Setup in Savannah: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Cozy Mysteries Series Book 7) by Hope Callaghan (read along books .TXT) 📗

“I hope so, unless I’m in jail.”

“Bite your tongue,” Carlita said.

“Here are your books.” Cricket handed the children the books and smiled at Carlita.  “It was nice to meet you.”

“Same here,” Carlita replied.

“I’ll see you Thursday.” Mercedes waved to Cricket, and then followed her mother and the children to the front of the store.

“I like this store,” Noel said.

“Me too,” PJ chimed in.

The group stepped back onto the sidewalk and continued walking home.

“You need to find out more about the murder she mentioned and maybe even do a little digging around in this Cricket woman’s background,” Carlita said.  “She seems to know an awful lot about Jon Luis and the old murder case.  What was it again?”

“It was called the Madison Square murder.  It happened back in 1976. One of the original founding families, Teresa Honeycutt, was hosting a dinner party at their swanky home over in Madison Square.  At some point during the party, a guest discovered Herbert Honeycutt’s body.  He’d been suffocated and his body stuffed in the dumbwaiter.  Authorities arrested Teresa, his wife, but the charges were eventually dropped and the case was never solved.”

When they reached the corner, they turned left toward home.  “My guess is the wife did it,” Carlita said.

“Teresa Honeycutt was a paraplegic.  There’s no way she could’ve strangled her husband and stuffed his body in the dumbwaiter.  Most of the people at the party claimed they never saw or heard anything suspicious during the party. It was almost as if they were trying to cover up the murder.”

Carlita mulled over Mercedes’ words. Someone somewhere knew something about the Madison Square murder and Carlita knew exactly who that someone was.

Chapter 5

Victoria “Tori” Montgomery stepped into the library to join her unexpected guest.  “It’s so nice to see you Carlita.  I’ve been meaning to stop by your pawnshop, but have been under the weather lately.” She sniffed loudly.  “Dreadful allergies this time of the year.”

A uniformed servant glided in behind Tori Montgomery, carrying a silver tea set.  “Bring the tray over here, Iris.” She motioned to an antique table, situated between two powder blue French provincial chairs.

“Would you care for a cup of tea?” Tori turned to Carlita.

“Yes. Thank you.” Carlita glanced outdoors, past the flagstone courtyard and the sparkling blue swimming pool.  “There’s something different about your pool.”

“You’re very observant. With the windfall of gems given to me by a dear friend, I decided to splurge and added a pool cabana with a half bath and a large changing room.”

“Nice.”

Iris handed Carlita a cup of tea.  “Thank you, Iris.”

The young woman nodded her head.  “Will there be anything else?”

“No. That will be all for now.” Tori waited until Iris exited the library and closed the door behind her.  “I’ve always wanted a pool boy and this gives me the perfect excuse to hire one.  Such a pity that I’ll have to wait until spring to enjoy the new scenery.”

Carlita coughed and covered her mouth to hide her smile.  “You don’t say.”

“At my age, admiring from afar is one of life’s little pleasures.” Tori smiled and then her expression sobered.  “When you called to ask if we could meet, I sensed you wanted to discuss something serious.”

“Yes.” Carlita sipped the tea and carefully placed the teacup on top of the fragile saucer.  “Have you ever heard of the Madison Square murder?”

Tori shifted in her chair, eyeing Carlita over the rim of her cup.  “Of course.  Anyone who lived in Savannah during the mid-1970s has heard of the Madison Square murder.  Does this have anything to do with Jon Luis’ death over by the Riverfront District?”

“It does.” Carlita explained Mercedes’ involvement with Jon Luis and ended with Detective Wilson’s questioning. “I think they’re gonna try and pin it on my daughter.  There’s a killer lurking in Savannah and I believe Mercedes has been setup.”

“Oh dear.  Teresa Honeycutt died years ago, as well as all of the original suspects,” Tori said.  “The Honeycutt children moved away and I thought the whole sordid affair was long forgotten.”

“Except for Jon Luis’ investigation into the matter.  Apparently someone wanted to silence him.” Carlita folded her hands in her lap. “I’m afraid Mercedes, and perhaps even someone in her author group, could be next. I thought you might be able to shed some light on the whole matter and possibly point us in the right direction.”

“The Honeycutt family and I ran in different circles, so I don’t have much more information than what is available on the internet, although I always believed the investigators missed some important clues at the Honeycutt Manor, the scene of the crime.”

Carlita perked up.  “Really?”

“Yes.” Tori nodded.  “I, as well as many others in Savannah, believed someone…shall we say…greased the palms of the authorities, so they would drop the case.”

“We call it sweepin’ it under the rug. Too bad Mercedes and I can’t take a look at the Honeycutt place.”

“Perhaps you can,” Tori said.  “The place has changed hands numerous times over the years.  The owners never stayed long, claiming the place was haunted.”

“Haunted?”

“Aren’t most old homes in Savannah rumored to be haunted? An entrepreneurial individual moved into the property a few years back and opened a restaurant.  From what I’ve been told, they also offer ghost tours by appointment only.”

“I’m surprised Mercedes didn’t mention it to me.”  Carlita knew Mercedes would be all over that.

“They don’t advertise, at least not that I’ve ever noticed,” Tori said. “It’s more a word of mouth about the ghost tours.  Your best bet is to start asking around about the 1976 Tour.”

“I will.  Thanks for the info.” The conversation shifted to Pirate Pete, the beautiful fall weather and Carlita’s pawnshop business.

When Iris returned to check on them, Carlita glanced at