Carlita hung back, waiting for Pete to search Roxy. He patted her pockets and removed a clip of bullets. “She’s clean. Luigi must still have her gun.”
Roxy released a string of obscenities capable of making a sailor blush.
Pete ignored her rant as he stepped out of the room. She was still going off as he calmly closed the door and set the metal bar in place, locking it. He gave it a quick tug to make sure it was secure. “As long as no one removes the bar, we should be good.”
“You can’t be serious about leaving me in here.” Roxy bounced onto her tiptoes and peered out the small porthole. “This is inhumane.”
“You have water, a restroom and ample room to move about freely, not to mention fresh air. I’ll return when the ship reaches port. In the meantime, enjoy your peace and quiet. I know we will.” Pete placed a light hand on Carlita’s back, guiding her away from the dark corner.
“You can’t leave me here!” Roxy yelled. “This is against the law. I’ll hunt you down.”
“Hunt me down?” A small smile played across Pete’s lips. “You are going to be one very busy woman if you follow through on half your threats. I suggest you spend some time contemplating your actions and the reason why you’re where you are.”
After returning, Carlita checked on Mercedes to make sure she was all right.
The party was much more subdued until The Flying Gunner circled around for the return trip. Off in the distance and above the bridge, fireworks lit the night sky. Carlita snuggled close to Pete, mesmerized by the dazzling display.
She abruptly pulled back. “What am I doing? I need pictures.” She tugged her cell phone from her pocket and began snapping pictures of the fireworks.
Carlita took several of the nearby parade boats and then wandered along the deck, taking pictures of the crew who had made the evening so memorable and thanking each of them. She was even able to get a picture of Cool Bones and his band with a sky full of fireworks in the background.
After she finished, she checked the photo and then showed it to him. “This is a great picture of you and the band.”
“Whoo-eee,” Cool Bones let out a low whistle. “Would you look at that sharp bunch?” he joked. “Do you mind sending me a copy?”
“Not at all. As a matter of fact, I’m going to have it framed as my way of thanking you for sharing your time and talent with my family tonight.” Carlita touched his arm. “It was wonderful. You have a great band.”
“Thank you.” Cool Bones beamed. “We loved every minute of it. In fact, we hope Pete turns this into an annual event.”
“Me too.” Carlita wandered to the other side of the deck to snap a photo of Santa and Mrs. Claus. She was also able to corral the kids long enough to get a group photo of Santa and her grandchildren.
Carlita thanked them both before she drifted to the railing to savor the tranquility of the starry night. She was relieved Pete had found a safe way to contain Roxy until they were back on dry land, ensuring their evening ended on a much more peaceful note.
A commotion near the center of the deck caught her attention. Pete was hanging a clump of mistletoe. He strategically placed it near the Christmas tree and then called on the couples to share a kiss.
Santa and Mrs. Claus were first. Sam waited until they walked away to pull a reluctant Mercedes beneath it, where he soundly kissed her.
“It’s our turn, lass,” Pete whispered in Carlita’s ear as they traded places with Sam and Mercedes. His kiss was feather light at first, and she could feel Pete start pulling away until he changed his mind. The kiss deepened as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer.
There were several whistles and catcalls until Carlita could feel her cheeks warm, and she stepped back.
“There’s more where that came from,” Pete flirted. “But for now, I need to head back to the bridge.” He reluctantly left to navigate the final leg of their journey and dock the ship while the kitchen crew brought out apple cider, fresh coffee and enough donuts to feed a small army.
It wasn’t long before they reached their starting point, the boat was secured, and the crew lowered the gangway where Pete and Carlita joined them to see their guests off.
Annie and Reese were the first to leave, followed by Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Elvira, Dernice and Luigi were next. “You still got the pain in the you-know-what contained?” Elvira asked.
“I do,” Pete said. “I’ll wait until the ship clears to deal with her.”
Finally, the only ones left on board were Pete, Carlita’s family, several of the ship’s crewmembers and Cool Bones and his band, who were packing up their equipment.
While they finished, Pete and Carlita, along with Vinnie and Brittney, headed to the back to release the troublesome woman.
They abruptly stopped when they reached the small bathroom. The door was wide open. Roxy was gone.
Chapter 5
“She’s gone.” Pete grabbed the metal bar that was propped up against the wall. “Unless she’s David Copperfield, there’s no way Roxy could have escaped without help.”
“Someone set her free,” Carlita said. “I never saw her again.”
“Me either,” Brittney said. “If she got out, she would’ve come back to check on me.”
Or abandoned ship, Carlita silently added.
“I don’t think whoever it was did it out of the kindness of their heart.” Vinnie pointed to a red splotch. “That looks like blood.”
“You’re right,” Pete followed it to another spot. A trail of blood led to the railing.
Carlita spun in a slow circle, studying their surroundings. Although the bathroom was tucked away in the back of the ship, it was still close enough that someone should’ve heard a commotion. She voiced her thoughts.
“Except there was loud music, fireworks, explosions,” Vinnie pointed out.
“Now what?” Brittney asked.
“We split up and search the ship,” Pete said.
Ricco hurried across the deck. “The place is clearing out. Where’s Roxy?”
Vinnie pointed to the empty room and the trail of blood.
Ricco’s jaw dropped. “Roxy’s gone?”
“Gone and possibly against her will,” Pete grimly replied. “We’re going to split up and search for her.”
Ricco offered to head below deck. Vinnie and Brittney agreed to search the upper deck while Carlita and Pete searched the main deck. “Let’s meet back here when we’re done.”
Pete and Carlita started their search in his office/private quarters, which took mere minutes. They moved from the office to the main deck and finished their search in the galley, where several employees were finishing some last-minute cleanup.
“Have you seen a woman about this tall with dark hair and dark eyes? She talks like this.” Pete lowered his voice.
The worker standing next to Pete shook his head. “I know who you’re talking about. Her name was Rhonda or Rebecca, something like that. She was in here earlier, before we left port. She was snooping around, asking all kinds of questions and acting like she owned the place.”
“That was her,” Pete nodded. “So, you never saw her again?”
“No, sir.”
They exited the galley, and Carlita stopped Pete. “There’s an off chance she somehow managed to free herself, or someone came by and helped her out, but that doesn’t explain the blood.”
“The fact Brittney never saw her again is a concern. Roxy strikes me as the type of person who would stick to her job – do or die.”
“You’re probably right. I hope it’s not the ‘die’ part.”
The couple was the first to finish their search and head back upstairs. Ricco joined them moments later, reporting there was no sign of his co-worker. Brittney and Vinnie arrived a short time later. “I spoke to one of your crewmembers, who is a runner. He remembers Roxy. He said she was rude to him. She complained about something, but that’s it.”
“What about a cell phone? I�
��m sure Roxy has a phone,” Carlita said.
Ricco patted his pocket. “I already tried calling her. The call went to voice mail.”
“I did too,” Vinnie said. “She’s not answering.”
“Now what?” Carlita clasped her hands. “If we contact the authorities, we’ll have to tell them she’s missing, and we don’t know how because we had her locked up against her will.”
“And then there’s the blood,” Brittney pointed out. “Daddy is not going to like this. It’s messy. If you plan to have someone go missing, you don’t leave blood behind.”
“Brittney is right. This is messy,” Ricco agreed.
“Whoever let her out may have had an ax to grind,” Pete said.
“Which could have been any number of people,” Carlita said. “She argued with Luigi, Dernice, Elvira, Mercedes.”
“And treated Cool Bones and his guys like hired help,” Ricco said.
“Who knows how many other people she ticked off during the course of the evening,” Pete rubbed the back of his neck as he studied the blood on the deck. “There’s one place we haven’t checked. The lifeboat.”
The group followed him to the side of the ship. A brown and red lifeboat was hanging from thick cables.
“She’s still secured. It doesn’t appear the lifeboat has been tampered with.”
“Let’s not panic yet,” Vinnie said. “We gotta think this through.”
Ricco held up a finger. “Let me go check the car. I wouldn’t put it past Roxy to find a way out of this, set it up to make it look like a crime scene and then sneak off to stir up even more trouble.”
“I don’t think we should involve anyone else in this yet,” Carlita said after Ricco left. “I’m going to tell the rest of the family to head home, and we’ll be along shortly.”
Baby Vinnie began to fuss, and Brittney bounced him in her arms. “The baby is tired.”
“I’ll see if Paulie or Tony will give Brit and the baby a ride back to the apartment.” Vinnie led his wife and son from the deck, leaving Pete and Carlita alone.
“I’m sorry, Pete,” Carlita apologized. “I had no idea Roxy would cause so much trouble.”
“I should’ve made her walk the plank,” Pete joked, and then quickly sobered. “I hope Ricco is right, and she staged her own disappearance, but my gut tells me that’s not the case.”
Ricco and Vinnie returned at the same time. “There’s no sign of Roxy,” Ricco reported. “The parking area is clearing out, and there was no sign of her anywhere.”
“Tony and Shelby are giving Brit a ride. I told them I was staying behind to help you finish cleaning up, but I don’t think Tony or Mercedes bought it. They know something is up.”
“We can’t stay here. I’ll need to take the ship back to my slip downriver,” Pete explained as they descended the steps. “My crew will stay onboard with me.” He stopped when he reached Gunner’s cage, which was still hanging in the corner, not far from Santa’s empty chair.
Pete carefully removed it from the hook, waking Gunner, who was quietly resting on his perch. “Gunner is a pirate. What a party.”
“Yes, it was quite a party.”
“Back off, buddy,” Gunner squawked.
“I’m taking you downstairs,” Pete said. “We’re setting sail for home.”
“You’ll keep your trap shut if you know what’s good for you,” Gunner replied.
“Whose trap shut?” Carlita stepped closer.
“Back off, buddy,” Gunner repeated.
“Gunner has never said either of those phrases before,” Pete eyed the bird.
“You don’t think…” Carlita’s voice trailed off.
“That Gunner overheard something,” Vinnie finished his mother’s sentence.
“It’s possible. It’s also possible he’ll be repeating stuff he heard for days,” Pete tightened his grip on the cage as he led the others down the stairs to the main deck. “Since you’ll need to retrieve your vehicles from the parking lot, I can meet you back at my berth.”
Carlita, Vinnie and Ricco promised to meet Pete at his home port. Since Mercedes had caught a ride with Sam, Carlita was alone during the drive back.
As she drove, she couldn’t help but think about how wonderful the evening had been…the Christmas parade, the night cruise, family, friends and good food onboard The Flying Gunner.
And now, mob boss, Vito Castellini’s, employee was missing and very likely injured or worse…dead. Had someone snuck to the back of the ship and let Roxy out of the bathroom and an argument ensued?
Luigi had taken Roxy’s gun during her altercation with Mercedes. It was no secret he didn’t care for Roxy. He knew she was being detained, and she was not only defenseless but weaponless.
Or maybe it was Dernice or Elvira. They were firsthand witnesses to the fight, as well. What if one of them had gone back there to confront her?
With all of the noise and distractions, it would have been easy for someone to slip back there unseen.
The mood was somber as the group assembled in front of The Flying Gunner.
“Any sign of Roxy?” Pete asked.
“None,” Ricco shook his head. “I tried her cell phone again. Same deal. No answer.”
Vinnie folded his arms, eyeing the dark waters of the Savannah River. “What if she got into it with someone and went over?”
“Maybe she jumped off and swam to shore,” Carlita suggested hopefully.
“She could have,” Pete said. “Except with all the other boats in the parade, there’s a good chance someone would have hit her.”
Visions of Roxy diving over the side of the ship and into the water to escape only to be struck by an unsuspecting boat coming up behind them crossed Carlita’s mind.
“Roxy ain’t that stupid,” Ricco said. “No one in their right mind would jump off the side of the ship at night with all those other boats around.”
“Let me talk to my other kids before we do anything,” Carlita said. “There’s an off chance someone heard or saw something.”
It was getting late, and Carlita was exhausted. Her concern over Roxy’s disappearance and indications of foul play weighed heavily on her mind. Vinnie and Ricco headed out while Pete walked Carlita to her car.
“I’m sorry, Pete. This is all my fault. If Roxy hadn’t been such a pain, this never would’ve happened.”
“You can’t blame yourself, lass. No one knew what was going to happen.” Pete opened her car door. Even though it was dark, she could see the look of concern etched on his face.
Pete had worked hard to make the evening special, from the surprise boat ride to Santa’s visit to the delicious food and wonderful music, all spent with family Carlita hadn’t seen in months.
“Thank you for everything,” Carlita tilted her head back, so she was looking Pete in the eyes. “No matter what happened to Roxy, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
Pete offered her a tired smile, and she wondered if she looked as tired as he did. “Aye, lass. One way or another.” He gave her a quick kiss before backing away and waiting for her to drive off. In her rearview mirror, she could see his shoulders slumped as he trudged back to the ship.
Paulie’s children, as well as Shelby and Violet, had already gone home by the time she arrived at the apartment. The baby was asleep in Vinnie and Brittney’s room, leaving Carlita’s children, along with Sam, Ricco and Luigi, gathered in the living room, solemn expressions on their faces.
Something told Carlita she was about to hear some bad news. “What is it?”
“This.” Vinnie led his mother to the television. He grabbed the remote and replayed a clip from the eleven o’clock evening news.
Carlita could feel the room start to spin as she stared at the television screen.
Chapter 6
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have breaking news. A holiday tradition took a tragic turn this evening when a woman’s body was found floating in the Savannah River by a boater participating in Merry Bay’s Chri
stmastide Boat Parade.”
There was a recorded clip of the parade, taken from what Carlita believed was the Savannah shoreline. It cut to another clip of two police boats, their bright searchlights beaming across the waters.
“We have very few details surrounding the tragic discovery and will have more on the story tomorrow morning during our Live at Five Show.”
Carlita slumped into an empty chair, staring blankly at the television.
“Vinnie told us what happened to Roxy. You think this might be her?” Tony asked.
“I…yes. I wonder if Pete has heard.” She fumbled for her cell phone and sent a brief text asking him to call her.
The phone rang seconds later. “I already heard. One of my kitchen crew told me about it before he left. He said he noticed a police boat patrolling the water and got a call from a friend who knew he was on the ship tonight.”
“What if it’s Roxy?” Carlita asked.
“We’ll find out soon enough.” Pete thanked her for the heads up, attempted to assure her he would handle it and then ended the call.
Carlita wearily waved her phone in the air. “Pete knows. One of his employees noticed a police boat patrolling during the ride back and told him about it.”
Ricco nervously twisted his watch. “I gotta tell Vito what went down.”
“Let’s wait until we’re a hundred percent certain,” Vinnie said. “There’s still an off-chance Roxy managed to free herself, saw an opportunity to get off the ship and took it.”
A small glimmer of hope welled up inside Carlita. The woman was tough as nails. There was a chance she managed to escape, had another incident with a guest onboard the ship – maybe even an employee – and then found her own way off to avoid being locked up again.
Carlita felt a light hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Sam Ivey standing behind her. “I’m sorry, Carlita. There’s nothing you or your family can do until the authorities release more information. I suggest we call it a night.”
“You’re right.” Carlita raised her voice. “It’s getting late. We’ve all had a long day. It might not be a bad idea for Ricco and Vinnie to keep their phones handy in case Roxy surfaces. Other than that, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
Christmas Family Style in Savannah: A Garlucci Family Saga Novel (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 15) Page 4
