Chapter 34
“Talk about a twist I didn’t see coming.” Carlita scratched her forehead. “All this time, I thought…we all thought Sonny was a womanizer. He wasn’t a womanizer. The man was an extortionist, taking money from people in exchange for not foreclosing on their property.”
“Reyna and Sonny were negotiating her payment to keep her house. Sonny decided it wasn’t enough. He wanted other favors and money. She agreed. Something went wrong the night Reyna showed up at Sonny’s house and they argued.”
Elvira interrupted. “I think Sonny was holding out for more—more money and more favors.”
“Sonny the Enforcer changed the terms,” Dernice said.
“Which is what Courtney admitted had happened to her. She was trying to prevent her brother’s home from being sold at auction.
Her brother paid Sonny money. As soon as he had the cash in hand, he decided he wanted an additional favor.
Paul Maul, her boyfriend, suspected something was going on and threatened to beat Sonny up,” Mercedes said.
“So Reyna came up with a plan to take Sonny out,” Carlita said. “The only problem was, she wasn’t very good at it. From what the detective said, she admitted to tampering with his brakes. She also inadvertently caused Creed’s accident.”
“When that didn’t work, she saw her opportunity at Luigi’s and my engagement party,” Dernice said.
“She brought some rat poison. Knowing fettuccine was his favorite food, she sprinkled some in there. After he and Yvonne took some, she hid it under the buffet table’s cover so no one else would eat it. ”
“When poisoning him at the party didn’t work, she went to the hospital with a fountain drink from a convenience store.
She’d added a heavy dose of additional poison, and this is what finally killed him,” Carlita said.
“An extreme dose which caused heart failure. He even mentioned feeling woozy and how the drink tasted like it was spiked with alcohol.”
“It was spiked all right,” Dernice said. “Spiked with rat poison.”
“Remind me again why Rocky didn’t tell the investigators Reyna might be behind Sonny’s death,” Elvira said.
“Because he was in on it. Rocky and Sonny were working as a team to extort money from homeowners. Sonny was the one who decided he wanted more than just money. He wanted favors plus the cash,” Carlita said. “Sonny was no lady’s man.”
“He was a dirtbag. For once, I was a terrible judge of character.”
“Once?” Dernice snickered.
Elvira bristled. “This isn’t about me.”
“So Rocky didn’t rat Reyna out even though he suspected she might have been behind Sonny’s death,” Mercedes said.
“Because he would be investigated and arrested for his part in the scheme,” Luigi said. “He had every intention of letting his brother’s killer go free to save his own butt. With family like that, who needs enemies?”
“Reyna could have easily gotten away with murder if Mercedes hadn’t spilled milkshake on her leather jacket at Breakers Biker Bar,” Dernice said.
“I knew we were onto something when you started going through the property records and realized Reyna owed big bucks in back taxes,” Mercedes said. “It was all a matter of connecting the dots.”
“But to put rat poison in food others, besides the intended victim, might eat is extreme.” Elvira tapped the side of her forehead. “It sounds like she’s a little whacko.”
“Or desperate to save her house. I’ll bet money she’ll claim temporary insanity as her defense due to PTSD from a former relationship,” Dernice said. “She had previously hooked up with some really rough dudes, at least that’s the rumor.”
“Back to Sonny’s death,” Carlita said. “He was doing better in the hospital until Reyna showed up and sneaked into his room.”
“I’m sure the cops questioned her,” Pete said.
“My own personal theory is Rocky didn’t know for sure Reyna took his brother out,” Luigi said. “But he knew enough to suspect it was someone they had targeted.”
“The first clue was when I noticed the Sonny the Enforcer badge. I accidentally slipped and mentioned it during the charity ride. Rocky nearly flipped out, which made me think it triggered a reaction for a reason, and we were finally onto something,” Carlita said.
“Thanks to you fine ladies plus Luigi blowing this case wide open, Ravello’s reputation has been saved,” Pete summarized.
“According to Arnie, we’re booking back up for the holiday season. It looks like Ravello’s will have a record year after all. The pawn shop is doing well. I have my apartments rented,” Carlita said.
“Speaking of rent.” Elvira pointed to her sister. “Have you and Luigi decided if you’re going to take me up on my offer to rent the upstairs?”
The couple exchanged glances.
“We do want to live there,” Dernice said. “However, we would like some input into the renovation process.”
“As in they don’t want you to go cheap on the construction and materials,” Carlita joked.
Elvira mustered up an indignant expression. “Cheap?”
“We know you,” Luigi said. “You’ll spend as little as possible on the renovations and charge the highest rent you can get away with.”
“ROI. Return on investment. I gotta monitor the bottom line, but it doesn’t mean I would intentionally cut corners to save a buck.”
Dernice placed a hand on her sister’s forehead. “Are you feeling all right? Because this doesn’t sound like the cheapskate sister I know and love.”
“I’m fine.” Elvira swatted her hand away. “Sheesh.”
“Speaking of rent and tenants, I spoke to Bubba the other day. We got to talking. He mentioned Southern Subterranean Group, the company he works for,” Mercedes said.
“Did he elaborate on what underground maintenance entails?” Elvira asked.
“Underground maintenance,” Dernice repeated. “Like cables and electrical?”
A sly smile crept across Carlita’s face. “And maybe even maintaining Savannah’s tunnel system?”
“Bubba inspects tunnels, cables, drainage systems, anything buried or below the surface, covering the entire county,” Mercedes said.
Elvira placed her hands on the sides of her head. “So now I've gotta worry about big, bad Bubba breathing down my neck when I’m exploring the tunnels?”
“Exploring, chipping away, blowing up,” Carlita rattled off.
“Which, may I remind you, I haven’t attempted recently after the city issued a cease and desist.”
“Then you and Bubba should get along fine.”
“I still don’t trust him,” Elvira moped. “I can’t believe, out of all the people you could’ve rented to, that you picked this guy to live next door.”
Carlita patted her shoulder. “You have nothing to worry about as long as you avoid illegal activities.”
“We’ll see how it goes,” Elvira said. “I can’t wait to see who moves into Luigi’s efficiency. Probably an IRS agent or the FBI.”
Carlita slowly stood. “Speaking of tunnels and digging, have you found anything of interest in the samples you took from Pete’s parking lot?”
Elvira brightened. “As a matter of fact, I did. Now that we've cracked this case, I’ll have some free time to take a few more samples. I might actually be onto something.”
Pete stared at her. “You’ll be digging more?”
“You betcha,” she beamed. “A deal is a deal. I plan to sift through every ounce of dirt I’m entitled to. One way or another, we’re going to find pirate treasure…mark my words.”
The end.