Chapter 26

At Carlita’s request, Lucien dropped her off behind Ravello’s. She spied Bob Lowman’s work truck and wandered over to Shelby and Tony’s new addition.

The rat-a-tat-tat of a nail gun filled the air, mingled with the echo of loud voices. She followed them to a secondary bedroom in the back where Bob and a trio of workers were installing trim boards.

Carlita hovered in the doorway until he noticed her. He gave a friendly wave and crossed the room. “Thank you for the heads up about Tony and Shelby learning about their new accommodations so me and my guys could finish without spoiling the surprise.”

“I appreciate you playing along until I was able to share the exciting news,” Carlita said. “And not a moment too soon. Shelby is due to have the baby any day now.”

“I’m glad you’re here. I have something to show you.” Bob escorted her back outside, to the exterior of the building, where he told her his crew would start tearing out the old staircase. “We’ll have this project wrapped up by the end of the week.”

“Wonderful. The family is thrilled.”

“Tony already stopped by to thank me,” Bob said. “He told me they’re interested in knocking down the upstairs wall you and I talked about.”

“As you know, they’re in desperate need of more room and now that they have extra bedrooms, it makes sense to expand the living room.” Carlita chatted with Bob for a few more minutes, thanking him again for all of his hard work before crossing the alley.

Veering right, she walked to the end of the block and made another right, continuing until she reached EC Investigative Services front door. Elvira was seated at the desk. Dernice, who was also there, sat directly across from her.

“Spy,” Snitch squawked.

“Carlita to you,” Carlita joked.

“Carlita spy,” the bird said. “Tubby treasure.”

“Knock it off, Snitch. There is no tubby treasure.”

“At least not in our hot tub.” Carlita grinned.

“The bird is giving me a headache,” Elvira grumbled.

“Maybe the headache is from getting stuck last night.”

Dernice’s head shot up. “What happened?”

“Elvira got caught on a lattice panel and ended up headfirst in our old hot tub. It’s a good thing Pete and I found her when we did.”

“That hunk of junk is a deathtrap,” Elvira said. “I’m lucky I didn’t drown.”

“Yes, you are.” Carlita sobered. “Pete emptied it. I’m sorry about your headache.”

“It’s okay. To be honest, you’re right. It’s my fault. You told me there was no treasure and yet I had to find out for myself.” Elvira leaned back in her chair. “I see Lowman is next door finishing the reno project. I ran into Shelby. She’s super excited.”

“I wish everyone could have seen the looks on their faces when I took them over there.”

“Not only did you do a good deed but think about the resale value if you ever decide to sell your slice of Savannah paradise,” Dernice said.

“Hopefully it will be in the family for a long time, long after I’m dead and gone,” Carlita said.

Elvira scratched her chin. “At the risk of not minding my own business, you and Pete have a will, right?”

“We do.”

“Good, because it’s best to have those things spelled out, especially when you have valuable assets,” Elvira said. “Pete’s stuff. Your stuff.”

“What about you?” Carlita set her purse on the desk. “You have two businesses. The upstairs could be converted into rental units, not to mention you have your apartment.”

“And the treasure Pete and I will find in his basement,” Elvira added. “I’m working on updating mine as we speak.”

“Leaving everything to me,” Dernice said.

“Not quite. I want to make sure Zulilly is taken care of.” Zulilly Fontaine, Elvira’s only child, was in prison for killing her father’s girlfriend. The last Carlita had heard, she was hoping to appeal her conviction.

To describe the mother/daughter relationship as strained was somewhat of an understatement. Still, Elvira loved Zulilly and clearly had concerns over what would happen to her if she died.

“Zu will be fine. I’ll make sure she has a job if she gets out of prison,” Dernice said. “Although I don’t see her appeal going before a judge anytime soon.”

“Me either.” Elvira changed the subject. “How’s it going with Cool Bones’ investigation?”

Carlita tipped her hand back and forth. “It’s one step forward and two steps back. Rudy McCoy and his landlord, Mrs. Culpepper, both mentioned a man named Cray.”

“Cray as in cray-cray?”

“What does that mean?”

Elvira twirled her finger next to her forehead. “It means crazy.”

“I suppose it’s possible. Rudy was afraid of him. Culpepper remembered hearing his name.” She told them about the black sedan, the logo and tracing it back to the Brick District.

“Those are some swanky digs,” Elvira said. “You can’t make it past the gate without being a member.”

“It is an impressive area with gorgeous estates, a country club, you name it,” Carlita said. “I just left there.”

“How did you get in?” Dernice asked.

“Tori Montgomery is a lifetime member.”

“Ah.” Elvira pressed the tips of her fingers together. “I should’ve known. Montgomery has more connections than anyone I’ve ever met.”

“Unfortunately, we hit a dead-end when we tried to find out if this Cray person worked or works for the Brick District. The records are online, at least according to the manager we spoke with.”

“But he wasn’t about to let you take a look,” Dernice guessed.

“Nope. However, he made a point of telling Tori and me the records were online, which leads me to believe there might be a way to view them, some sort of backdoor access.”

Elvira drummed her fingers on the desk. “And you think I might be able to help?”

“I’m hoping so.”

“It’s gonna cost you. I can’t work for free.”

“I understand,” Carlita said. “How much for a quick search?”

Elvira rattled off what sounded like a reasonable amount.

“I’ll pay. How long will it take?”

“It depends on where the records are located.” Elvira began humming under her breath, her fingers flying over the computer keys. “This is proving harder than I thought.”

“You can’t find the records?”

“Not yet. Maybe I’m going about it all wrong. I’m gonna try Kiveski’s go-to.”

“Boyfriend Sharky Kiveski?”

“Yeah. He’s all over the dark web. He showed me a nifty trick.”

Carlita leaned in, curious to see what she was talking about.

Elvira covered the screen with her hands. “You’ll have to look away. It’s top secret. I promised him I would never show anyone else how to access the site.”

“Fine.” Carlita looked away. “You are two peas in a pod.”

“Like spaghetti and meatballs,” Elvira sing-songed. “I’m in.”

“Awesome.”

“Don’t start celebrating yet. I’m doing something wrong. I must’ve forgotten a step.”

Dernice wandered over. She stood behind her sister, offering pointers. “Try the Orion System.”

“Good idea. I forgot about Orion.”

“I have to ask. What on earth is the Orion System?”

“It’s a new, fast-as-wildfire internet system a lot of government agencies are switching to. There’s less chance of being hacked and it’s much more secure.” Elvira went into a long and technical explanation about the pros and cons, most of which went over Carlita’s head.

“I’ve already spent twenty bucks on accessing Sharky’s dark website. The Orion System is gonna cost another thirty. Unfortunately, I’ll need to pass the additional cost on to you.”

“Fine. Whatever. What’s thirty more dollars in the scheme of things?”

“If you’re able to get Cool Bones out of this jam, he’s going to owe you big time.”

“You should’ve seen how depressed he was earlier when I visited him. To be perfectly honest, I think he’s given up hope.”

“If you do the crime, you should do the time,” Dernice said.

“Cool Bones didn’t do the crime,” Carlita said. “He’s innocent. The good news is Tori called Mayor Puckett, who pulled a few strings. Cool Bones will be free by the end of the day.”

“It helps to have the right connections. I think I found it.” Elvira grew quiet. “Wow. Yeah. Brick District has all kinds of files on Orion. What department are you looking for?”

“The driver’s center.”

“Man, this web is powerful,” Elvira said. “I’m gonna have to mention it to Sharky so he can add it to his arsenal. You said the name you’re looking for was Cray.”

Carlita pulled her cell phone from her purse and clicked on the photo she’d taken of Cool Bones’ bookie log. “It’s spelled C-R-A-Y.”

“Got it. You were on the right track. This guy worked for the Brick District as a driver years ago.” Elvira printed off a single sheet and handed it to Carlita.

She slipped her reading glasses on. “Doug Cray McCoy. His last name is the same as the murdered guy.”

“Stand by.” Elvira reached for the mouse. She tapped the screen, making a clicking noise with her tongue.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to confirm Rudy McCoy and Cray are related,” Elvira said. “I’m gonna guess yes, but you never want to assume.”

While Elvira searched, Carlita used her phone to pull up the address listed as the last known for Cray. It was in a less-than-desirable part of town, but not necessarily in the worst area.

“I’m not finding a connection,” Elvira finally said. “Which means I can’t confirm the deceased and this Cray person are related.”

Dernice scooted closer to Carlita, studying the paper. “This is over by Gleason Street, close to where Rudy McCoy lived.”

“You’re right,” Carlita said excitedly. “They’re definitely within walking distance.”

“Which means if Cray was the killer, he could have easily sneaked over to the apartment, killed McCoy and left undetected.”

“If Cray lived there at the time of the murder. You said Eunice Culpepper mentioned seeing a Brick District sedan in the neighborhood multiple times,” Elvira said. “Which brings up another point. If Doug Cray McCoy and Rudy McCoy were related, wouldn’t the snoopy landlady know this?”

“I’m not sure,” Carlita said. “Maybe they were distant relatives.”

“Or maybe he made a point of keeping their relationship a secret. This Rudy guy introduced his relative to the bookie business, and he stabbed him in the back by stealing Rudy’s accounts.”

“Like Rudy did to Cool Bones,” Carlita interrupted. “Rudy found out. They argued, and in a fit of rage, Cray murdered him.”

“The only way to find out for sure is to track down Doug Cray McCoy,” Carlita said.

“Gleason Street runs all the way across town,” Dernice said. “If I remember correctly, this address is in a rough area.”

Carlita folded the paper in thirds. “Thank you for the information. Send me a bill and I’ll pay it.”

“Online,” Elvira said. “If you pay online, I offer a five percent discount.”

“Fine. I’ll pay it online.”

“But not with a credit card. You’ll need to use a debit card. Otherwise I’ll have to tack on the bank’s ridiculous fee.” Elvira shoved her chair back, scurrying after Carlita, who was heading to the door. “You might want to take Tony with you.”

“I would rather not involve him. He has enough on his plate right now.” Carlita grasped the door handle. “I have the perfect person in mind, someone who has no qualms about scoping out sketchy neighborhoods. And since I’m here, you can tell me where to find him, so I can give him a call to see if he has time to help.”