Chapter 26
Carlita could feel her armpits grow damp while she and Mercedes waited in the lobby for the officer in charge of Sonny Skidz’s investigation.
“Remember, less is more,” Mercedes said. “As far as sharing or speculating.”
“You know it. I’ll tell them what happened but don’t plan on elaborating. Frankly, I’m kind of surprised they haven’t contacted me yet.”
“It’s only been a coupla days. I’m sure you’re on the list.” Mercedes glanced over her mother’s shoulder. “Someone is coming.”
A uniformed officer made his way over. “Carlita Taylor?”
“Yes.”
“The clerk said you have information regarding the death of Sonny Skidz.”
“I’m not sure if I would call it information but perhaps a potential lead.
” Carlita held up the jar of fettuccine.
“Mr. Skidz attended an engagement party at my restaurant. During the event, he became ill and was taken to the hospital, where he later died. He was admitted for food poisoning. I believe this fettuccine, which was served at the party, may have been the cause—not of his death but of his illness.”
A flicker of surprise flitted across the man’s face. “Yes, ma’am. We already took samples of the food and obtained our results.”
“Did it also come back positive for rat poison?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss the findings of an open investigation. Where did you take the sample for testing?”
“To Priority Labs here in Savannah.”
“What about the other food?” he asked.
“We had all the dishes that were served tested. This is the only one testing positive.” Carlita held out the lab report. “I’m sure you got similar results.”
“I’ll take this. And the other samples?”
“All in the bag and labeled,” Carlita said.
“You were on my list of people to question. If you have time, please come back to my office.”
“We do. This is my daughter, Mercedes, who was also at the party.”
“Both of you can come back.”
Carlita and Mercedes exchanged a pensive glance and silently followed the man through the lobby and down a long hall.
Having been in the police station multiple times over the years, Carlita discovered nothing had changed. Drab gray walls. Gray concrete floors. Dull fluorescent lighting. Gloomy summed it up perfectly.
She couldn’t imagine how depressing it would be to work inside the building day in and day out, meeting with people who were in trouble, whose outlook was bleak and chaotic. Just walking down the hall made her grateful she wasn’t behind bars.
He led them to a cramped office. A desk, an office chair, and two straight-back chairs sat in the center of the room. On top of a four-drawer filing cabinet was a photo of the cop, smiling at a woman. A young boy stood next to him.
Carlita perched on the edge of the chair closest to the door while Mercedes took the one next to her.
Flipping through the file folders on his desk, the officer asked basic questions—how long she’d been in business, if she’d ever had issues with tainted food, and then he asked specifically about the party.
Carlita, brief and to the point, told him everything that had transpired. “Do you need a copy of the guest list?”
The cop flipped through his notes. “Arnie Knox, your manager, gave me a copy when we were there. During the event, did you notice any of the guests arguing or seeming disgruntled?”
“No. In fact, it went smoothly. The guests all seemed to be having a good time.”
He asked several more questions, took Carlita’s cell phone number and abruptly stood, his sign the questioning was over. “I appreciate you coming in and seeing me. Like I said, I planned to stop by today so you saved me a trip.”
“For the record, I want to stress Mr. Skidz didn’t die from food poisoning. I visited him in the hospital not long after he was admitted, and he seemed to be recovering.”
“I’m aware of the fact. We have some leads and appreciate your opinion. However, he became ill while at your restaurant.”
Carlita started to say something and thought better of it. Judging by the look on the cop’s face, he wasn’t interested in what she had to say, so she might as well save her breath.
He escorted mother and daughter back to the lobby and left them at the door.
“It could’ve been worse.” Mercedes stepped out onto the sidewalk. “At least you tried.”
“I did. The good news is I’m nowhere near the top of his list of suspects. If I was, he would’ve already tracked me down.”
“Are you still planning on visiting Sonny’s brother?”
“Absolutely. The police have already spoken to him, but maybe Dernice and I will be able to uncover a clue they overlooked.”
“For all we know, the investigators might be close to figuring out how Sonny died and who killed him.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice? Based on the line of questioning, I don’t think so.”
*****
“How well do you know Rocky?” Carlita hustled to keep up with Dernice’s power walking.
“About as well as I knew Sonny. He’s a good guy, a little on the shy side unlike his brother who was everyone’s friend and a lady’s man.”
“He looked like your average Joe. I wonder what women were attracted to.”
“He had…” Dernice slowed. “Charisma? Chicks were drawn to him like a magnet.”
“Including Elvira.”
“Elvira, Courtney. Most of the women in the club flirted with him.”
“Except for you.”
“Yeah. Luigi’s my man,” Dernice said. “I still pinch myself. Can you believe it? I’m gonna get married.”
“Luigi is a great guy. Have you picked a wedding date?”
“Not yet. It’ll be sometime next year.”
“I know it’s none of my business, but have you made a decision about moving into Elvira’s upstairs after she turns it into livable space?”
“To be honest, we’re still on the fence. Luigi and I go back and forth. Elvira’s such a…”
“Conniving person?”
“She can be, but this isn’t the word I was looking for.”
“Devious?”
“Also yes, but not what I was gonna say.”
“Opportunist,” Carlita said.
“Bingo. An opportunist. There’s always an angle with her. The bottom line is, we have some concerns.”
“Her cutting corners, throwing stuff up to get it done and then charging you a premium?”
“Exactly. I love the idea of a brand new home, but with Elvira making the decisions?” Dernice winced. “I’m concerned about what we’ll end up with.”
“The good news is you’ll be right there to supervise.”
“Between me and Luigi, we’ll have to make sure she hires quality workers.” Dernice abruptly stopped. “We’re here.”
Carlita stared at the single-story stucco building, a duplex with both sides a mirror image of the other. Green doors, single-pane windows. Paved parking spots with a thick hedge of shrubs separating them.
Near the corners were flowering bushes. Although nondescript in many ways, there was a certain charm in the ornate metalwork, a nod to the area’s Southern roots.
“This looks like a decent city square.” Carlita spun in a slow circle. “Nice neighborhood with quiet tree-lined streets, a mixture of duplexes, townhomes, as well as single-family homes.”
“Elvira and I came by here a few weeks ago when she started chasing after Sonny.”
“Out of curiosity, how did he react?”
“He liked attention and women. I think he was flattered being pursued by Elvira or any other woman. I guess you could call Sonny a player.”
Walking single file along the sidewalk, Carlita let Dernice take the lead. They reached the front door and rang the bell. The door opened. A man, short and on the plump side, appeared.
“Hey, Dernice.”
“Hey, Rocky. How are you doing?”
“It’s been rough.”
Dernice handed him a Hallmark card. “Shocking is more like it.”
Rocky shifted his gaze. “This is your friend?”
“Friend and neighbor, Carlita Taylor. She owns Ravello’s and was the one who hosted the engagement party.”
Carlita shook his hand. “I am so sorry for your loss.”
“You had bad food.”
“It appears someone slipped rat poison into one of the dishes, which made Sonny ill.”
Rocky’s eyes widened. “Rat poison? That’s what caused my brother’s heart failure?”
“I-I’m not sure if rat poison causes heart failure.”
“You killed my brother.” Rocky’s jaw tightened.
“I had each of the food dishes tested at a local lab. Traces of rat poison were found in the fettuccine but not enough to cause heart failure or death.”
Rocky started swearing, his face turning bright red.
All Carlita could think was that her hopes of gleaning clues were fading fast. Confirmed heart failure?
“Rocky.” Dernice interrupted, talking to him in a low, soothing voice. “Carlita had never met your brother until the party. Think about it. What reason could she have for wanting to kill him? It would ruin her business.”
His eyes narrowed. “Then how did he suddenly have heart failure?”
“You bring up an excellent question, one I wish I could answer,” Carlita said. “I believe the police might be getting close to figuring out what happened.”
“We were wondering. I know Sonny…he had lots of girls who were friends,” Dernice said.
“More than one. Had ‘em coming and going out of his place at all hours,” Rocky said. “He and Courtney were hot for a while until Paul threatened to beat the daylights out of him.”
“Maybe it was Paul,” Dernice said. “I believe I heard he visited Sonny at the hospital.”
“I was there right after they brought him in and didn’t see him,” Rocky said. “I don’t get it. My brother was feeling better. How could he suddenly die?”
“Did Sonny have any enemies you know of?” Carlita probed. “Anyone he mentioned who might have wanted to hurt him?”
“Besides his run-in with Paul Maul, I don’t believe so,” Rocky said. “Sonny was a lover, not a fighter.”
“What about hobbies, interests, places he liked to hang out?” Carlita pressed.
The man thought about it. “Working for the city, he occasionally attended functions, mostly mandatory. He loved his motorcycle and riding.”
“Speaking of his motorcycle, there was a member of your biker club, Creed, who attended the party. I recall hearing about an accident. Creed blamed another biker for causing it.”
“Me. Creed thought I caused his crash, but I didn’t. We got into it. Creed didn’t have a beef with Sonny. We got it hashed out. He’s cool,” Rocky said. “Look, I’m not in the mood to talk about this. I thought you said Sonny had borrowed something from you and you needed it back.”
“Yes. Uh…it was a pair of Wiley X sunglasses.”
“Good brand,” Rocky said.
“The best. He borrowed my spare pair during our last ride when his broke. I lost my other pair yesterday. I got some new ones coming but they’re…uh…on back order.”
“Sonny’s got several pairs. I can take you over to his place to let you figure out which ones they are.”
“That’d be great,” Dernice said.
Rocky told them to wait on the steps and left to track down Sonny’s house key.
Dernice grabbed Carlita’s arm and whispered in her ear. “If Sonny had women coming in and out of his place, we need to keep our eyes peeled for clues.”
“That’s the plan. Actually, I have a plan.”
“Plan?”
“You’ll need to distract Rocky.”
“Distraction is my middle name.” Dernice thumped her chest. “Dernice the distracter.”