Page 46 of Family Ties and Alibis

“I could try to get my foot in the door,” Gina offered. “I’ve waited tables. It’s been a long time, but I bet I could muddle through.”

“Ditto for me,” Shelby said. “Unfortunately, Carlita is right. We all have the Garlucci last name—Mercedes, Gina, Brittney, and me.”

Carlita frowned at her bum leg. She could serve drinks or wait tables in a pinch, but no one in their right mind would hire a woman her age—an injured woman to boot. “The casino might be desperate for workers, but I doubt they’re desperate enough to hire someone my age.”

A discussion ensued with the others throwing out various ideas about how to get an inside scoop, short of being hired by the casino. All, for one reason or another, got shot down. The bottom line was that the only viable plan would be to have someone on the inside, working at Quick Cash.

“We have another hurdle.” Vinnie rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Time. The hiring process takes several days, sometimes weeks, before an employee makes it onto the floor.”

Carlita’s shoulders drooped. “This isn’t gonna work.”

“Not so fast. There’s another route. I’m tight with the head of HR at Atlantic City Hiring Company. We get temps from them when we need help fast, as in the same day.”

Mercedes’ eyes widened. “They’re gonna hire us on the spot and send us to Quick Cash?”

“Let me make a quick phone call to Alec, the hiring manager.” Vinnie took off. He was gone for several long moments before finally returning. “If we can get the girls some new identification, Alec is working tomorrow morning. He’ll onboard them and get them out the door and over to Quick Cash, who is looking for server help, first thing. I told him you were personal friends of mine and had experience.”

“That was fast,” Mercedes marveled. “It pays to have connections.”

“I’ve been known to slip him a Benjamin Franklin or two. He likes doing me favors. Despite knowing him well, I think it would be best if we don’t mention we’re related.”

Gina made a zipping motion across her lips. “My lips are sealed.”

“Have you had any luck remembering the name of your attacker?” Paulie asked.

“Nope. It feels like it’s on the tip of my tongue, but so far nothing.”

“You took a pretty good knock on the noggin,” Pete said.

“I’m thinkin’ it’ll hit me out of the blue, when I stop trying so hard.”

Carlita glanced around the room. “What happened to Luigi?”

“I dunno.” Tony shrugged. “He was here a minute ago.”

“Back to our current issue,” Vinnie said. “Even though Ma and I both have alibis, we’re at the top of the list of suspects.”

“Along with his girlfriend, I’m sure.”

“Do you think this Ms. X lady is lying and Sal never told her he was afraid of you?” Mercedes asked her mother.

“If she’s anything like Sal—a cheat, a counterfeiter and who knows what else—then why not feed the cops a big fat lie and throw the heat on someone else?” Carlita asked. “Maybe they got into a fight, took a walk on the Boardwalk to cool off, and she killed him.”

“Not to speak ill of the dead, but Sal was a mousy little weasel,” Vinnie said. “Depending on his girlfriend’s body type, she may have been able to take him out.”

Heavy footsteps echoed. Luigi appeared. “Did I miss anything important?”

“We’re still trying to finalize a plan about how to get Gina, Shelby, and Mercedes some new IDs and over to Vinnie’s friend at the temp service by tomorrow morning.” Carlita wrinkled her nose. “This is looking like mission impossible, at least the ID part and new last names. Elvira is tied up at home, but maybe Dernice could sneak away for a day or so and give us a hand.”

“I already asked her. She’s got a full schedule through tomorrow but could fly up and help in a pinch on Saturday.”

“It’ll be too late. We need ears to the wall ASAP.”

“I didn’t finish,” Luigi said. “As you all know, I still have a number of connections in AC. I made a few quick calls and have some good news.”

Carlita brightened. “We could use good news. What is it?”

“I can get my hands on brand-spanking new Georgia driver’s licenses.”