Page 2 of Takedown in Savannah
“Maybe you need more security staff.”
“Which is what I’m doing and why I asked you to stop by.”
“I’m not in the market for a new job,” Carlita joked.
“Elvira’s thinking about promoting Luigi to supervisor,” Dernice said.
“Good for him,” Mercedes said. “Luigi is a great guy and the perfect person for the job.”
“I’m glad to see he’s being promoted.”
“It’s not a done deal.” Elvira slipped her reading glasses on and grabbed a clipboard off her desk. “I have a few concerns.”
“Such as?”
“His past. Namely, about when he was employed by the Castellini family.”
“Luigi is here because he wanted out,” Carlita said.
“I know. However, if I hire him for a supervisory position, I need a general idea about how he’ll handle certain situations.”
“You think Luigi would fly off the handle and pop someone who was working under him?”
“I told her he wasn’t gonna use physical force.” Dernice rolled her eyes. “Luigi isn’t like that.”
“Let me get this straight.” Carlita shifted her feet. “You have no problem whatsoever with your sister and Luigi dating, but aren’t sure you want to offer him a supervisor’s position because you’re afraid of how he’ll react? He’s been working for you for some time now. I would think if this was a concern, you never would have hired him in the first place.”
Elvira drummed her fingers on the desk. “Good point. However, you can never be too careful. I want to make sure I cover all my bases.”
“I have such a lovely, caring sister,” Dernice said sarcastically.
“You’re an adult, fully capable of deciding who you want in your life.” Elvira stared at her over the rim of her glasses. “Let’s not forget you have a criminal record of your own.”
It was true. Dernice had previously served time in prison for armed robbery, a period in her life she wasn’t proud of but had put behind her. Like Luigi, she had moved to Savannah to start over. “I committed the crime and did the time.”
“Unlike Luigi, who may have committed crimes but was never caught,” Elvira pointed out. “With him as an employee, I have no problem overlooking some things, but promoting him to a supervisory position means I need to do my due diligence, liability and all.”
“Ah.” Carlita arched her brow. “You’re not necessarily concerned about your employees but more concerned about covering your butt in the event he’s involved in some sort of incident and you get sued.”
Elvira mumbled a reply.
“I should’ve known,” Carlita sighed. “So what you’re asking me in a roundabout way is if I’m aware of Luigi ever killing a person.”
“Actually, I put together a brief questionnaire, addressing pertinent details I’m curious about.”
“Here we go.” Dernice slapped her forehead. “This oughta be good.”
“Fire away,” Carlita said.
“Is his full legal name Luigi Francis Baruzzo?”
“I believe so. What else are you wondering?”
“Do you know how long he worked in New York and for the mob family?”
“No idea. It was for at least a decade, back when my husband Vinnie was alive,” Carlita said.
Elvira scribbled furiously. “During the time you’ve been acquainted, do you recall him ever being involved in an incident, potential murder missions aside, resulting in him having to go into hiding?”
