Chapter 14

“What time is the cop…guard…coming by?” Carlita began spooning the biscuit dough onto the cookie sheet.

“I told him Ravello’s was serving your biscuits and gravy from eleven to three.”

“You should’ve made it later to give me more time.”

“I wanted to make sure I was working, so I could wait on his table. Once he’s stuffed, we can swoop in and try to get the inside scoop.”

“You’re sure he knows something?”

“We happened to drive by the Thirsty Crow. The bus driver started talking about Cool Bones and what had happened. Officer Kean said something about it not being a slam dunk case and the investigators might not be done digging up bodies.”

“So you’re thinking we need to figure out what the cops are investigating?”

“If we can,” Mercedes said. “Even if we can’t, something tells me this Cray person is a person of interest.”

“I was thinking about running by the apartment where Cool Bones met the guy,” Carlita said. “I wonder if the landlady, Culpepper, is still around.”

“She’s around somewhere if she called the cops after recognizing Cool Bones.”

Carlita got to work, whipping up a batch of creamy bacon gravy, enough for two people with leftovers to take home.

As soon as they finished, mother and daughter carried the dishes from Mercedes’ apartment, down the alley and into the restaurant’s kitchen.

Arnie, the manager, did a double take when he saw them. “Hey, Carlita, Mercedes.”

“Hello, Arnie. We have a special customer coming in between eleven and three to sample a new dish.”

“I remember you mentioning adding a southern dish to the menu. Is this it?”

“It is. I don’t have enough to roll it out, at least not yet.” Carlita plucked a bowl from the shelf, set a biscuit in the bottom, and poured a generous amount of gravy on top. “Would you do me a favor and try it?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Arnie grabbed a spoon and dug in. “This is delish. Nice and creamy, with a hint of rosemary.”

“My secret Italian ingredient,” Carlita said. “It doesn’t taste bland?”

“Nope. It’s perfect.” He gave her a thumbs up. “Order the ingredients and as soon as they come in, we’ll roll it out as a weekly special, or perhaps put it on our Sunday brunch menu.”

“You read my mind. I figured we’ll offer it as a special once a week to see how it goes,” Carlita said. “If it takes off, we can add it to the regular menu.”

Mercedes unfolded her work apron and slipped it over her head. She glanced at the clock. It was almost eleven. Officer Kean had four hours to claim his special meal. It was up to them to work their magic, to get him to spill the beans and share what he knew about Rudy McCoy’s death.

Monitoring the front entrance, Mercedes got to work, taking orders, delivering cooked-to-order meals, and clearing dishes. During a break, she thought about Sam’s flowers and his apology for embarrassing her. She told him she forgave him, but a small part of her was still upset about the incident.

It reminded her of other times, little jabs he’d made. To be fair, Sam had good qualities, and even some great qualities. He was always willing to help the Garluccis during times of trouble and turmoil.

Sam was hardworking, fun, funny, patient and kind. On the flip side, he had a hard edge. She suspected it was from years of working as a cop. He had never been unkind to Mercedes, but he had an unwavering, stubborn, and prideful side.

Maybe what the couple needed was time away, to figure out if they could work through some past resentments and finally decide if they had a future together. Hilton Head might be the perfect place to figure it out.

Two o’clock rolled around and Mercedes was beginning to think Officer Kean wouldn’t show. At quarter past, she spotted him, along with another uniformed officer, standing near the hostess stand waiting to be seated.

Mercedes promptly assembled two glasses of ice water and made a beeline for their table. “Hello, Officer Kean.”

“Hello, Mercedes Garlucci.” He gave her the once over. “You clean up nicely.”

“My work uniform is better than the orange jumpsuit,” she joked.

“Much.” He introduced his partner. “I’ve sold him on the biscuits and gravy.”

“Ma made a special batch for you. Can I get you something to drink?”

“Sweet tea, if you have it.”

“We do.”

“Make it two,” the other officer said.

“Coming right up.” Mercedes hustled to the back. Her mother was at the computer, fiddling with the order screen. “They’re here.”

She stopped what she was doing. “The cop?”

“Yeah.”

Carlita shoved her chair back. “While we were waiting, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to make a batch of shrimp and grits to go along with the biscuits and gravy.”

“It’s free food. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled with whatever we serve them.” Mercedes swung by the beverage station to pour the sweet teas. She returned to the table and set them in front of the men. “Feel free to order off the menu if you change your mind.”

“Not a chance.” Kean closed his menu and set it aside. “I can taste the food already.”

“Perfect. It shouldn’t be long.” Mercedes ran to the order screen and entered it in the system. While she waited, she checked on her other tables, making her rounds.

Thinking the special dishes were almost ready to go, she returned to the kitchen and found her mother standing at the prep counter. “I’m plating the food now.”

“Awesome. I was thinking we could deliver it together, so you can meet Officer Kean and maybe mention Cool Bones.”

“Sounds good.” Carlita filled two plates with shrimp and grits and two more with a generous portion of the main meal. “We’re ready to roll.”

Mercedes carried the order into the dining room. She unfolded the tray stand and placed the tray on top. “Ma made shrimp and grits to go with the other dish.”

“Shrimp and grits?” Officer Kean eagerly eyed the food. “This might become my new favorite restaurant.”

Mercedes introduced Carlita. “This is my mother, Carlita Garlucci Taylor.”

“How do you do?” Carlita shook hands with the men. “My daughter said you treated her well yesterday. Thank you for watching over her.”

“She was a good sport about it. The other woman she was with…Elvira…”

“Cobb,” Carlita said.

“Elvira Cobb was a pain in the butt. The woman whined about everything.”

“She was having a hard time keeping up,” Mercedes said. “I know by the end of the day she was exhausted.”

“With any luck, she learned her lesson and won’t ever see me again.” Kean reached for his silverware. “This looks delicious.”

“I hope you enjoy the biscuits and graves.” Carlita nearly dropped the dish of food. “Did I…uh…say biscuits and graves? I meant biscuits and gravy.”

Mercedes handed them extra napkins. “Can I get you anything else?”

“No. I think we’re fine. In fact, we’re mighty fine,” Kean said.

“Enjoy.” Mercedes followed her mother out of the dining room. They hovered near the server station, watching the men dig in. “We’ll get them nice and full before we start asking questions.”

“Did you hear what I said?” Carlita smacked her forehead. “Biscuits and graves.”

“Freudian slip,” Mercedes teased. “You were thinking about the grave, not gravy.”

“Let’s give them time to eat.” Carlita ran back to the kitchen to finish her inventory order.

Meanwhile, Mercedes continued her rounds. She kept close tabs on the men, checking on them once and then waiting until they were almost done with their meal to return with two full to-go boxes.

“Ma boxed up some extras for you to take home.” Mercedes set the containers on the table. “I take it you enjoyed the food?”

“This is the best meal I’ve had in a very long time,” Kean said.

“Same here.” His partner patted his stomach. “Those biscuits melted in my mouth. My mom used to make biscuits and gravy. It tasted very close to this. She was born and raised in South Georgia and was one of the best cooks on the planet.”

“I’ve never had an offender offer me a free meal.” Officer Kean clipped his radio to his belt.

“Picking up trash wasn’t a ton of fun, but I could think of worse things to do.”

“At least the judge didn’t give you dumpster duty.”

“Dumpster duty?” Mercedes made a choking sound. “I’m almost afraid to ask.”

“It involves working at the local solid waste facility, sorting through recycle bins. If you’re lucky, they put you in the hazardous waste section.”

Mercedes shuddered. “I guess trash pickup was one of the preferred punishments.”

“None of them are great,” Kean said. “I hope I don’t see you again working community service.”

“I hope not either. I know this probably doesn’t matter to you, but for the record, I didn’t throw the beer bottle at Officer Perkins the other night at the Thirsty Crow.”

A look of surprise flickered across Kean’s face. “You were one of those who was arrested at the downtown bar?”

Carlita, who had stepped in next to her, spoke. “My daughter and her friends were there supporting Cool Bones and the Jazz Boys. Cool Bones is a tenant of ours.”

“He’s a good guy,” Kean said. “I’ve been an admirer of the band for years.”

“We don’t believe he killed Rudy McCoy,” Carlita added. “Mercedes and I visited Cool Bones in jail the other day. He swears it wasn’t him. I believe him.”

“Ma’am. I can’t talk about the case,” Kean said. “I’m not a part of the investigation.”

“I understand. However, there is a person of interest Cool Bones mentioned. A man who goes by the name Cray.”

“Cray,” Kean repeated. “I’m not familiar with the case. Surely, Cool Bones has mentioned it to the authorities.”

“He has. To be blunt, according to him, the investigators don’t seem interested,” Carlita said. “Do you have any suggestions on how we might help?”

Officer Kean glanced around. “I like you, Mrs. Taylor, and Mercedes. You seem like good, honest, hard-working people.”

“We are. We also believe in justice and would like nothing more than to see Cool Bones exonerated.”

“I do have a suggestion for you, a way to help him.”