Page 6 of Craving Vengeance
“How was Tony last night? Was he acting unusual?”
Sonny paused for a moment. “He seemed fine. We were kind of busy, so we didn’t talk much.”
“How about the clientele? Was there anyone unusual or anyone acting different last night?”
Sonny nodded and smirked. “This is a bar. It’s not uncommon for people to act strange.”
Spinelli shot him a hard-eyed scowl.
Sonny shifted from one foot to the other. “No, sir. It was like any other routine night.”
“Can you think of anyone who’d want Tony dead?”
“No...I don’t know. He was just my bartender.”
“We’re going to need an employee contact list and a list of any of Tony’s acquaintances you know of, including regular customers, friends, and girlfriend or wife.”
Sonny chuckled. “What’s so funny?”
“If I knew their names, the list of his women friends would be extensive.”
Spinelli arched a brow. “What do you mean by that?”
“Look at him. I hate to say it because I’m a guy and all, but Tony was a hell of a good-looking guy. He did wonders for my business. I swear, all the professional women that work downtown came in for happy hour just to watch him work. Some of them hung around on occasion if you know what I mean.”
“I think I get the picture. Make sure to include their names on the contact lists.”
They followed Sonny to his office, and he compiled the lists they’d asked for while the ME and her crew took Tony’s body away.
Sonny pissed and moaned the entire time he drafted the list of customers. He set his pen down and hesitated for a brief moment before he handed the list to Spinelli. “Are you sure this is necessary? Do you really have to talk to all these people? Tony’s murder will be bad enough for business as it is, but to question my regulars on top of it. I may as well hang the ‘Out of Business’ sign up right now.”
Spinelli grabbed the list and stuffed it into his jacket pocket. He and Walker headed back to the precinct. They hoped to have some news from the pathologist about Mike Carter, their first cupid. With two murdered cupids, they were sure Bethany would be directed to make the cupid case her priority.
They also hoped to have some news from Marsh. Perhaps he found something useful about Mike Carter as well.
Spinelli shrugged out of his coat and flung it across the back of his chair. He walked up to Marsh’s desk and looked over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. Walker did the same. Marsh pointed at the printout of Carter’s bank record. “Look here. His account showed a decent balance for a middle-income wage earner six months ago before he lost his job at the brokerage firm.” Marsh skimmed his finger down the printout. “Then here, by month three of being unemployed, he blew through most of his savings.” He slid his finger further down the page. “By month four there was pretty much nothing left, and that’s about when he moved in with his sister. There wasn’t any account activity from then until about a week ago.” Marsh tapped his finger on the last deposit line. “Look at this, a $2,000 cash deposit all of a sudden.”
“Where did that come from?” Walker asked.
“Good question. We can ask his sister if she knows anything about it when we go over there.”
As they drove to Cindy Carter’s house, Spinelli and Walker got Marsh up to speed on what little they knew about their second cupid, Tony Rosso. They decided they should pay visits to some of Rosso’s acquaintances after they finished at the Carter house.
Spinelli dialed the ME. He thought it would be better to go through Debra rather than talk to Bethany directly. Bethany could sure hold a grudge. He feared even looking at her; he was certain her dagger-shooting eyes would slice him into pieces.
Debra answered her cell on the second ring, “Hello.”
“Hey, Debra, Spinelli here. Did you get Bethany’s report on Mike Carter yet?”
“Not yet. I just got back. I’ll head down there now and tell her what we found with our latest cupid. I’ll see what she’s found. I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.”
“Thanks.” Spinelli disconnected the call.
Walker parked in Cindy Carter’s driveway. She greeted them at the door. Her eyes were even redder and more swollen than when they’d seen her earlier. She invited them in and showed them to Mike’s room. It was a small space. The bed was pushed up against the far wall. A nightstand covered with books and magazines, a reading light, and a TV remote stood next to the bed. Across from the foot of the bed was a chest of drawers. A small flat panel TV sat on top of it along with a jewelry box. Next to the chest was a small desk with a couple of drawers. His laptop sat at the center of the desk. Papers, envelopes, and pens cluttered the top as well.
The three of them and Cindy nearly filled the remainder of the room.
Cindy blotted her eyes with a tissue and cleared her throat. “As you can see, my house is small. There wasn’t much room for Mike’s stuff when he moved in so he rented a storage unit. All that’s here are the necessities.”
