“So, now what?” Carlita asked. “We could contact the authorities and tell them what we know.”
Vinnie shook his head. “If we tip our hand to the cops, they’ll go over there to chat with him...if Joe hasn’t already gotten to him. Either way, the heat will be on Strange soon, he’ll pack up and head out. In fact, he may be on his way out already.”
Cool Bones lifted a hand. “I planned to run by his place to check on him this morning.”
“I have an idea.” Carlita held up a finger. “We may need a little help.”
Chapter 23
Vinnie turned into the trailer park and slowed as the sedan jostled over the rutted gravel road.
“Good grief,” Elvira grabbed the door handle. “This road is a free roller coaster ride.”
“I’m gettin’ off to the side,” Vinnie tightened his grip on the wheel. “I guess you could call these nature’s speed bumps.”
Elvira unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to Cool Bones, who was seated next to her. “I’ll need your cell phone.”
“My phone?”
“To put the listening device on it,” she patiently explained. “It’s an app.”
“You want to install an app on my phone, so you can listen in,” Cool Bones confirmed.
“Correct. I install the app. You leave your cell phone on during your visit with Strange, and we can listen in on everything you say. It acts like a wiretap, except a thousand times better. The reception is incredible.”
Cool Bones reluctantly handed Elvira his phone. “Why can’t I just call one of you and leave the phone on while I’m in there?”
“Because the app amplifies voices, even if it’s in your pocket, making the voices crystal clear.”
“Hmm.” Cool Bones didn’t sound convinced.
“What’s your four-digit access code?”
“Give me the phone back.” Cool Bones held out his hand. “I’ll put it in.”
“You don’t trust me?” Elvira asked indignantly.
“Not on your life.”
Carlita, who was seated in the front passenger seat, laughed. “Smart man.”
He tapped the screen and handed it back to her.
Elvira worked quietly for several minutes before returning the phone to him. “Hold this.” She reached into her pocket for her cell phone and fiddled with the screen. “Say something.”
“Something,” Cool Bones repeated, his voice echoing through Elvira’s phone.
“Got it. You’re ready to rock and roll.”
They finished driving through the trailer park and turned onto the street Cool Bones had given them. Vinnie parked a couple blocks away from Strange’s trailer. “What if he wants to know how you got here?”
“The bus stop is right around the corner. I’ll tell him I took the bus since I don’t own a car.”
“Right.” Carlita gave him a thumbs up and handed him a container of the restaurant’s lasagna. “If it starts to get sketchy, get out of there.”
“Will do.”
The trio watched as Cool Bones stepped onto the sidewalk. He passed by several mobile homes, spaced evenly and in a tidy row. The postage-stamp-sized lawns were all meticulously manicured.
“This ain’t such a bad place,” Elvira studied the lawns.
“Maybe you should sell your place and move here.”
“Nah. I’m perfectly happy where I am. Besides, if I moved away, who knows what kind of neighbor you would end up with.”
“Someone better than you?” Carlita teased.
“Very funny.” Elvira’s phone picked something up, and they could hear voices.
They were muffled at first, and then they became crystal clear.
“…still not feeling too well. I must have caught a bug. You probably aren’t going to want to come in. Thank you for the food.” A man was talking, but it wasn’t Cool Bones.
“We got a couple days off now with the holidays. Do you think you’ll be better for the New Year’s Eve gig down at the Thirsty Crow?” Cool Bones asked.
“I don’t know.”
The voices became muffled, and then there was silence.
“We lost him.” Elvira tilted her phone, holding it toward the window. “It looks like he’s on his own.”
“Maybe we should circle the block,” Carlita cast a worried glance out the windshield.
“Give him a few more minutes,” Vinnie said.
Carlita nervously tapped her seatbelt. “Maybe we shoulda let the cops handle this,” she finally said. “What if Strange suspects something is up?”
“From Cool Bones?” Vinnie patted his pocket. “If there’s any hint of trouble, I’ll go in.”
Elvira’s cell phone crackled, and then Cool Bones’ voice returned. “You take it easy, man.” There were muffled sounds as if someone was on the move. Cool Bones rounded the corner. He hurried to the car and climbed in the backseat.
“Well?” Carlita asked. “Did you notice a cut on Strange?”
“No, but he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt.” Cool Bones pulled the rear door shut. “He’s packing his stuff up. Lee wouldn’t let me inside, but I could see a stack of boxes inside the door.”
“He’s getting ready to run,” Elvira predicted.
“That’s not all. There was someone else with him.” Cool Bones described Jersey Joe.
“They already got to him,” Vinnie said. “We can call the cops to let them know what we think. Something tells me Lee Strange is about to go missing and this time for good.”
“I wondered what happened to Joe. He was snooping around, and next thing you know, he’s nowhere to be found,” Carlita said.
“He was around all right. We just didn’t see him.” On the way home, Vinnie placed the call, filling Officer Thryce in on what they had discovered, vaguely describing their suspicions Roxy knew Lee Strange, how he had remembered her mentioning the name, that his mother had taken a picture of the band and Strange wasn’t in the photo.
The officer said he would follow up. After the call ended, Vinnie waved the phone in the air. “Thryce didn’t sound too interested. I’m not sure if he plans to talk to Strange.”
Cool Bones buckled his seatbelt. He reached into his pocket and handed Elvira his phone. “Take the app off.”
“You don’t want to keep it? It might come in handy again someday.”
“Will you be able to listen in on my phone?”
“Yeah, I mean, if I wanted to, but who has time for that?”
“You,” Carlita and Cool Bones said in unison.
“Fine. I’ll take it off.” Elvira grumbled under her breath as she took the phone.
Back at the apartment, the group gathered in the alley between Elvira’s apartment and Carlita’s.
“What’s this about Dernice going to get her hair done this morning?”
“She kept the hair appointment? Good.” Carlita clapped her hands.
“She said you paid for it. Why’s she getting all gussied up?” Elvira eyed Carlita suspiciously.
“Why don’t you ask her?”
“I did. She told me it was none of my beeswax.”
“Maybe she just wanted to.”
“Huh.” Elvira didn’t look convinced. She changed the subject. “I have a special surprise for the Christmas dinner tonight.”
“What kind of surprise?”
“You’ll see.”
“Vinnie has a surprise for the family too,” Carlita said. “It starts with the letter ‘c.’”
“Cash?” Elvira brightened. “If you’re handing out cash, I’ll get in line.”
Vinnie chuckled. “I’m not handing out cash.”
“Dinner is at six with the gift-giving starting at seven for the kids,” Carlita reminded them. She turned to Cool Bones. “I picked up a gift for your granddaughter, as well. All of the children will be getting gifts.”
“Thank you, Carlita,” Cool Bones said. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“You’re very welcome, and I wanted to.”
The plan was for the family gift exchange to start after the guests left the party, which was the Garlucci family tradition.
Elvira returned home after making Carlita promise to call her if she heard anything. Vinnie headed to the pawn shop to help his brothers. Cool Bones and Carlita headed upstairs. She stopped him when they reached the upper hall. “I’m sorry about Lee Strange.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Cool Bones smiled. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” His expression grew solemn. “Do you think Lee’s in trouble?”
Carlita considered the question. The “family” had its own way of dishing out discipline. Although she had never witnessed firsthand how Vito handled a “situation,” something told her Lee Strange was in serious trouble. “Yes. I think he is.”
The rest of the afternoon passed quietly. Carlita spent most of it in the restaurant, prepping the food for the evening’s festivities. Mercedes joined her not long after she got there, followed by Gina, Brittney and Shelby.
The women chatted and laughed as they cooked. They reminisced about Christmases past, and Carlita even forgot about Lee Strange for a few minutes.
At five, with the last preparations in place and the final few Christmas dishes baking in the oven, the women returned home to freshen up and get ready for the party.
Carlita caught a glimpse of Vinnie, who was out on her balcony. He gave the women a small wave, and she could see he was on his cell phone.
Back inside, Brittney went to tend to the baby and get ready first while Carlita joined her son.
“All right. Got it. Brit, the baby and I will be heading back early on the twenty-sixth. Merry Christmas to you, Vito.” He ended the call.
“Well? Any news on Lee Strange?”
“Yeah. He committed suicide a couple hours ago.”
Carlita’s hand flew to her throat. “Committed suicide?”
“According to Vito’s source.”
“Joe Mariani.”
“Yes. Mariani told him he put some pressure on Strange, wanting him to return to New Jersey to face the music and cough over the cash he took. Mariani went to pack up his stuff at the hotel. When he got back to Strange’s place, it was swarming with cops. His connection at the precinct told Joe that Lee Strange had committed suicide.”
Carlita reached out to steady herself. “Then, the cops don’t have a confession.”
“Oh, they have a confession, all right. Strange left a note behind, confessing to stabbing Roxy on the ship. She got one in on him before he got hold of the knife. He stabbed her in the neck before tossing her over the side of the ship.”
Carlita’s head spun. Roxy’s killer was dead. Perhaps when Strange realized the “family” had found him and he knew his fate was sealed, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Or…perhaps Mariani had forced Strange to write a confession note before killing him.
“Do you think Strange killed himself?” Carlita asked.
“I don’t know. What I do know is that I wouldn’t have wanted to be in his shoes. He was going to pay a steep price not only for stealing but also for killing Roxy. Things weren’t lookin’ good.”
“But why confess?” Carlita wondered aloud. “What would it matter?”
“We may never know what happened during those last moments of Strange’s life,” Vinnie paused as if he wanted to say something else.
“What is it?” Carlita prompted.
“Knowing the ‘family,’ there is no way Mariani would have left Strange to go and pack.”
“Meaning Strange was not alive when Joe Mariani left his place.”
“You can take it for what it’s worth,” Vinnie said. “What I do know is that Mercedes, Luigi, Pete and everyone else is off the hook.”
Chapter 24
Carlita carried the large pan of lasagna to the serving table. Mercedes was right behind her with the carved ham. Gina and Shelby followed with roasted turkey and a huge bowl of loaded mashed potatoes.
There was more, from the candied yams to the bowls of stuffing. There were piping hot dinner rolls and fresh cranberry sauce. Shelby brought two pans of her favorite baked macaroni and cheese.
While the women arranged the main dishes, Carlita’s sons carried the pies, cakes, cookies and pastries to the dessert table.
Pete, who had arrived early, set up the beverage station right next to the desserts.
At five ‘til six, Carlita did a final inspection of the dining area. The list of invitees was the same as those she’d invited for Thanksgiving dinner, but this one included even more…the extra family members, along with Cool Bones and his family. Annie would be bringing a friend who was spending the holiday alone.
One of Reese’s co-workers who had no family and nowhere to go would also be attending.
She and Pete stood by the door, greeting the guests. Elvira and Dernice arrived first. Elvira held up a dish. “I brought my specialty.”
“Not Natto again,” Carlita joked.
“No. No natto. It’s spinach dip with toasted crackers,” Dernice said. “It’s some good stuff.”
Carlita did a double-take and really looked at Dernice. “Dernice Cobb. Look at you.”
Dernice beamed as she did a small twirl showing off her new hairdo. There were blond streaks of highlight tucked in among soft layers of brown. Her hair was cut to the nape of her neck, and bangs framed her face.
Carlita leaned in. “Are you wearing makeup?”
“Just a pinch. The gal at the beauty shop talked me into it.”
Elvira made an unhappy noise.
“Elvira Cobb,” Carlita chided. “Your sister is as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside.”
“Whatever? Where’s the man? Let’s see what he thinks.” Elvira looked around disinterestedly.
“Luigi isn’t here yet.” Carlita glanced over Elvira’s shoulder. “I see him coming now.”
Luigi paused long enough to get rid of his cigarette before stepping inside. He was carrying a gift bag and handed it to Carlita. “Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. G. This is for you.”
“Thank you, Luigi.” A bottle of Dom Perignon was in the bag.
“Hey, Elvira.” Luigi nodded at her and then turned to Dernice. He stared at her for a long time. “Dernice?”
“Yes?” Dernice’s face turned red.
“You look…different.”
“In a good way,” Carlita added.
“Yeah. I like it. The hair, I mean. It’s a nice look, not too harsh anymore,” Luigi stumbled over his words, but Carlita could tell from the look on Dernice’s face she was flattered.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Well. Uh.” Luigi rubbed his hands together. “I better go check on Ricco. I heard about Roxy’s killer, how he ended up dead. I kinda figured it would go down like that.”
Before Carlita could ask him what he meant, Reese and her co-worker arrived, followed by Annie and her friend.
One by one, the guests passed through the entrance, all bearing gifts for Carlita and a heartfelt thank you for including them.
Cool Bones, his daughter and granddaughter were the last to arrive. “Sorry that we’re late. We had a few last-minute errands to run.” He turned to the woman and young girl beside him. “Carlita, this is my daughter, Jordan, and my granddaughter, Brielle.”
“How do you do.” Carlita shook both their hands.
“Santa is going to find Poppa’s house and bring me a puppy.” The child smiled as she hopped up and down.
“A puppy?” Carlita clasped her hands. “What a lucky girl.”
She solemnly nodded as her mother placed a light hand on her shoulder. “You know we can’t have a puppy in our apartment.”
“Then we’ll have to move.”
“Thank you for inviting us,” Jordan said. “Dad told me you had a sad situation with Lee Strange.”
“Yes. It’s been a troubling week,” Carlita said.
After they wandered off, P
ete spoke. “The police stopped by this afternoon before I left to tell me about Strange’s death. I pretended not to know and didn’t mention you filled me in earlier.”
“It was a tragedy all the way around,” Carlita said.
“Yes, it was.”
The couple mingled with their guests for a few minutes before calling everyone to the buffet to load up on the food. Christmas music played in the background, and Carlita noticed the children stopping by the tree to see if there were presents under it with their names on them.
After dinner, they lingered over dessert as the children gathered around while Santa made an appearance and passed out presents, but not before getting a solemn promise from each of them to be good all year long.
All too soon, the evening ended, and the guests started to leave. Carlita stood by the door, wishing them a Merry Christmas and thanking them for coming.
Finally, the last guest departed, and only Pete and the family remained.
They gathered around the tree, and Carlita started first, presenting Pete with her gift by asking Tony to help her carry the new wrought iron gate for his courtyard in.
Pete was thrilled with the gate, monogrammed with the letters, “PT” in the center and a cameo of a pirate off to the side. “I will put this to good use.” Pete kissed her soundly. “It’s the perfect gift. I have one for you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.
When Carlita opened the box, she found an antique locket with the letters “P” and “C” entwined together. “I love it.” Pete helped her put it on, and then she proudly showed it off.
Her family came bearing gifts for Pete, as well. There was a book on pirate lore, a fancy pirate hat and a pirate paperweight.
Carlita’s children were thrilled with the framed photos of the entire family. The gifts were passed around for everyone to see. After it ended, she and the others began gathering the torn wrapping paper and empty boxes.
By then, the children were getting cranky, and PJ clung to his mother’s leg. “I think we need to head to bed so Santa can come.”
Christmas Family Style in Savannah: A Garlucci Family Saga Novel (Made in Savannah Mystery Series Book 15) Page 17
