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

by Hope Callaghan

  Tori abruptly stood and set her glass on the side table. “Mimi and Ava may have come to some sort of agreement, where Ava promised to leave quietly if Mimi was able to find her gainful employment…me.”

  “And you would be the perfect person to pawn Ava off on,” Carlita said.

  “Because I don’t have a husband for Ava to chase after,” Tori guessed.

  “Bingo.”

  “But I do have employees.” Tori sighed heavily. “That woman is still causing me grief, even after her death. It doesn’t mean Rick or Mimi murdered her.”

  “True, but it doesn’t mean that one of them didn’t.” Mercedes began to pace. “We need to set up some sort of sting to uncover the killer. I just haven’t figured out how yet.”

  Knock. Knock.

  “Come in,” Tori called out.

  Byron opened the door. “I’m sorry to bother you, Mrs. Montgomery, but there’s a deranged woman at the front door, demanding she speak with you and Mrs. Garlucci. She was here the other night as part of the additional security staff.”

  “Elvira,” Carlita and Mercedes said.

  Chapter 17

  “Shall I tell her you’re not seeing visitors?” Byron asked.

  Tori cast Carlita a questioning glance.

  “This is Elvira we’re talking about. You can tell her to leave, maybe even forcibly remove her or call the cops, but she’ll be back.”

  “She’s like a bad penny,” Mercedes added.

  “We might as well get this over with.” Tori waved her hand. “Show her in.”

  “As you wish.” Byron disappeared and then returned moments later with Elvira following close behind.

  When Elvira saw Carlita and Mercedes, she rushed past Byron and pointed an accusing finger at Carlita. “I knew it. You two are gonna ruin my investigation.”

  “Your investigation,” Mercedes snorted. “Mrs. Montgomery asked us to help her, not you. In fact, you shouldn’t be here. You’re trespassing.”

  “I am not. The butler showed me in.”

  “Under duress,” Carlita said. “Arguing won’t help. What is it that you want?”

  “I need to take another look at the pool house. The cops are breathing down my neck, demanding I release the personnel files of the staff who were working here the night of the party.”

  “So?” Tori shrugged. “Give them what they want.”

  “As long as they - and you - have nothing to hide, I don’t see the big deal.” Carlita knew it was a big deal…a very big deal, especially for Dernice. “I’m sure you screened your employees, including the supervisor, prior to hiring them, especially for a sensitive job like security.” She gave Elvira a pointed stare.

  “You know my situation, Carlita. But it’s even worse than that. They already ran a background check on Dernice, seeing how she was in charge of security. They pulled her records and now she’s down at the police station, so I’m kinda working with a deadline here.”

  Elvira continued. “Before the fuzz carted Dernice off, she told me she thought she saw the dead woman hanging around the pool house acting strange.”

  “Strange as in?” Tori prompted.

  “Like she was waitin’ on somebody or waitin’ to do something. I thought that if I could look inside the pool house and check the trash cans. Maybe she was involved in a covert drug deal and the drug dealer killed her. You know, drug deal gone wrong.”

  “I don’t see a problem with that,” Tori said. “I must warn you that you’ll be wasting your time. The crime scene investigators already searched the garbage bins for evidence.”

  “I figured as much, but thought it was worth a shot.” Elvira met Carlita’s gaze and quickly looked away.

  Carlita’s baloney radar went up. Elvira wasn’t telling them everything. “Elvira, there’s something else you’re not telling us. What is it?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “You’re hiding something. It’s written all over your face. What is it?”

  Elvira began to fidget and Carlita cleared her throat. “Spill the beans. What are you hiding?”

  “I may have a teeny problem with one of my other employees, Weston. Dernice said she saw Weston hanging around the dead woman a couple of hours before her body was found. When I cornered Weston, he said he wrote his personal cell phone number on the back of an EC Security Services’ business card and gave it to Ava.”

  “Ava hit on everyone or vice versa,” Tori said bluntly. “That shouldn’t raise any red flags.”

  “Except she slipped the card in her bra. Weston watched her do it. I’m thinking she might have dumped the card. I mean, if the investigators had found Weston’s cell phone number jotted on the back of one of my business cards, they would’ve already picked him up.”

  “I see.” Carlita tapped the arm of the settee. “What if the killer found it?”

  “That crossed my mind too,” Elvira said. “It got me to thinking…maybe I needed to take a closer look at the scene of the crime. I gotta clear Dernice’s name. I feel responsible for this entire thing. She didn’t kill Ava Torrez. I would bet my life on it.”

  Carlita was convinced Elvira believed her sister was innocent, and was truly upset the investigators had detained her.

  “I say we go out there again, now that we have additional information. If what Dernice said is true, it places a nervous or edgy Ava near the scene around the time of her death,” Tori said. “We’ll go right after I finish my brandy.”

  Elvira’s eyes lit. “Brandy?”

  Good manners overrode Tori’s first reaction and she offered Elvira a drink.

  “I bet you got the good stuff.”

  “Dreher.”

  Elvira took a step forward and then abruptly stopped. “As much as I would love to imbibe, I’m working. Regrettably, I’ll have to pass.”

  “One would expect nothing less.” Tori set her empty glass next to the brandy decanter and strolled to the door. “We’ll need flashlights if we plan to search the perimeter of the pool house.”

  “I brought my own.” Elvira patted her pocket. “That and a pair of rubber gloves in case I found something.”

  “What was your plan if Mrs. Montgomery refused to see you?” Carlita asked.

  “My guess is Elvira planned to search the place even without Tori’s permission,” Mercedes said.

  “The thought had crossed my mind,” Elvira said. “But this way is much easier for everyone involved.”

  “No doubt,” Tori led the way to the main hall where Byron stood sentinel at the front door. “We’re going to take a quick look around the pool house.”

  “Would you like me to go with you?”

  “No. We should be fine.”

  “I’m packing heat,” Elvira informed him. “We’ll be protected.”

  “Oh brother.” Carlita shook her head. “Why am I not surprised?”

  “I would feel better if I stayed close by.” Byron turned on the exterior lights, including the pool house lights. The women followed him out of the house, through the courtyard and down the flagstone path to the back.

  Four large trash containers sat alongside the garage. Elvira stopped in front of the first one and lifted the lid. She switched her flashlight on and studied the inside of the bin. “Nope.”

  She slammed the lid shut and moved onto the next one, lifting the lid. “Whew!” Elvira pinched her nose. “This one smells like rotten eggs.” She slammed the lid shut. After checking the other two, she turned to Tori. “You got any more around here?”

  “Yes,” Tori said. “There are two smaller bins next to the pool house. We use them for yard waste.” She led them past the house, to the second set of bins.

  Elvira lifted the first lid and peered inside. “Yard debris,” she reported, and then moved onto the other bin. “Jackpot! Here, hold this.” She handed Mercedes her flashlight and then pulled a plastic bag out of one pocket and a pair of rubber gloves out of the other. “I think I might’ve found something.”r />
  Chapter 18

  “What?” Carlita peered over her shoulder.

  “This might be nothing, but then it might be something.” Elvira slipped the gloves on and then stuck her hand inside the bin, pulling out a clear plastic cup. She sniffed the edge. “White wine. Pinot grigio if I had to guess, although my sniffer isn’t what it used to be.” She dropped the cup into the plastic bag before reaching inside and pulling out a second cup. “Looks like a party for two to me.”

  Carlita stared at the cups. “This isn’t evidence. There was a party here only hours ago. Of course there are drink cups in the trash.”

  Elvira ignored Carlita’s comment and turned to Tori. “Did any of the guests ask for a tour of the pool house?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. As I discussed with your sister, Dernice, I didn’t want guests wandering around out here after dark for liability reasons, not to mention there was no one stationed to keep an eye on the pool area.”

  “So no one should’ve been out here,” Elvira said. “Except we know for a fact that Ava was out here. What if she was rendezvousing with the killer? They had a little wine, there was a little hanky-panky going on, followed by a possible lover’s spat and next thing you know, we have a body on our hands.”

  Carlita pointed at the bag. “What are you going to do with those?”

  “Turn them into the authorities as evidence. I’ll lay out my theory and ask that they be examined.” Elvira frowned. “I hate to think that Weston was involved.”

  “Do you think he could’ve murdered Ava?” Mercedes asked.

  Elvira shrugged. “Under the right circumstances, I believe all of us are capable of murder.” She turned to Tori. “Is it all right if I take a look around inside the pool house?”

  “Why not?” Tori removed her master key from her pocket and unlocked the door. She held it open and the others stepped inside.

  Carlita reached for the doorknob. “Do you mind if I close the door?”

  “Yes, please do. All of this rain makes this area a haven for mosquitos. They’ll be dreadful around here for the next few weeks until our next cold snap.”

  Carlita motioned for Byron to join them, but he shook his head, so she pulled the door closed.

  Since Mercedes and she had already searched the pool house, she stood off to the side and watched Elvira snoop.

  Elvira was thorough; Carlita had to give her that. She even climbed on a chair and inspected the light fixtures. In the bathroom, she removed the lid on the toilet tank and looked inside.

  “Whatever are you searching for?” Tori asked.

  “Drugs.” Elvira replaced the lid. “Toilet tanks are a good spot to hide the baggies, not for long though. The moisture collects quickly.” She finished her search of the pool house and the women gathered near the door. “It’s clean. I guess I didn’t think I would find anything what with the investigators already searching the place.” She waved the bag in front of their faces. “Now this? We may be onto something.”

  “Even if you find Ava and someone else’s prints on the cup, it doesn’t mean the other person was the killer,” Mercedes pointed out.

  “But it would make them a person of interest,” Elvira said.

  “True.” The women waited on the patio while Tori locked the door behind them.

  “Thank you for giving me a chance to search the place,” Elvira said. “I know we started off on the wrong foot that time I scaled your fence and your killer dog knocked me down.”

  Tori chuckled. “You should never mess with Duke. I think he makes sport of going after intruders.”

  “He made sport of me. Not only do I want to get my sister off the hook, I figured I owed you one.”

  “And someone died while your company was protecting my premises,” Tori pointed out.

  “There’s that.”

  The women met up with Byron and he led the way to the outer courtyard.

  Elvira peeled off the rubber gloves and extended a hand. “Again, I want to thank you for giving me a chance to look around. With any luck, I’m onto something with these cups. I’ll let you know if I find anything out.”

  She turned to Carlita. “You coming home anytime soon? It’s deader than a doornail back at the homestead. I don’t have anyone to spy on.” She winked at Carlita and before she had a chance to reply, Elvira turned on her heel and plodded off into the darkness, whistling a tune as she walked.

  “Such an odd woman,” Tori murmured.

  “In so many ways,” Carlita agreed.

  Tori watched Byron close the gate behind Elvira. “Were you worried about us?”

  “A little,” Byron admitted. “There’s still a killer on the loose.”

  “Ah, but we might be one step closer to figuring out ‘whodunit,’” Tori said.

  “I hope so.” Byron waited for the women to step inside the front hall and then locked the front door behind them. “I’ll shut the pool house and pool lights off now.”

  “Thank you Byron.” Tori motioned Carlita and Mercedes to follow her back into the library and closed the door. “I was thinking about what Elvira said, how her sister noticed Ava near the pool house looking anxious. Perhaps she was waiting for someone. What if Elvira’s theory is correct and those two plastic cups belonged to Ava and her killer?”

  “That could very well be the case,” Carlita said. “But who was Ava sipping wine with? Weston admitted to giving Ava a business card with his personal cell phone number on the back, yet the police didn’t mention it and we didn’t find it in the trash.”

  “It could be in her room,” Mercedes said. “We never thought to search Ava’s trash.”

  “The police searched Ava’s room. Do you remember if they looked in the trash?” Carlita asked.

  “Yes, they did,” Tori nodded. “But even if they found the EC Security Services’ business card, they wouldn’t have thought much of it. I mean, Dernice was handing them out right and left. There are probably dozens dumped in the trash by guests who didn’t want them.”

  “Point taken,” Carlita said. “But would they have noticed or cared about a cell phone number scrawled on the back?”

  “Maybe not,” Mercedes said. “I say we go back to Ava’s room in the morning to see if we can find the card Weston wrote his number on.”

  “Good idea,” Tori said. “But before we conduct a second search, I would like to meet with Mimi Dykstra. I’ll call her and see if I can arrange a last minute brunch for tomorrow. For all we know, Rick met Ava by the pool house.”

  With a plan in place for Tori to try to schedule a brunch date for the following morning, Mercedes and a weary Carlita climbed the stairs to the second floor.

  Mercedes paused in front of her bedroom door. “You sure you don’t wanna sleep together?”

  “If you’re frightened of ghosts, you can sleep with me,” Carlita said.

  “I…” Mercedes cast a quick glance into her room. “No. I’ve got my gun for protection.” She gave her mother a quick hug and darted into her room, closing the door behind her.

  Carlita heard the click of the door lock and grinned. A gun wasn’t going to work on a ghost.

  A nice, long warm bath was in order. Carlita filled the tub with water and climbed inside. While she soaked, she mulled over Ava’s murder and grudgingly admitted that Elvira had been helpful.

  She was able to place Ava near the pool house around the time of her death. She’d also found the cups and then told them about the card Weston had jotted his cell phone number on.

  Obviously, something had happened to the card either before or after Ava’s death. If they could get their hands on the card, they would be that much closer to figuring out who did her in.

  Carlita thought about the busted front gate and the theft of William’s weaponry from the drawing room. Weston and EC Security Services had been on the premises prior to the party, which would’ve given Weston - and others, ample opportunity to steal the dagger that killed Ava.

  If that was the case,
Rick Dykstra wasn’t much of a suspect unless he had visited Beachy Bargains Pawn Shop and somehow purchased William’s dagger after it was stolen from Montgomery Hall.

  Carlita’s head was spinning by the time she finished her bath. She quickly changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth before crawling into bed and pulling the covers to her chin.

  As she drifted off to sleep, she couldn’t help but think tomorrow was going to be a very busy day.

  Chapter 19

  Carlita was up early the next morning after tossing and turning half the night. Part of it was because she was in a strange bed, but also because she couldn’t get Ava’s death and the clues Elvira had given them out of her mind.

  She hoped Tori had been able to schedule an impromptu brunch with Mimi Dykstra where she would be able to glean a few clues from Ava’s former employer.

  Carlita started the Keurig and the fragrant aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the room. After a quick glance out the window to gauge the outside temperature, she slipped on a pair of jeans and a simple cotton blouse before easing the coffee mug from beneath the dispenser. She took a small sip.

  It was stronger than she typically brewed at home, but it was perfect after putting in a restless night and knew she’d be glad for the extra shot of caffeine as the day wore on.

  The upper floor was quiet and no one was in sight as she crossed the hall to Mercedes’ room. She rapped softly on the bedroom door and heard a muffled reply. The lock clicked and Mercedes opened the door. “You’re up early.”

  She watched her mother ease into an empty chair next to the small desk. “How did you sleep?”

  “Not that good. I think it was a combination of a strange bed, thinking about Ava’s killer and what we learned from Elvira.”

  “You have to admit, her information was helpful.”

  “It was. How did you sleep? Did any ghosts wake you up in the middle of the night?” Carlita teased.