Page 12 of Takedown in Savannah
Luigi stepped out into the cool evening air, regretting the fact he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Chapter 6
Carlita hustled around the corner, coming to an abrupt halt when she noticed a four-door sedan blocking the alley. “I really need to post some no-parking signs back here,” she muttered.
Doing an about-face she hurried around the side of Elvira’s building. Making a quick right, Carlita reached her office entrance where she found a Savannah-Burnham patrol car parked alongside the curb.
She eased in next to the front window and peeked inside. Elvira stood near the door, her fists clenched and her face beet red. Detective Skip Wilson, a local law enforcement officer who had been involved in a handful of investigations involving the Garlucci family, stood talking to her.
Curious to find out what was going on, Carlita opened the door and marched inside.
“…conduct a thorough background check on each of my employees. I can assure you EC Investigative Services would never knowingly employ felons or any individual with a prior criminal record.”
“Takedown Elvira,” Snitch squawked.
“Knock it off.” She shifted, pointing her finger at her parrot. “Knock it off or I’m sending you to timeout.”
“Snitchy Snitch loves Gunner.”
“I’ll move her to the back.” Dernice plucked the birdcage from the hook and hurried off, giving Carlita a worried look on her way past. She promptly returned. “Sorry about that.”
“Your bird is annoying,” Wilson said.
“Annoying but lovable,” Elvira said. “Where were we?”
“You were telling me you vetted all of your employees, including Luigi Baruzzo.”
“Luigi is a great guy. In fact, I recently promoted him to a supervisory position. He’s never given me an ounce of trouble. Carlita can vouch for him, as well.”
“Mrs. Garlucci.” Wilson gave her a brisk nod.
“Mrs. Taylor now. Why are you asking about Luigi?”
“He’s in trouble.”
Carlita’s scalp tingled. “What happened?”
“Someone broke into Walton Square Diamond and Gem,” Dernice said. “Luigi was keeping an eye on the store and showed up right after it happened. The cops, who happened to be nearby, thought he was trying to break in and hauled him down to the station for questioning.”
“I’m trying to explain to this fine officer…err…detective, how Luigi was working at the time the incident occurred,” Elvira said.
“I would like to look at his employee records.”
Her eyes slid to the side. “Now?”
“If at all possible.”
“My files are a mess. Perhaps you could give me time to straighten them up. Come back later and I’ll be happy to let you go over his personnel file.”
“So, your answer is no,” Wilson said.
“Not no. More like in a couple of hours.” She sucked in a breath. “Look…I’ve cooperated, even shown you my surveillance camera’s recordings. I’m a busy woman and in the middle of something right now.”
“It’ll only take a few more minutes of your time.”
Elvira made a clicking sound with her tongue. “Do you have a warrant?”
“No, but I can get a warrant if necessary.”
