Swiped in Savannah: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 12)

by Hope Callaghan

  “I’m not, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to tag along and visit with Pete and Gunner. I guess he’s expecting us?” Mercedes asked.

  Carlita gave her daughter a blank stare.

  “Pete doesn’t know we’re heading his way?”

  “He does,” Glenda smiled. “I talked to Pete last night, to find out if he would be at the restaurant or on his pirate ship. He’s at the ship this morning.”

  A server approached. “Coffee?”

  “Please.” Carlita held up her cup.

  The woman took their order. Carlita waited until she was gone. “The pirate ship adventures have been selling out. I wonder if business will slow now that the kiddos are back in school.”

  “We can all compare notes,” Glenda said. “The Riverfront Inn, Ravello’s and the pirate ship.”

  The food arrived a short time later, and the conversation drifted to Mark’s Riverfront Inn and business at the SAS. After finishing their meal, Carlita insisted on picking up the tab. “It’s my turn.”

  Mercedes and Glenda waited on the sidewalk while she paid the bill.

  It was a short walk from the restaurant to the riverfront district. The skies were overcast, and a stiff northerly wind blew across the water.

  Carlita shivered and tugged her sweater around her neck. “I’m not used to this chilly air anymore.”

  Mercedes rubbed the sides of her arms. “We’re turning into true Southerners,” she joked. “I don’t think we could survive a winter up north.”

  “And who wants to?”

  The trio reached the pirate ship. The gangway was down.

  “Hello?” Carlita took a tentative step. “Anybody home? Pete, are you here?”

  Heavy steps echoed on an upper deck, followed by a clambering on the stairs.

  Pete appeared. “Well, shiver me timbers.” A smile lit his face as he strode to the gangway. “If it isn’t three fine-looking lasses come upon my merry ship.”

  “It’s good to see you, too, Pete.” Carlita gave her friend a warm hug before taking a step back. “You staying busy these days?”

  “Business slowed down a tad now that fall is here, but not too bad. How about your new restaurant?”

  “It’s slower than I would like,” Carlita confessed. “I have nothing to compare it to, so I was hoping you could ease my mind.”

  “Come on in. I’ll show you what’s new, and then we can talk shop.”

  “We’re also here to see what you’ve heard about the theft at the museum,” Glenda said.

  “Well, now that, matey, is an open and shut case.” Pete hooked his thumbs in his front pockets.

  “They caught the culprit?”

  “In a roundabout way you could say that. Elvira Cobb and her sister both confessed to the theft.”

  Chapter 7

  “Confessed?” Carlita blinked rapidly. “You mean to say Elvira and Dernice are responsible for the missing painting?”

  “It would appear so. I talked to a friend who works for the Savannah Police Department.” Pete told them that the detective in charge of the case visited the women to question them a second time about the theft. “One of the sisters has a previous conviction.”

  “For armed robbery,” Carlita said.

  “Yes. She confessed to the theft, and then the oddest thing happened,” Pete said.

  “Knowing Elvira, it’s hard telling what happened next,” Mercedes said.

  “Elvira confessed. She told the investigators she was the one responsible for the theft, and her sister was trying to protect her.”

  “They both confessed?” Glenda shook her head.

  “Yep. Each of them claimed they were solely responsible, so the authorities arrested them both.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” Carlita rubbed her brow. “Why would they both confess?”

  “Because they’re both guilty,” Glenda dusted her hands. “I don’t feel responsible anymore, now that both of them admitted to committing the crime.”

  “I have to say I’m surprised. It seems out of character for Elvira to admit to anything,” Mercedes said. “I guess we won’t have to worry about her anymore.”

  The conversation turned to business, but Carlita only half-listened as she mulled over Pete’s shocking news. Something about the confessions didn’t ring true. Why would Elvira confess to stealing the painting? Obviously, she knew she would be a prime suspect not to mention her sister who had a previous rap sheet - for robbery no less.

  Unless Pete was right…both sisters confessed in an attempt to protect the other one. Perhaps Elvira possessed a caring bone in her body after all.

  Pete interrupted Carlita’s thoughts. “I’ve done a little sprucing up around here. Would you like to take a tour?”

  “As a business partner, I suppose I ought to,” Carlita teased.

  “And a pretty partner at that,” Pete flirted.

  Carlita could feel her cheeks warm. “No need to turn on the charm. I’m not trying to back out of our partnership anytime soon.”

  “Ah…you’re a hard woman to compliment,” Pete laughed.

  “She can dish it out, but she can’t take it,” Mercedes mumbled.

  “What was that, Mercedes?” Her mother lifted a brow.

  “Never mind.”

  Pete motioned for them to follow him up the gangway and inside the main parlor where he pointed out a few of the changes he’d made to the snack bar. “I did a little tweaking to help with traffic flow.”

  He had also added a small indoor theater. “The theater is for the wee passengers who’re afraid of the firing cannons and sword fights upstairs.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Carlita said.

  They finished touring the main deck. Pete led them to the front of the ship and the captain’s quarters where a full-size bed sat next to the swinging hammock.

  “You’re not sleeping in the hammock anymore?” Mercedes asked.

  “Nah. These bones are gettin’ too old to be sleepin’ in one spot.” Pete crossed the room to the back and the wall of rectangular windows.

  “Gunner is great.” Pete’s parrot squawked.

  “I didn’t even see you there, Gunner.” Carlita smiled as she approached Gunner’s cage. “Are you behaving yourself?”

  “Gunner is handsome.”

  “Yes, you’re handsome,” Carlita agreed.

  Pete joined them. “Gunner has learned a new song.”

  “New song,” Gunner echoed.

  “Sing them your new song.”

  “Yo ho, yo ho. A pirate’s life for me. I strut on my perch, watchin’ the girls…the pirate’s life for me.”

  “Bravo.” Carlita clapped her hands. “I love the song, Gunner.”

  “Pretty girls for handsome Gunner,” Gunner said. “Carlita is pretty.”

  “Thank you.” Carlita shot Pete a quick glance. “I wonder where he learned that.”

  “I taught Gunner to appreciate beautiful women,” Pete said. “A pirate’s life gets lonely. I could use me a lovely lass.”

  Carlita fanned her face. “I’m sorry I asked. This conversation went right off the tracks.”

  “Ma doesn’t get out much,” Mercedes chimed in. “You two should hang out sometime.”

  “I like that idea,” Pete tilted his head. “What do you say, partner?”

  “Never mix business and pleasure,” Carlita quipped.

  “I think you two make a cute couple,” Glenda added.

  “How ‘bout it, Ma?” Mercedes pressed.

  “We need to find something else to talk about.” Carlita changed the subject as they exited Pete’s private quarters. They climbed the stairs to the open deck where Pete showed them a few of the other changes he’d made.

  Several employees wandered down the sidewalk and began boarding the pirate ship.

  “We’ve taken enough of your time.” Carlita glanced at her watch. “We better let you get back to work.”

  “Thanks for stopping by.” Pete followed the women down the
stairs. “If you ever change your mind about a dinner date, lassie, you know where to find me.”

  “Yes. Thanks, Pete.” Carlita gave him a quick smile, relieved when he turned his attention to the arriving employees. “We’ll see you later.”

  The trio strolled away from the pirate ship, and Carlita playfully punched her daughter in the arm. “What was that all about?”

  Mercedes smiled innocently. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”

  “You mean because I accepted your date with Sam on your behalf?”

  “You said it.” Mercedes nodded toward the ship. “I’ve seen it for a while now. Pete likes you. He’s been waiting in the wings for John Alder to move away and out of the picture.”

  “I think you’re wrong. Of course, he likes me. We’re friends and business partners.”

  “No.” Glenda chimed in. “He likes you. I noticed it at Tony’s wedding. He couldn’t take his eyes off you.”

  “Th-that’s absurd,” Carlita sputtered.

  “We’ll see,” Glenda shrugged. “It wouldn’t hurt for you to get out once in a while, even if it is as friends.”

  “Agreed.” Mercedes waited until they parted ways with Glenda to speak. “What do you think about Elvira and Dernice’s confessions?”

  “I…it doesn’t make sense. Why would Elvira destroy everything she’s worked so hard to build over a painting she didn’t even like?”

  “We’re talking about Elvira here,” Mercedes pointed out.

  “True.”

  “At least we can rest easy knowing we aren’t responsible for helping put an innocent woman or innocent women behind bars.”

  Mercedes and Carlita made their way past the Waving Girl Monument, through Morrell Park and to Walton Square.

  “I better get ready for work.” Mercedes headed upstairs while Carlita stopped to check on Tony and the pawnshop. She found her son sorting through inventory in the back.

  “Hey, Son.”

  He swung around before doing a double take. “Hi, Ma.”

  “How is Shelby?”

  “She’s okay. Thanks for sharing your pasta and chicken dish last night. Dinner was delicious.”

  “You’re welcome.” Carlita shifted her feet. “I’ve been thinking about Shelby and her job at the post office.”

  “She gave them her two weeks’ notice.”

  “I have an idea I would like to throw out there.” Carlita asked her son what he thought about having Shelby help part-time in the restaurant and the pawnshop. “It would only be when she’s feeling up to it. That way, she can make a little extra money to help pay the bills, and she doesn’t have to worry about working a nine-to-five job.”

  “That’s a great idea, Ma. I’ll run it by her.”

  “Perfect. Speaking of health, I need to give your brother a call to check on him and Brittney.”

  Tony thanked his mother again for the food and the offer of a job for Shelby, and she headed out the back door. She passed Mercedes on her way up. “Good luck at work.”

  “Thanks, Ma.”

  Carlita returned to the apartment. She dropped her purse on the counter and wandered to the living room window, overlooking the alley.

  Had Elvira and/or her sister stolen the valuable artwork? Something wasn’t sitting right. As if hearing Carlita’s thoughts, Elvira emerged from the back of her building.

  She hurried onto her balcony. “Hey.”

  Elvira trudged across the alley. “Hello, neighbor.”

  “I thought you were in jail.”

  “I was.”

  “Wait there.” Carlita hustled out of the apartment and down the steps where Elvira stood waiting. “I talked to Pete Taylor a short time ago. He said both you and Dernice confessed to stealing the painting.”

  Elvira pinched the end of her nose. “The cops tricked us. I rescinded my confession.”

  “Did you steal the painting?”

  “No. I thought Dernice did. I was covering for her. She can’t go back to prison.”

  Carlita glanced over Elvira’s shoulder. “Where is Dernice?”

  “She’s inside trying to find us a decent lawyer.” Elvira explained the investigators picked the sisters up at the same time and took them down to the police department for questioning. “They interviewed us in separate rooms. The guy made it sound like they had evidence on Dernice. I didn’t want her to go back to jail, so I kind of hinted maybe I was the one who took the painting.”

  “But you didn’t.”

  “Nope.” Elvira shook her head. “And neither did Dernice. They used the same sly trick on her, telling her I was on the verge of confessing. She was trying to save me from prison time, so she told them she may have had information about the theft.”

  “And they arrested both of you.”

  “Yep. When I found out what they were up to, I accused them of coercing a confession. I threatened to contact the local newspaper unless they released us.”

  “So they let you go,” Carlita said.

  “They had to. They have no evidence, and I was threatening to blow their cover. So now we’re looking for an attorney.” Elvira let out an exaggerated sigh. “You deal with the criminal element on a regular basis. I’m sure you’ve had to extricate yourself from a sticky situation or two. You got any suggestions on a good attorney?”

  “I am not involved with the criminal element. I’ve never been to jail or prison.”

  “You’re not missing anything. The food is disgusting, I was afraid to go to sleep and the cots are hard as a rock.”

  Dernice stepped into the alley, and Carlita waved her over.

  “Hey, Carlita.” Dernice nodded and turned her attention to her sister. “I found a couple of attorneys who might work. I told them I wanted to discuss it with you first.”

  “You get them on the cheap?” Elvira asked.

  “Yep. One of them is fresh out of law school and looking to make a name for himself. When I told him who we were, he jumped at the chance to represent us. He mentioned something about holding a press conference.”

  “I wouldn’t do that,” Carlita advised. “You might say something you regret which could be used against you in a court of law.”

  “No kidding,” Elvira grunted. “We need help, and we need it fast. The clock is ticking. It’s only a matter of time before the investigators dig up something they can pin on me and Dernice.”

  “You’re an investigator,” Carlita pointed out. “Why don’t you try to figure out who set you up?”

  “I am. Don’t think I haven’t been working on it. I know one thing for sure. It was an inside job. During questioning, the detective slipped. I found out the museum’s security system went down. It’s as if the painting just vanished into thin air.” Elvira snapped her fingers.

  “Was the artwork still there when you locked up?” Carlita asked.

  “Yep. Like I mentioned before, I had to run back inside. I forgot my keys when I was chowing down on some leftovers. Gaston Spelling, the museum’s curator, waited in the hall while I ran back in to grab the keys. We walked out together. He locked up. We parted ways in the parking lot out back. The next morning, they discovered there had been a power outage during the night, and the painting was gone. End of story.”

  “You didn’t notice any strange cars in the parking lot?” Carlita asked.

  “There were lots of cars parked out back. The alley is used as overflow parking for some of the bars.”

  “I see.” Carlita tapped her chin thoughtfully. “So the power went out, someone managed to get inside, steal the painting and exit the building without being seen or triggering the alarm. What about surveillance cameras?”

  “The place is loaded with them. I asked Detective Wilson about it. He was very…how shall I say? Vague. It makes me think there was something going on with the cameras.”

  “Meaning they might not have been functioning at some point in time after you and the museum’s curator left,” Carlita said. “I’m sure the securi
ty system was on battery backup, so maybe for some reason, the system was down, along with the power.”

  “That would be my guess. Otherwise, they would have the culprit in clear view, and the alarm would have been tripped. There are surveillance cameras all over the museum.”

  Dernice, who so far had remained quiet, spoke. “I told Elvira we need to get back inside the museum to have a look around. There’s some sort of storage area near the entrance to the museum. I noticed several of the museum employees going in there. We need to find out what’s stored in that room. The only problem is that there’s no way Elvira and I can pull it off without it looking suspicious.”

  “Dernice, you’re brilliant.” Elvira punched her sister in the arm.

  “I am?”

  “Yeah.” Elvira slowly turned to Carlita. “We may not be able to get back inside the museum, but I know someone who can.”

  “Me?” Carlita’s eyes widened.

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, no.” She began shaking her head.

  Elvira clasped her hands. “Please? All you have to do is look around. The exhibit is open all afternoon.”

  Dernice joined in the begging. “You would be doing us a huge favor.”

  “I…”

  “We need help. If not, two innocent women will go to jail for a crime they didn’t commit,” Dernice said.

  A sly smile crossed Elvira’s face. “I have a confession.”

  “Confession?” Carlita pursed her lips. “What kind of confession?”

  “I…well, curiosity got the better of me. Not long after Tony and Shelby’s wedding when the mafia guys showed up, I said to myself, ‘Elvira Cobb, there’s something to Vinnie Garlucci and his henchmen.’ So, I did a little digging into the owners of the New Jersey casinos. Rumor has it that some of them are owned by the mob.”

  Elvira paused, letting her words sink in. “Your son, Vinnie, works for Treasure Cove Casino. In fact, according to their website, he’s the manager of operations.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “It’s run by a mob boss, Vito Castellini. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Castellini is your daughter-in-law’s maiden name.”