Chapter 25

Detective Charles Ellery waited for Carlita and Vinnie to cross the street. "Good morning, Mrs. Taylor, Mr. Garlucci."

"Hello, Detective Ellery," Carlita said. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

"It certainly is." He nodded toward June Cleary's place. "I see you were over at the dry-cleaning business."

"We were. We met June Cleary."

"She's an interesting woman."

"She is," Carlita agreed.

He folded his arms. "Was there a particular reason for your visit?"

Carlita arched a brow, answering his question with one of her own. "Do I need a specific reason? I still own this building and figured I might as well introduce myself to the neighbors."

A flicker of surprise crossed the detective's face. "Are you planning on hanging onto this property?"

"Let's just say that I'm keeping my options open."

"Then I'm sure you've also met Mr. Ziffra, who owns the check cashing business."

"No. Actually, I haven't. We met Ms. Cleary. Meeting her was as far as we got."

"And you mentioned Mr. Enzo's death to her."

"Of course. It's a cause for concern," Carlita said.

"Especially considering you knew the man," the detective pointed out.

"Correct. But knowing a man who shows up at my door to..."

"To collect a debt," Ellery interrupted.

"Yes, to collect a debt. Although, as I've already said, we hadn't reached an agreement." Carlita told him she'd gone to the bank to work on securing the money to pay off the property. "Mr. Enzo wasn't the lender. If you're insinuating I might have had something to do with his death, what would be the purpose of me killing him?"

"It was an act of revenge, judging by the condition of Mr. Enzo's body."

"Regardless, do I look like a person who could break a grown man's bones?"

"You couldn't, but someone else could." He pointedly stared at Vinnie. "Perhaps a family member?"

"I'm gonna guess my gun doesn't match the murder weapon." Vinnie shoved his hands in his pockets. "Otherwise, you would've already tracked me down for another round of whodunnit."

"This isn't funny," Ellery snapped.

"I'm not laughing."

"Let's not beat around the bush. We both know you're here snooping." Ellery clenched his jaw and jabbed his finger at Carlita. "Stay out of my investigation."

She could feel the tips of her ears burn. It was her turn to lose her cool. "Last time I checked it's still a free country and I can talk to whoever I want."

Ellery muttered something unintelligible under his breath. He climbed into his car, slammed the door, and sped off.

Vinnie dusted his hands. "You sure told him, Ma."

"He's a jerk," she fumed. "If he's the best Savannah has, then they need to keep looking." Carlita made a move to head into her building when her cell phone rang. It was Arnie, Ravello's head manager.

"Hey, Arnie."

"Hey, Carlita. I'm sorry to bother you."

"You're not bothering me. What's up?"

"We have a minor problem. One of the food truck workers, the driver, called out. He has the flu."

"Crud. The music festival starts at one. I need to get our truck over there with two people."

"I could go in a pinch."

"No. I would rather have you at the restaurant. All we need is someone to drive the truck and serve food."

"Which is ready to roll. Unfortunately, I'm tight on staff today. You got any ideas about who could fill in?"

"Mercedes?"

"Is already here working."

Carlita rattled off a few more employees' names, all of which, for various reasons, wouldn't work. And then she remembered. "I might have a fill-in. I'm on my way."

She ended the call and tossed her car keys to Vinnie. "I'm gonna see if Paisley wants to make a few extra bucks."

"Who is Paisley?"

"Steve Winter's girlfriend. She's a little rough around the edges, but a good person. He mentioned they were short on cash the other day." Carlita dialed the number Autumn had given her. Her call went right to voicemail.

She left a brief message explaining who she was and mentioned the job before disconnecting. "It looks like I might be dishing out food this afternoon."

Her phone rang before she could finish the sentence. It was Paisley who said she would love to give it a try.

"Wonderful. Is now too soon?"

"I'm right around the corner. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Carlita thanked her and ended the call. "Crisis averted. I'm always looking for extra help. If this works out, Paisley might have a permanent part-time job or maybe even full-time."

Reaching the parking lot, Carlita hopped out of the car and made a beeline for the restaurant. The food truck was already parked out back.

"Well?" Arnie caught up with her.

She gave him two thumbs up. "I have someone. Her name is Paisley. She's Steve Winter's girlfriend. She should be here any minute."

"Does she have a driver's license?"

"Now that you mention it, I'm not sure." Carlita blew air through thinned lips. "I hope so. What about the other worker?"

"They don't have a driver's license."

It wasn't unusual, at least not for Savannah, especially for locals who lived in the heart of the historic district, not to have a driver's license. They relied on public transportation, including the trolley system, to get around—work, shopping, going out. Not only was owning a vehicle low on the priority list, but fewer vehicles meant fewer parking problems, considering parking spots were at a premium.

A figure at the end of the alley caught Carlita's eye. It was Paisley, moving at a fast clip.

Arnie made a choking sound as she drew closer. "I hope this isn't Paisley," he whispered under his breath.