“Pretty good considering the circumstances.” Carlita told him about Creed, the party guest who had been visited by the authorities. “He specifically said the cops called it a homicide.”
“So the police will be back to ask more questions.”
“Without a doubt. We should call the animal feed company.”
Arnie interrupted. “I’ve already talked to them and told them to toss the food and not feed it to the animals.”
“Wonderful. Thank you.” Carlita, noticing it was time to open, carried the sign listing the lunch specials out onto the sidewalk. She made a minor adjustment and stood back to check the angle.
“Hey, Ma.”
She turned to find Mercedes, her server’s apron draped over her arm, strolling toward her.
“Hey, Mercedes.”
“I didn’t know you were working today.”
“I’m not on the schedule, but I had some stuff to do, so I decided to come in. It’s a good thing I did.” Carlita told her about the surprise inspection.
“Did the inspector ask to see the party leftovers?”
“Paisley gave them to the animal feed people last night when they stopped by. She told Arnie she didn’t see the sign I taped on them.”
“Which might be a good thing.” Mercedes leaned in. “Did you tell the inspector we took samples to the lab?”
“I thought about it but figured it would be viewed as some sort of admission of guilt so I kept quiet.”
“True. I would’ve done the same thing.”
Toot…toot.The Big Peach, Reese Magillicuddy’s old town trolley, rumbled around the corner and coasted to the designated stop. She tooted the horn again and gave Carlita a friendly wave.
“I’m gonna go say hi to Reese.”
“While you’re over there, ask her about Sonny. Reese knows almost all the locals.”
“You read my mind.” Checking for traffic, Carlita crossed the street and waited for her friend to lower the driver’s side window.
“Morning, Carlita.”
“Hey, Reese.” She motioned to the red and green garland draped across the window. “I see you’re ahead of the game and got a head start on the holiday season.”
“I figured, what the heck. Besides, the riders like the decor and the new Christmas tunes I’ve been playing.” Reese greeted the boarding passengers before resuming the conversation. “I would ask how it’s going in Walton Square, but after watching the news last night, I’m pretty sure I already know.”
“You saw the Channel 2 hit job about Sonny Skidz’s death?”
“I caught the tail end of it on the TV, so I searched for it online.”
“It’s a mess,” Carlita sighed. “The police are calling his death a homicide.”
“I stayed until almost the end of the party but never realized there was a problem. What happened?”
“Sonny ended up getting sick in the bathroom. As luck would have it, one of the guests was a paramedic and called an ambulance.” Carlita filled her in on what had happened, how she and Elvira visited the hospital later that evening. “He seemed to be improving and went downhill fast.”
“Who would poison him?” Reese asked.
“From what Dernice told me, Sonny was messing around with another biker dude’s chick.”
“He was poisoned because of a woman?”
