“I’m sure he has. Their vans are parked all along the front of the building. Judging by how they’re settling in, I’m guessingthey were tipped off and aren’t going anywhere until they get a story.”
“Crud. Stay low for now. I need to make a few phone calls.”
“Will do. As long as they don’t block the alley out back, we shouldn’t have a problem with the kitchen staff getting to work.”
“If they block the alley, call the cops and report them for trespassing.”
“You want me to do it now?”
“As much as I would like nothing more than to get rid of them, the sidewalks are public property.” Carlita promised to keep him in the loop.
Her next call was to her son. “Hey, Tony. I just got off the phone with Arnie. He said there are a bunch of news crews parked out front.”
“I told ‘em to move along and threatened to call the cops. They’re not budging. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot we can do unless they trespass.”
“Arnie and I had a similar conversation.” Carlita filled him in on what had taken place at the hospital ending with Sonny’s unexpected demise.
“Wow. He’s dead.”
“Elvira’s employee is also hinting at suing me.”
“When it rains, it pours.”
“No kidding,” Carlita said. “I’ll get dressed and head your way. Let me call Mercedes to give her a heads-up. I’ll also touch base with Elvira to see if she’s heard anything else.”
“Let me know if I can help.”
Carlita promised she would and started to dial her daughter’s number but changed her mind. Mercedes wasn’t an early bird but more of a late riser, which meant she was probably still asleep.
She dialed EC Security Services’ number instead.
“EC Security. Dernice speaking.”
“Good morning, Dernice. It’s Carlita. Some local news crews are parked out in front of the pawn shop and Ravello’s. I was wondering if you or Elvira had an update on Sonny’s death.”
“Elvira tried calling the hospital earlier. They refused to give her any information because she’s not family.”
“I suppose they wouldn’t.” Carlita shifted the phone to her other ear. “I wonder who tipped off the local news stations.”
“Elvira told me what Yvonne said, how she was feeling better but hinting she might turn what happened to her into a major issue.”
“By suing Ravello’s.”
“Yep. I don’t know her very well, but I can see her hiring an attorney and calling the local news.”
“Great,” Carlita moaned. “Could be she thinks contacting the local news channels and turning it into a story will help her legal case.”
“I’m sorry this happened. To be honest, something isn’t adding up. If Sonny had food poisoning and was starting to get better, why did he suddenly have a heart attack?”
“That’s an excellent question. I wish I knew the answer, although we don’t know for sure it was a heart attack. The hospital employee mentioned it, but this wasn’t a confirmed cause of death.”
“You want me to have Elvira call you?”
“Only if she has an update. I need to handle the reporters ASAP. Having them parked in front of the restaurant is bad for business.” Carlita thanked her and hustled to the bathroom to get ready. Hitting the shower first, she lathered up, wondering how the man had died. Maybe he suffered from a severe allergic reaction. They misdiagnosed it as food poisoning, and it somehow affected his heart.
It was possible…anything was possible at this point.
Making quick work of dressing and fixing her hair, Carlita was down the steps and out the door in record time. Taking a shortcut through the back alley, she showed up at the restaurant’s rear entrance along with the employees who were arriving for their shift.
