill after eating food at the reception,” Carlita blurted out.
“But no one else got sick.”
“I don’t have all of the pieces figured out. I’m beginning to wonder if someone wasn’t targeting a specific person or persons…Brittney or you.”
There was a long pause. “That’s a stretch, Ma. I mean, it would have to be an inside job. You know all of your employees.”
“I just met them.” Carlita could feel herself becoming hysterical. “What if it was a setup?”
Vinnie and Brittney may have been the targets. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. From what Carlita remembered, Megan was petite with light-colored hair, a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Brittney. What if someone was working on the inside, hired to take Brittney out, but they accidentally took out the wrong woman?
“Vito didn’t send his guys to Savannah for the fun of it. He must have believed there was a credible threat. Something isn’t sitting right,” Carlita said. “Promise me you’ll be careful.” She stopped short of mentioning her brother’s name.
“I’ll put a call into Vito, to see if he thinks Louie Esposito sent someone down here. If it makes you feel better, I promise Brit and I will be extra cautious. Look, I gotta go. We ran into Uncle Eddie and Aunt Anjelica a few minutes ago. We’re heading into a pub for a cold brew and snack. We’ll see you a little later.”
“Don’t let them buy you a drink,” Carlita yelled into the phone. It was too late. Vinnie had already disconnected the call.
Matrimony & Mayhem: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 11) Page 6
