Chapter 19

Mercedes blurted out the first thing that popped into her head. “We’re going to be robbed.”

“In a cemetery?” Paisley wrinkled her nose. “Robbed of what?”

“We aren’t getting robbed.” Carlita pointed out the bubble on top of the car. “It’s the cops. What time does the cemetery close?”

“Do cemeteries close?”

The driver’s side door opened. With a light hand on his holster, a uniformed officer approached Carlita’s side of the car.

She rolled the window down. “Good evening.”

“Hello, ma’am.” He leaned in, shining his flashlight inside the car. “Can I ask you what you’re doing?”

“Visiting a gravesite,” Carlita said. “We didn’t realize it was getting so late. We were trying to find our way out and got turned around. Is there a problem?”

“We received a report of suspicious activity.”

“I can assure you we weren’t doing anything suspicious,” Mercedes said.

“Can I see some identification?”

Carlita fumbled around inside her wallet, removed her license, and handed it to him.

“I’ll be back.” The officer returned to his vehicle.

The minutes ticked by.

Carlita sucked in a breath. “What’s taking him so long?”

“I don’t want to get all up in your business, Mrs. T, but the officer isn’t going to find anything when he runs a check on your license, is he?” Paisley asked.

“Not that I can recall. I mean, I’ll be the first to admit we’re no strangers to the Savannah police force, but I’m pretty sure my record is clean.”

Another two…then three…followed by four minutes passed. Finally, the officer returned. He handed Carlita her license. “I would like to see the other occupants’ licenses as well.”

Paisley promptly handed her license to him. Mercedes was a little more reluctant to the point the cop commented about it. “You can’t find your license?”

“It’s…uh…in here somewhere.” Mercedes held it out. “The picture is kinda dated, but it’s me.”

He turned his flashlight on the license before flashing it toward Mercedes. “Mercedes Garlucci. Why does your name ring a bell?”

“I had a minor confrontation with Officer Perkins a couple of days ago down at the Thirsty Crow.”

“Ah.” The cop cleared his throat. “You were the person who threw a beer bottle at Perkins.”

“At the risk of appearing disrespectful, I can assure you I did not throw the bottle. For the record, there were no eyewitnesses to verify either.”

He motioned to Paisley. “Anything you want to share about your identity before I run it through?”

“No. I’m clean.” Paisley watched the officer return to his patrol car. “At least I hope so. I was pulled over a few weeks ago by a traffic cop but I don’t think he took note of my name.”

“We didn’t do anything wrong,” Mercedes insisted. “He’ll check our IDs and let us leave.”

Ting. Carlita grabbed her cell phone from the center console. “Pete’s wondering where we are.”

She tapped out a quick reply. Mercedes, Paisley, and I swung by the cemetery. We’ll be heading home soon.

Pete: Cemetery?

Carlita: To see if investigators dug up anyone other than Rudy McCoy.

Pete: The local cemeteries close at dusk.

Carlita: Now you tell me.

“Here he comes,” Paisley breathed.

The officer returned to the driver’s side and handed their licenses back. “You’re free to go. For future reference, the cemetery closes at dark.”

“We didn’t realize it was getting so late.” Carlita apologized and promised him they were on the way out.

The cop headed back to his vehicle. He swung around in a circle and pulled off to the side, motioning for them to go ahead.

Carlita crept past, briefly wondering if it was too good to be true and they were off the hook. She checked for traffic before pulling onto the street.

Paisley glanced over her shoulder. “He’s following us.”

“Cool. We get a police escort home,” Mercedes joked. “Must be a slow night.”

“I have no intention of making it any more exciting.”

They reached a major intersection and Carlita turned toward home.

“He went the other way,” Paisley said.

Carlita reached Walton Square and stopped in front of Shades of Ink. “I’m sorry we took so long.”

“Don’t apologize. I’m glad I invited myself.” Paisley scooted across the backseat and reached for the door handle. “In case you’re interested, I asked Steve about Mrs. Culpepper’s next tattoo appointment. It’s tomorrow morning at ten. There he is now.”

Steve exited his shop and stepped over to the car. “Paisley told me you got stopped by the cops over at the cemetery. Bonaventure has had a little trouble lately with people hanging out there after dark.”

“All we wanted to do was look around to see if the cops were exhuming other bodies.”

“Did you find anything?”

“Nope. I should’ve realized there are several cemeteries nearby. Figuring out if the investigators are following up on other leads would take days, maybe even weeks.” Carlita sighed. “We could be chasing our tails.”

Steve lit a cigarette. “How did it go over at Mrs. Culpepper’s place?”

Carlita filled him in on what happened. “She seems to like you.”

Paisley playfully nudged her boyfriend. “She has the hots for my man.”

He nudged her back. “You have nothing to worry about. She’ll be in tomorrow morning for her next round of ink.”

Carlita drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “Mrs. Culpepper is one of the reasons Cool Bones is behind bars. Her eyewitness testimony is why the cold case investigator started digging around.”

“True,” Mercedes agreed.

“Cool Bones didn’t deny he and Rudy McCoy argued right before his death. Although he was still alive when Cool Bones left, his body was found in his apartment,” Carlita said. “What if she saw more than she told authorities?”

“Meaning she only gave them a partial version of what happened that day?” Mercedes asked.

“Maybe she forgot some very important details and needs a little help jogging her memory.”

Paisley rubbed her palms together. “And Steve might be the perfect person to help clear out the cobwebs.”

He took a long drag off his cigarette and blew the smoke away from them. “You want me to see what I can find out?”

“If you don’t mind,” Carlita said. “Cool Bones needs all the help he can get.”

“He’s my friend too. I hate the thought of him being convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. I have surveillance all over the place thanks to Elvira selling me her friends and family package a couple years ago,” Steve joked. “Her every word can be recorded.”

Carlita stared at him, a sudden idea popping into her head. “You gave me an idea.”

“I know where you’re going with this Ma.” Mercedes tapped her phone’s screen. “What time is Culpepper coming in?”

“I’m almost positive it’s ten o’clock.”

“Ravello’s doesn’t open until eleven,” Carlita said. “Do you mind if I hang around in the back of the shop to listen in?”

“Not at all. A little forewarning. She’s a stickler for punctuality and sometimes arrives a few minutes early.”

“Thursday is my staff meeting at Ravello’s,” Carlita said. “I could postpone it.”

“I can handle it for you, Ma.”

“Yes, you can. I’m going to take you up on the offer.” Carlita gave Steve a high five. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning at quarter ‘til ten.”