Christmas Family Style in Savannah: A Garlucci Family Saga Novel (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 15)

by Hope Callaghan

  Even if she had been on drugs and stabbed herself, it still didn’t explain how Roxy had managed to get out of the bathroom. There was no way she could have done it without help.

  “You didn’t happen to see anyone going up that way after Pete locked her up, did you?”

  “Nope. I was too busy watching the fireworks. Other than that, it was a great night. I hope Pete does it again next year.”

  “Me too, except minus the drama and death. Is Mercedes around?”

  “I think she’s downstairs helping Tony in the pawn shop.”

  Carlita thanked her. She also thanked her for letting Mercedes stay with her while the rest of the family was in town before heading to the stairwell. She was halfway down when the back door flew open, and the chatter of excited voices filled the lower hall.

  The women arrived, laden with bags and boxes. Shelby brought up the rear, hustling the children inside as Gina and Brittney carried their purchases up the stairs.

  “Are you storing your things here too?” Carlita stepped off to the side to make room for them.

  Gina shook her head. “These are all Brittney’s buys. Mine are still in the back of the van.”

  Carlita blinked rapidly, wondering where in the world her daughter-in-law planned to stash the stuff. Mercedes had already cleared out half her closet to make room for them.

  Vinnie must’ve heard the women. He emerged from the pawn shop and headed out to help them finish unloading while Carlita led the children up the stairs and into the apartment.

  “We got to ride the carousel,” PJ announced. “We went to a park with swings and slides. I picked this for you.” He pulled a wilted yellow weed from his pocket and presented it to his grandmother.

  Carlita knelt next to him to accept her special gift. “It’s beautiful, PJ. Let me go put it in some water.”

  “It’s from us, too,” Gracie and Noel chimed in. “We could only find one.”

  “Thank you.” Carlita held the weed in one hand as she hugged her grandchildren.

  Violet trailed behind, her lower lip trembling.

  “What’s wrong, Violet?”

  “I couldn’t find a flower for you.”

  PJ reached for her hand. “It’s okay. The flower can be from you too.”

  “Really?” Violet brightened as PJ solemnly nodded.

  “This is the best flower ever. In fact, I’m going to press it in wax paper between the pages of my favorite book,” Carlita promised.

  “Can I help?” Noel asked.

  “Me too,” Gracie said.

  “We’ll do it together,” Carlita promised.

  PJ yawned loudly.

  “It’s time to go back to Aunt Shelby and Uncle Tony’s for a nap,” Gina said.

  “I don’t want to,” Noel whined.

  “Then, you can’t help Nonna press her flower.”

  The children reluctantly followed their mothers out of the apartment, leaving Brittney, Vinnie and the baby in the bedroom.

  Carlita, curious to find out where all of the packages had gone, wandered down the hall to the bedroom. Bags and boxes filled the bed. One whole wall was floor-to-ceiling wrapped gifts.

  Baby Vinnie sat in his bouncer, his eyes round as saucers as he watched his mother and father sort through the mountain of purchases.

  She said the first thing that popped into her head. “You must have a whole room in your penthouse just for the stuff you buy.”

  “As a matter of fact, I do.” Brittney emptied several of the bags and consolidated the items into one larger bag before carefully folding the empty ones and neatly stacking them in a pile. “My downfall has always been designer shoes until the baby came along. Now it’s designer baby clothes. The nearby outlet mall has the most magnificent shops and, lucky me, they were having a huge sale.”

  “Poor little Vinnie ain’t got enough hours in the day to wear all of these clothes,” Vinnie grimaced.

  “Then we’ll save them for the next baby,” Brittney said. “Speaking of that, did you tell your mom about the big surprise…her Christmas present?”

  “Another baby?” Carlita joked.

  “No. We’ve decided to wait until Vinnie is a little older to start trying for another one,” Brittney said.

  “What kinda big surprise? Good or bad?” Carlita asked.

  “It ain’t bad, at least I don’t think it’s bad,” Vinnie said.

  “For me?”

  “For everyone,” Vinnie made a zipping motion across his lips. “Now, no more questions.”

  Brittney began digging around in her purse. “Have you seen my Piaget?”

  “Piaget?” Carlita asked.

  “It’s my bracelet.”

  “A very expensive bracelet,” Vinnie chimed in. “When’s the last time you saw it?”

  “Last night.” Brittney’s expression grew anxious as she began emptying her purse on the bed. “It’s not here.”

  “Don’t panic. Maybe you left it on the dresser or in the bathroom.” The three of them split up and began searching for the bracelet, but it was nowhere to be found.

  “What if I left it on the ship last night?” Brittney said. “Daddy paid over five g’s for it.”

  “We’ll find it.” Vinnie stood. “Is there any way we can get back on The Flying Gunner to search for the bracelet?”

  “I’ll find out,” Carlita said.

  “I have to find it.” Brittney’s eyes filled with tears.

  Carlita promised she would check and then headed to the balcony for some privacy. When she was finally able to track Pete down, he sounded distracted.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, Pete. I have a favor to ask.” Carlita explained the situation. “The last time she remembers seeing it was last night when we were on The Flying Gunner.”

  “The cops left and gave me the all-clear to open back up for business. I was heading that way, so I can meet you there.”

  Carlita thanked him and ended the call. She returned to the bedroom and found Brittney perched on the edge of the bed crying, while Vinnie attempted to console her. “Pete said he’s on the way to the ship, and that we can meet him there.”

  “Thank you, Carlita.” Brittney swiped at her tears and attempted a smile.

  “You’re welcome. I’ll go with you. I want to stop by the pawn shop to let Tony and Mercedes know where we’re going.”

  She popped in to the pawn shop to give them a heads up, and caught up with Brittney and Vinnie, who were in the alley putting the baby in his stroller.

  The baby cooed and kicked his feet as his mother buckled him in. “He loves his stroller,” she explained.

  As they walked, Baby Vinnie gurgled and chattered, and then he grew quiet.

  Carlita hurried ahead to peek in on him. He had nodded off, his chubby cheeks resting on his shoulder, and his tiny hands curled into fists. A trickle of drool ran down his chin, and his small lip moved up and down. “He’s asleep,” she whispered.

  “The stroller works like a charm,” Vinnie said. “That and riding in the car.”

  “I remember those days.”

  The foursome passed by the Waving Girl. Up ahead, she could see the top of The Flying Gunner’s crow’s nest. Pete’s pickup was parked not far from the entrance.

  There was another vehicle parked next to his with a familiar figure standing nearby, talking on the cell phone.

  “Great,” Carlita muttered. “This guy is everywhere.”

  Chapter 15

  Jersey Joe waited until the family drew close. He ended his call and eyed them with interest. “Fancy meeting you here. Hello, Brittney.”

  “Brittney is missing a piece of jewelry she had on last night. We’re here to try to find it,” Vinnie explained. “I would ask you what you’re doing, but I think I already know.”

  “Mr. Taylor graciously offered to let me take a look around.” Joe grinned, and the smile reminded Carlita of a Cheshire cat who was getting ready to pounce on his prey.

  “Because he has nothing t
o hide,” Carlita said. “The police have already searched the ship. I’m sure they collected any evidence they may have found.” She didn’t mention the search she, Ricco, Luigi and the others had already done.

  Joe shrugged. “Half of them are incompetent, a quarter don’t care, which leaves a couple who might actually be doing their job. They could walk on top of a clue and not see it.” He tapped the side of his forehead. “I know what I’m looking for.”

  The gangway lowered, and Pete emerged. He acknowledged Joe’s presence with a nod. “I assume you’re Mr. Mariani.”

  “I am.” Mariani tipped his hat. “Thank you for accommodating my request on such short notice.”

  “You made it sound as if I didn’t have a choice,” Pete said.

  “There are always choices,” Joe replied. “Some of them are better than others. You chose the better one.”

  “Let’s get this over with. I have a business to run.”

  “How’s business?” Joe shoved his hands in his pockets, eyeing the side of the ship with interest. “You’re in a sweet spot, not far from the river and on the trolley routes.”

  It was apparent Joe had wasted no time in doing his homework, and it made Carlita wonder how much he already knew about her, about her husband and her family. Probably a lot more than she wanted him to.

  “Business is good. Always has been.” Pete stopped when he reached the top of the gangway. “The investigators have already combed over every square inch of this place, so I’m not sure what you hope to find.”

  “We’ll see.”

  Pete gave him a brief layout of the ship, and then the men headed to the upper deck to start in the back where Roxy had been detained.

  After they left, Carlita helped Vinnie and Brittney start their search on the main deck. It didn’t take long since she’d only traveled through on her way to the party deck.

  They climbed the stairs to the open deck where the couple had spent the majority of their evening.

  Pete joined them halfway through. “Any luck?”

  “No.” Brittney’s look of disappointment deepened. “There are so many nooks and crannies, the bracelet could be anywhere.”

  “I have a metal detector in my office. Would you like to borrow it?”

  “You do?” Brittney brightened. “That would be great.”

  While the men made their way to Pete’s office, the women continued searching the area.

  Carlita wandered to the railing and stared out. What she wouldn’t give to turn back time. She would’ve insisted Roxy not board the ship, but then Vinnie and Brittney wouldn’t have joined them and would have missed a wonderful evening.

  She also thought about what Vinnie had said during lunch, how Roxy mentioned seeing someone on board who looked familiar. Was it someone from Roxy’s past? Had it been a member of the “family?” If so, who was it?

  Carlita knew almost all of the guests. Maybe it was Victoria “Tori” Montgomery. The woman had an “interesting” past. But then, so did Pete. Perhaps she was talking about Pete. Maybe it was time to delve a little deeper into Roxy’s past.

  The men returned, and Pete gave Vinnie brief instructions on how to use the device.

  Jersey Joe joined them. He asked Pete a question, and then the two of them descended the stairs to the main deck, leaving the foursome behind.

  To his credit, Vinnie scoured every single square inch of the upper deck before making his way to the main deck and doing the same. The only place he didn’t search was the galley and below deck, since Brittney hadn’t been in either place.

  He returned a short time later. “I’m sorry, Brit. There’s no sign of your bracelet.”

  Brittney’s face crumpled, and she sniffled loudly. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell Daddy that I lost my favorite bracelet.”

  “How does that thing work?” Carlita eyed the metal detector. “Elvira has one, and she’s always digging up her yard, looking for treasure.”

  “And you want to do the same thing?” Vinnie teased.

  “Nah. Not my yard, but who knows? It might come in handy to have one.”

  Vinnie handed the detector to his mother. “It’s pretty easy to operate. You turn it on and start waving it around.”

  Carlita did a slow sweep in front of her and then playfully hovered it over the stroller’s bottom basket.

  Beep. Beep.

  “It just beeped.”

  Brittney dropped to her knees and began digging around inside the thick pile of blankets and baby burp cloths. She let out a small shriek as she triumphantly waved a gold bracelet in the air. “My bracelet.”

  “Ma found your bracelet,” Vinnie said.

  “It must’ve fallen off when I was getting stuff for the baby.” She impulsively hugged Carlita and then promptly placed the bracelet on her wrist. “Thank you for finding my bracelet.”

  “You’re welcome.” Carlita ran a light hand along the wand. “I think I might go ahead and buy me one of these. This thing has already more than paid for itself.”

  There was a thumping of heavy footsteps on the stairs. Pete and Joe emerged from below deck and joined them.

  “Well?” Carlita asked.

  “I’m not sure if Joe found anything of interest,” Pete said.

  “Not really, but the visit wasn’t a total waste of time. I have a better idea of how things played out last night.” He extended a hand. “I admire you, Pirate Pete, and I’m not one to pay compliments lightly. You’re a straight shooter, and I appreciate your assistance.”

  Joe was the first to leave after telling Vinnie he would catch up with him later, and that he had some more digging around to do. Carlita wondered if it involved interrogating more of her tenants or friends.

  After he was gone, Pete motioned to the detector. “Any luck finding the bracelet?”

  Brittney beamed as she waved her wrist. “Carlita found it. It was in the bottom basket of the baby’s stroller.”

  “I’m glad something is working out for someone,” Pete said.

  The baby woke at the sound of Pete’s booming voice and started to fuss.

  “We’re gonna head home and get out of your hair,” Vinnie said. “Thanks for letting us have a look around.”

  “You’re welcome.” Pete and Carlita accompanied them down the gangway and to the docking area.

  “I’ll meet you back at the apartment.” Carlita watched them leave and then turned to find Pete gazing at the side of his ship, a wide grin on his face.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing.” Pete shook his head.

  “I recognize the look on your face. You’re trying not to laugh.”

  “I was thinking about when I showed up with the police this morning, and you and the others were sneaking down the other side of the ship.”

  “You saw that?” Carlita rolled her eyes. “I thought I was a goner.”

  “You were a real trooper. I like my gal a little gutsy, and you definitely showed some guts.”

  “Yeah. Well, I’m tougher than you think, even in my advancing years.”

  “You have many years of spunk left, Carlita Garlucci.”

  “And so do you, Pete Taylor.” Carlita sobered. “Do you think Joe or the authorities found anything of interest during their searches?”

  “I don’t know. If they did, they’re playing it pretty close to the vest. They spent most of their time on the upper deck, where we found the blood and where Roxy was detained.”

  Carlita told him what Vinnie had said, how Roxy mentioned someone on board the ship looking vaguely familiar. “Do you remember seeing her talking to any of the guests?”

  “She made her rounds but stuck mostly near Brittney when she wasn’t harassing someone.”

  “I have something to show you.” Carlita showed Pete the pictures she’d taken the previous evening and stopped when she reached the one of Santa heading up the staircase. “Check out the time stamp. This would have been around the time Roxy went missing.”

&
nbsp; “You’re right. Mark used the rear restroom to change into his Santa suit after he arrived.” Pete squinted his eyes as he studied the picture. “Is it possible Roxy recognized Mark Fox?”

  “I…don’t know. By the time we arrived, Mark was already in costume.” Carlita told him what Glenda had said, how Mark had gone that way to use the bathroom during the fireworks, and then remembered Roxy was up there.

  Carlita rubbed her eyes. “It’s getting late. I need to get home and start thinking about dinner.”

  “You look tired.”

  “I am tired.” Although she loved having all of her children together, the busyness of her houseguests was exhausting, and the day had been especially rough. Carlita changed the subject. “How is the sale of your ranch going?”

  “As a matter of fact, it has been so hectic, I haven’t had time to tell you I got an offer yesterday. Annie sent it over first thing this morning. It looks like my place might have new owners before long.”

  “That’s great news.” Carlita knew Pete was anxious not only to have one less thing to worry about but to start the next phase of his life – with her, she hoped.

  Which reminded her she had promised to help him spruce up his restaurant’s private courtyard. “Are we still on for cleaning up your courtyard tomorrow morning?”

  “Bright and early, unless you’re busy.”

  “I’m never too busy for you.”

  Pete’s expression softened as he pulled Carlita into his arms and held her close. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

  Carlita chuckled. “I bet you ask yourself that question a lot, especially these past couple days.”

  “You’re adding a little excitement to an old pirate’s life.” Pete tilted his head and gently kissed Carlita. The kiss deepened, and she placed a light hand on his silk shirt, feeling his heartbeat and the warmth of his skin beneath the soft material.

  He was toned and trim, and the ripple of muscles stretched against the taut material. Her pulse kicked up a notch. For a moment, Roxy’s death and the chaos back home were forgotten. It was just the two of them.