“To ask him about Sonny?” Carlita prompted.
“The police are calling Sonny’s death a homicide.”
Chapter 14
“The police have determined Sonny was murdered,” Carlita said.
“According to what Creed told me. The cops asked him if he visited Sonny in the hospital. He told them he had. They also asked him if he was at Luigi and Dernice’s engagement party. I hate to say it, but I’m pretty sure we’re on the short list to be questioned.”
“They’ve already stopped by Ravello’s and spoken with Arnie,” Carlita said. “Even if the samples the police took show positive results for poison, Sonny didn’t die from eating Ravello’s food. I would bet my life on it.”
“But why Sonny?” Tony asked.
“There’s more to the story.” Dernice briefly explained about the previous incident, the motorcycle accident, and how she didn’t think Rocky or Sonny were behind Creed’s crash. “If you want my two cents, I think it was Paul Maul and Sonny was the intended victim.”
“Sonny was the target because?”
“He and Courtney, Paul’s girlfriend, were having a fling,” Luigi said. “Rumors have been flying around for weeks now.”
“She’s a real looker and a big flirt,” Dernice said.
“What you’re telling us is Creed got hurt but Sonny was the real target,” Pete said. “When Sonny walked away unscathed from the motorcycle accident, whoever was after him tried causing harm via food poisoning.”
“Paul Maul was at the engagement party.” Elvira lifted her index finger. “Secondly, he had motive and opportunity.”
“What about the woman, Yvonne, who also got sick?” Tony asked.
“Collateral damage,” Elvira said. “She ate food from the wrong dish at the wrong time.”
“I’ve done some thinking,” Mercedes said. “Racking my brain trying to figure out why no one else got sick, so I asked Arnie about it because he was the one who made sure we didn’t run out of food.”
“What did he say?” Pete asked.
“He had just refilled all the food dishes and found the fettuccine under the buffet table, hidden away.”
“As soon as Yvonne mentioned the fettuccine, I went to track it down,” Carlita said. “Arnie put the dish in the fridge. Only a little had been eaten.”
“Which means someone placed it out of sight,” Mercedes said. “I suppose it could’ve been an employee.”
“True,” Carlita agreed. “But why?”
“At the risk of repeating myself, Paul Maul makes the most sense,” Dernice said. “If we can determine whether he visited Sonny in the hospital, we’re one step closer to our killer.”
“Someone has the capability but so far has not offered their assistance.” Carlita gave Elvira a pointed stare.
“I can’t hack into the hospital’s system for all the reasons I’ve already given you. Besides, we need to verify the food was tainted.”
“Speaking of food being tainted.” Mercedes glanced at her watch. “Don’t forget about the nosy reporters who were at Ravello’s this morning.”
“The news.” Carlita shoved her chair back. “It’s almost time for the late-breaking news.”
The group gathered inside Pete and Carlita’s living room, where she turned the television on and began flipping through the channels.
“It was Channel 2 news,” Tony said. “I remember seeing a big red number two on the side of a van. There was another group of reporters. I can’t recall which station they were from right off the top of my head, but two for sure.”
Carlita continued flipping until she located the channel. A local meteorologist finished giving the extended weather forecast. Sports headlines were next, followed by a brief story about the deadline for entries into the upcoming holiday boat parade.
“Maybe the bigwigs at the station figured there wasn’t a story and cut it from the lineup,” Elvira said.
