Page 38 of Family Ties and Alibis

“What’s going on?” Brittney asked.

“I gotta head downstairs. Several of the employees are threatening to walk out.”

Chapter 15

Luigi sprang to his feet. “I was hearing talk about it last night, how a few of the employees, not necessarily the dealers, are spooked about Sal’s death. They probably found out you got jumped.”

Vinnie grabbed his keys.

“You want me to go with you?” his friend asked.

“Might not be a bad idea. It looks like I’ll need all the help I can get.”

Paulie, Tony and Pete left to play pool not long after Vinnie and Luigi took off.

“Maybe we should hang around,” Brittney said.

“There’s nothing you can do,” Carlita said. “The kids could use a little fresh air and burn off some of their energy.”

“Carlita is right,” Pete added. “Sitting around waiting to see what happens won’t help.”

“We won’t be gone for too long.” The women loaded the kids into wagons and left.

At Carlita’s insistence, Pete ran downstairs to shoot a game of pool with the guys. Left alone with her two youngest grandchildren, she quietly scooter’d into the living room where Melody and baby Vin had gone down for a nap. Bustling and boisterous only an hour ago, the apartment now seemed eerily quiet.

Her eyes were drawn to the newspaper still sitting on the coffee table. Carlita picked it up and began flipping through the pages. Reaching the third page, she found a photo of Vinnie sitting in the rear of the ambulance. Above the photo was the headline: Casino Manager Brutally Attacked.

She skimmed through the story, basically repeating what she already knew. At the very bottom, the news reporter mentioned Sal Tomaria’s death and how Vinnie had been questioned by police. Interestingly enough, there was no mention of the gas can found near Sal’s body.

Carlita read it again, but this time slower. She pushed the scooter to the window and absentmindedly gazed out over the water. Her gut told her Sal’s death and Vinnie’s attack were linked, but how?

Grabbing a pad of paper from her purse, Carlita jotted down what she knew:

Sal was cheating at the casino, trying to pass counterfeit bills. Vinnie banned him. Sal threatened to burn it down.

The next morning Sal is found dead. A gas can was discovered a few feet away from his body.

Vinnie jumped by two people—a man and a woman. Remembers hearing a name but can’t recall what it was.

Casino employees concerned about incidents, threatening to quit.

Per Demo, Sal was almost fired for sleeping on the job.

Quick Cash Casino. Where Sal worked as a security guard. Not many customers.

Treasure Cove Casino. Busy and bustling.

She drummed her fingers on the table, studying the list. Sal worked for a competitor. Carlita and Pete had both noticed how there were fewer gamblers in the other casino. Had the owner or manager sent someone to Vinnie’s place to cause trouble, scare customers, or maybe even harass her son?

She couldn’t begin to guess how much more money Treasure Cove was raking in as opposed to Quick Cash. And then there was Royal Flush, the casino Tommy Castellini managed. “I wonder how business is over there,” she murmured.

Carlita checked on her young grandchildren, both still sound asleep. Thinking she might take a quick catnap, she kicked her shoes off and eased onto the sofa.

Bump. Clunk. Carlita bolted upright, realizing she’d fallen asleep. Something was bumping and clunking.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed both grandchildren were still napping in their playpens.

Pete, Paulie, Tony, Vinnie, and Luigi appeared.