“What does pffft mean?”
“She called out, whining and crying about how her stomach hurts. She’s faking it.”
“Maybe not. Mercedes and I thought the Alfredo sample we dropped off at the lab smelled like almonds, which is a sign of poison.”
“Poison, huh?”
“I paid extra to get the results back quickly. By the way, did you know Sonny Skidz was a city employee?”
“He worked in the property tax division.”
“Why didn’t you mention it before?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes. Only for the fact that it makes for a more interesting story. I can almost read the headlines now…local city employee poisoned at downtown eatery, Ravello’s.”
“Hopefully it doesn’t tank your business.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“The reason for my call is that I’ve been doing a little digging around into Creed’s accident and the Skidz brother’s involvement.” Elvira’s voice faded. “Hang on. Sorry about that.”
“What about the accident?”
“Dernice and I are in my office. You might wanna swing by to see what we found. The bottom line is I’m beginning to think someone took Sonny out.”
Chapter 11
“Mercedes and I are less than ten minutes away.”
“Dernice and I will be in my office waiting for you.”
“We won’t be long.” Carlita tucked her phone in her pocket. “As soon as Dernice told me there was an ongoing feud between some of the bikers, I should’ve asked Sonny Skidz to leave.”
“But the guy, Creed, claimed Sonny’s brother, who wasn’t even at the party, caused the accident,” Mercedes pointed out. “I don’t recall anyone arguing.”
“Me neither, and I was paying attention.” After hearing about what had gone down, Carlita had made her rounds, keeping a watchful eye out in case trouble bubbled up. She couldn’t remember a single incident that caused her concern.
As promised, Elvira and her sister were waiting for them in the office.
“When will you have the lab results?” Elvira asked.
“By the end of the day tomorrow. The cops stopped by Ravello’s first thing this morning. They took samples, questioned Arnie, and left.”
“They’ll get the results PDQ,” Elvira predicted. “Like I mentioned on the phone, Dernice and I got to talking about Creed’s accident and the Skidz brothers.”
“I was there when it happened. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a few photos of the scene, you know, just in case.” Dernice motioned to her desk. “I uploaded them from my phone to my computer.”
“Scooch over.” Elvira nudged her sister to the side. “I’ll explain it.”
“Whatever.” Dernice reluctantly moved away. “Although, for the record,Iwas the one who noticed it.”
“Noticed what?” Carlita slipped her reading glasses on and leaned in, studying the photo of a cluster of motorcycles parked on the side of the road. Bikers, wearing leather jackets, jeans, and black boots, stood staring at a motorcycle lying on its side. A man dressed in similar clothes sat on the sidewalk, holding his head.
“Does your club have some sort of dress code?” Mercedes joked. “Everyone is wearing leather jackets, jeans and black boots.”
“It’s AGATT.”
