“Suit yourself. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Angelica left, and Carlita began her inspection in the bathroom. The sink was covered with dried toothpaste, and the room reeked of nail polish remover. A layer of scum coated the bottom of the bathtub. The shower curtain hung haphazardly, and several of the hooks were torn, as if someone had grabbed hold of it and ripped it from the rod.
“Cleanliness wasn’t one of her strong points,” Carlita mumbled under her breath. She backed out of the bathroom and inspected the empty clothes closet before circling the efficiency.
The unit was fully furnished, but small…only large enough for two people. There was a full-size bed tucked in the corner. A sleeper sofa was on the opposite end, and a flat screen tv above the bed.
Although there wasn’t room for a dining room table, there was plenty of space to eat at the bar area which opened to a spacious kitchen, Carlita’s favorite feature of the apartment.
Similar to the bathroom, a thick layer of scum coated the kitchen sink. Caked on spills covered the flattop stove and greasy smudges dotted the refrigerator door.
Angelica returned to the apartment. “As you can see, I left this unit in better condition than when I moved in.”
Carlita lifted an eyebrow. “You’re kidding. This place needs a bottle of bleach not to mention a putty knife to scrape off the scum.” She pointed to the cooktop. “I don’t believe you ever wiped this off.”
Angelica joined her in the kitchen. “You’re nitpicking.”
“I’m over this. Whatever.” Ready to have the woman out of her hair, she made her way to the hall. “Let’s go upstairs, and I’ll write a check for your deposit.”
“I was hoping for cash.”
“Why would I give you cash? There’s no paper trail. It would be my word against yours. You’ll have to take a check.”
Angelica grumbled under her breath as she stomped up the stairs behind Carlita. They stepped inside and to the bar area where Brittney was mincing garlic. She took one look at Angelica and waved the knife in their direction. “What is she doing here?”
“She’s leaving. I’m writing her a check for her deposit.”
“Good.” Brittney attacked the cutting board with a vengeance, pinning Angelica with an angry stare. “Chop, chop.”
“Is that a threat?” Angelica gasped. “Are you threatening to cut me up?”
“Stop!” Carlita lifted her hands. “Just stop.” She ripped the check from the checkbook and handed it to her. “Please leave, and don’t bother using me as a reference because it won’t be a good one.”
“Why not?” Angelica folded the check. “I was a model tenant.”
“If I was in the market for a tenant who constantly complained, whined, griped.”
“I don’t need your stupid reference anyway.” Angelica marched out of the apartment. Moments later, the back door slammed shut.
“Good riddance.” Carlita turned to Brittney. “How’s it going?”
“Great. I decided to make a fresh batch of angel hair pasta to go along with my unstuffed cabbage dish. I know it’s kinda early but I was bored.”
“You can cook whenever you want.” Carlita offered to stir the pot of pasta while Brittney finished chopping the vegetables. Next, she placed the ground beef in the bottom of a Dutch oven and turned the stove on medium-high before sprinkling in the chopped onion.
While the meat cooked, Brittney told Carlita how she was growing more uncomfortable and nervous that she would go into labor before she could make it home.
“I hope not, Brittney. You have a few more weeks.”
“The baby is due Halloween week.” She pressed a hand on her bulging stomach. “I’m probably stressing out the baby because of all of the turmoil.”
“And having to leave your home unexpectedly. The pasta is almost ready.” Carlita gave the pot a final stir and removed it from the heat.
“The meat is cooked, too.” Brittney added the rest of the ingredients to the pot, stirred it thoroughly and placed a lid on top before reducing the heat. “This needs to simmer for about half an hour and then it’ll be ready.”
“That was easy,” Carlita said. “I can’t wait to try it.”
“It’s low carb and healthy.” Brittney tucked a stray strand of blond hair behind her ear. “I like to eat it without the pasta, but Vinnie insists on having it. He would eat pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner if he could.”
Carlita chuckled. “Sounds like my son. He’s just like his dad. Vinnie Senior was Italian through and through.”
“Something smells delicious.” Mercedes breezed into the apartment and joined them in the kitchen, sniffing appreciatively. “I smell garlic.”
“Brittney’s making her unstuffed cabbage. It’ll be ready for a taste test shortly.”
“I’m always good for sampling anything Italian.”
“How are you feeling? Dernice said you barely made it out of the apartment before losing it,” Carlita said.
Mercedes wrinkled her nose. “That awful smell. I don’t know how Dernice and Elvira can handle it.”
“It’s pretty bad.” Carlita sighed heavily. “I’m worried about Elvira. She’s a mess.”
The conversation turned to Brittney’s cabbage dish, and she gave Mercedes a brief rundown of the ingredients. “I think it’s close to being ready.” She plucked a piece of cabbage from the pot and nibbled the edge. “The cabbage is cooked, but I think it needs a little more seasoning.” She poured a small amount of salt and pepper into the pot and stirred it again. “That should do it.”
Carlita grabbed three small serving bowls from the cupboard and filled them with cabbage. She handed a bowl to Brittney and her daughter before lifting her own dish, inhaling the rich aroma. It reminded her of home…of Old Italy.
She scooped up a spoonful and took a small bite, savoring the tangy tomatoes and fresh garlic. “There’s a hint of heat.”
“I added a teeny amount of red pepper flakes,” Brittney said. “I love anything with heat. The baby isn’t crazy about spicy dishes, so I have to be careful.”
“It’s delicious.” Carlita scooped up another small spoonful.
“It is,” Mercedes agreed. “I’m not a huge fan of cabbage, but this is good.”
Carlita was curious. “What other foods do you enjoy cooking?”
“I make a mean bruschetta.”
“I love bruschetta,” Mercedes said. “Maybe you could show me your version.”
Brittney brightened. “Really? I would love to. I mean, whenever you have time. I know you’re busy.”
“I’m never too busy to try my hand at a new recipe.”
Carlita smiled, proud that Mercedes was making an attempt with Brittney.
The front bell rang. “I’ll get it.” Mercedes set her empty dish on the counter and ran out of the kitchen. She returned moments later, followed by Shelby and Violet.
“Violet and I are on our way to her daycare. We thought we would stop by to say ‘hi’ to Brittney,” Shelby explained.
“It’s nice to see you again.” Brittney smiled politely.
Violet darted across the room and wrapped her arms around Carlita’s legs. “Nana.”
“Hello, Violet.” Carlita picked her up and hugged her tightly. “You’re off to daycare?”
“School,” Violet corrected. “I’m going to school because I’m a big girl.” She wiggled until Carlita set her on the floor.
“Hello, Violet.” Brittney bent down to her level. “Do you remember me?”
Violet nodded and pointed to Brittney’s baby bump. “You have a big tummy.”
“That’s because I’m having a baby.”
“I want a baby,” Violet said. “A baby sister.”
“You do?” Carlita smiled and eyed Shelby whose face turned a tinge of pink. “We’ve already talked about a baby sister…or brother. Maybe soon, but not right now.”
“When can we see the baby?” Violet asked.
“Not for a litt
le while. He’s still growing,” Brittney explained.
Satisfied with the answer, Violet ran off to track down Rambo and Grayvie.
“Violet can be a little blunt,” Shelby apologized. “It’s hard to predict what will come out of her mouth next.”
“She’s adorable.” Brittney smiled softly. “I can’t wait. It seems to be taking forever.”
“It will go by fast,” Carlita motioned to the pot of pasta and pot of cabbage. “We were tasting Brittney’s delicious stuffed cabbage dish. Would you like to try it?”
“Thanks, but we just ate. We can’t stay long. I need to drop Violet off and head downstairs to help Tony.” Shelby turned to Brittney. “It was nice to see you again.”
“You, too.”
Carlita walked Shelby to the door, and they stepped into the hall. “How are you feeling?”
Shelby had recently been diagnosed with Addison’s Disease, a rare, life-threatening disorder. Stress was a major trigger, and the doctor told Shelby she would need to make some important lifestyle changes.
Because of the recent diagnosis, Shelby had resigned from her position at the post office and was now working at the pawnshop and restaurant, to fill in and help when she was feeling well enough.
“I’m having more good days than bad. Tony is a huge help. He’s almost too much of a help,” Shelby laughed. “He hardly lets me do anything, but it’s getting easier. I know my triggers now. The hormone therapy seems to be working.”
“Wonderful.” Carlita pressed a hand to her chest. “It’s nice to finally hear some good news.”
Shelby motioned Carlita away from the door. “How’s it going?”
“It’s…all right. I’m sure you heard about Reese, the trolley incident and now the death of one of the Savannah Six.”
“It’s all over the news. I can’t believe his body was in the lot across the street.” Shelby jabbed her finger toward the apartment. “Do you think Brittney’s bodyguards are responsible?”
“I don’t, but they bring their own set of problems.” Carlita cleared her throat. “It’s been a trying couple of days.”
Violet skipped out of the apartment. “Can we go now?”
“Yes. We can go.” Shelby took her daughter’s hand. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will.”
After they left, Carlita returned inside where she found Brittney pacing the living room floor, cell phone in hand and an anxious expression on her face. “It’s Vinnie. He’s rambling on about something going down. He wants to talk to you.”
Chapter 9
Carlita took the phone from Brittney, stepped onto the balcony and pulled the door shut behind her. “Hey, Son.”
“What’s going on down there?” Vinnie demanded.
“What do you mean?”
“Luigi and Ricco called. Somebody offed a dude, left his body in the vacant lot across the street and now they gotta go into hiding cuz the cops are looking for them.”
“It’s a mess,” Carlita sighed. “A gang of troublemakers has been harassing local business owners and tourists for the last few months. They went after Reese yesterday morning over at the trolley stop.”
Carlita told him how they called the police and Tony intervened before it got out of hand. “The ringleader, who also happens to be the nephew of a former governor, was strangled. Ricco and Luigi were patrolling the area early this morning and found his body in a shed on the vacant lot.”
“The cops don’t know that,” Vinnie interrupted.
“No, but Ricco and Luigi were caught on Annie’s surveillance cameras, and now the police are going to step up area patrols. Tony and I agreed they need to keep a low profile until the investigation is over.”
“That’s not their job,” Vinnie argued. “Their job is to protect Brittney.”
“They’ll have to do it from inside the apartment.”
“Vito ain’t gonna be happy.”
“Then maybe they should return to Atlantic City or go stay in a hotel,” Carlita snapped. She immediately regretted her harsh words. “I’m sorry, Son. I’m stressed out. I have a houseful of people, Mercedes had to move out to make room for Brittney, some unknown person or persons are after you and Elvira is a mess.”
“What’s wrong with Elvira?”
“It’s another long story. Let’s just say I have my hands full and all we’re trying to do is keep Luigi and Ricco out of jail. If Detective Polivich catches up with them and runs a background check, we both know what will happen.”
“They’ll be extradited back to New York, and we’ll never see them again.”
“Do you think they took the guy out, maybe by accident?” Carlita asked.
“They didn’t do it. Luigi swears he and Ricco had nothing to do with the guy’s death. There’s no reason for them to lie to me.” It grew quiet on the other end. “I better tell Vito what’s going on…the sooner, the better. We may have to come up with a Plan B to keep Brittney safe.”
“And keep your guys away from the cops.”
“I’ll give Ricco a call and try to convince him and Luigi to hang tight and stay out of sight until we figure out our next move,” Vinnie said. “Is there anywhere they can hang out?”
“As a matter of fact, I evicted the short-term renter this morning. They can stay in Tony’s old efficiency until the heat is off or you decide what you want to do.”
“What happened to your tenant? Never mind. I guess you do have your hands full. I’m sorry, Ma. I don’t mean to add to your burdens. I would put Brit and the guys up in a hotel, but she’s homesick as it is. Cooping her up in a hotel room isn’t good for any of them.”
“I see your point, and I completely understand. Brittney is family, and to be honest, she’s no trouble. She sleeps a lot.”
Vinnie’s voice softened. “That sounds like my Brit.”
“And she makes a mean unstuffed cabbage dish,” Carlita joked.
“Now I really do miss her,” Vinnie groaned.
“I hope you miss her for more than her cooking,” Carlita laughed.
“Of course I do.” Vinnie sounded distracted. “I gotta go. Vito is here.”
“No problem, Son. Keep me posted, and I’ll try hard to keep your guys out of trouble. In the meantime, if you could talk to them, I would appreciate it.”
“Done.” Vinnie thanked his mother again and ended the call.
Carlita stared at the phone for a long moment. She certainly did have her hands full, but no more than her eldest son.
Luigi and Ricco were lurking somewhere nearby. She needed to get them out of sight and inside as quickly as possible. She returned to the living room where Brittney was waiting for her and handed her the cell phone. “I’ll be back in a minute. I’m gonna go check on the guys.”
She made her way to the parking lot and the sedan. The black tinted windows made it difficult to see inside. From what she could tell, the vehicle was empty. She started to walk away when she heard a faint humming noise. The rear passenger window lowered several inches.
Carlita crept closer. “Hello?”
“Were you lookin’ for us?” Luigi asked in a low voice.
“I came by to let you know that the downstairs apartment is empty, and you can move in anytime.”
“You hear that Ricco? We got a new place to hang out.”
“I’m ready.”
The rear doors flew open, and the men emerged. Ricco reached back inside and grabbed a briefcase while Luigi strode to the other side to join them.
Carlita pointed to the trunk. “Do you need to grab your things?”
“This is all we got.” Luigi tapped the top of the briefcase.
“Your clothes are in there?”
“Yes, ma’am. Me and Ricco packed light. Besides, there wasn’t much room for our stuff after Brittney loaded us up.”
“I’m sure. Follow me.” Carlita led the men inside and down the hall to the efficiency. She opened the door and handed the keys to Luigi. “The quarters ar
e a little tight. There’s a full-size bed and the sofa is a sleeper sofa.”
“It’ll be fine, Mrs. Garlucci,” Luigi assured her.
“Like the Taj-Mahal compared to the back seat of the car,” Ricco added.
“It should be a little more comfortable. I’m sorry about the condition. Angelica wasn’t the tidiest, and it could use a decent cleaning.”
“No need to apologize,” Luigi said. “Believe me, this is a nice place compared to some of the places we’ve stayed in.”
“Vinnie and Tony have already explained you’ll have to keep a low profile for the next few days since one of the neighborhood surveillance cameras caught you heading toward the vicinity of the vacant lot last night.”
“Dummy us.” Luigi shook his head. “We knew about the cameras. We scoped all of them out when we arrived, but we figured a couple walk-bys and no one would think nothing of it.”
“And they wouldn’t have if not for Davis Rutger’s body being dumped across the street.”
“Me and Luigi was talkin’ about him. While we made ourselves scarce, we checked out one of the pool halls down by the river. Figured it wouldn’t hurt to listen in on the local buzz,” Ricco said.
“What did you hear?”
“Rutger was bad news. He and his group was causin’ all kinds of trouble. He was the ringleader.”
“I heard that, as well,” Carlita nodded.
“He got in over his head, ticking off the wrong people.”
“Like who?”
“That’s the part we don’t know,” Luigi said. “Us bein’ strangers, I think the locals in the bar was thinkin’ we were undercover cops or somethin’.”
“I would never get that impression,” Carlita blurted out. “No offense.”
“None taken, but you know,” Ricco said, “if you travel on the wrong side of the tracks, people are leery of strangers comin’ around askin’ questions. So we was askin’ one too many questions, and they clammed up.”
“Rutger made his own fair share of enemies,” Carlita said. “Probably even within the group of Savannah Six.”
“The man at the top is always a target,” Luigi agreed. “This Davis guy had trouble on the inside of his group and trouble with some of the people he messed with.”
Turmoil in Savannah: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 13) Page 7
