Merry Masquerade in Savannah: A Made in Savannah Cozy Mystery (Made in Savannah Cozy Mysteries Serie by Hope Callaghan (rosie project .TXT) 📗

reached her mother’s open door, she stuck her head inside the bedroom.  Her mother was sitting at the small desk, an open book in front of her.

“Whatcha doing?”

“There’s a mini library, right here in my room.” Carlita lifted the lid on the antique desk, revealing a tidy row of hardcover books.  “I’m reading about Tybee Island’s history.”

“Cool, but I’ve got something even more interesting.” Mercedes waved Ava’s personnel folder in the air.  “I think I might have found something.”

Chapter 16

“You found something in Ava’s personnel file?” Carlita tucked a slip of paper inside her book and shut it.

“I think so. Check it out.” Mercedes placed the file on the desk.  “She worked for the Dykstra family for a couple of years, was given annual reviews and a raise.  Her benefits included a room and free meals, similar to what Tori offers her employees.  Here’s what I found interesting.” She flipped the folder open and tapped the bottom of the second page.  “About six months before her employment was terminated, there was a gap.”

Carlita studied the sheet of paper.  “Huh.  Like maybe she left and came back?”

“That’s what I think.  Or she was let go and then for some reason re-hired, and then let go again, the second time for good.”  Mercedes crossed her arms.  “Think about it.  I’m sure Ava was the same aggravating employee with her former employer as she was here.  They probably verbally warned her, something happened and they let her go, but for some reason, ended up hiring her again.”

“Ava loved to hold stuff over the other employees’ heads, threatening them.  What if she was holding something over the employers’ heads and they hired her back?”

“It still has nothing to do with who killed Ava,” Carlita said.

“Are you sure? The Dykstras were here at the party.  What if something happened, there was some sort of confrontation between Ava and her former employers, and in a fit of rage the husband or wife murdered Ava?”

“It’s a stretch, Mercedes.  Not impossible, but improbable.”

“I say we ask Tori to call Mrs. Dykstra and question her about the gap in employment and see what she says.  If there is nothing to it, we hit a dead end, but something tells me it’s not.”  Mercedes began to pace.  “Ava was a huge flirt. If she flirted with the male employees here, she may have flirted with the male employees in the Dykstra house…maybe even with Mr. Dykstra.”

“That’s an angle I hadn’t considered.  I know if one of my employees began flirting with my husband, I would kick her to the curb.”

“Exactly. Let’s suppose that’s what happened.  Mrs. Dykstra found out or suspected Ava was flirting with her husband, so she fired her.  Reading between the lines, Ava had some dirt on someone and they were forced to hire her back.”

“We’ll mention it to Tori later.” The ceiling fan let out a dull squeak and began to spin.  “It looks like the power is back on.”

“Great,” Mercedes grinned.  “Now I won’t have to sleep with you tonight. I can leave the lights on in my room.  Dinner is being served in the dining room at 6:30 sharp.  In the meantime, I’m gonna try to do a little more research.  Now that the power is on, I can use my laptop.”

“While you do more research, I think I’m gonna do a little more reading,” Carlita said.  “Tybee Island history is almost as fascinating as Savannah’s history.”

Mercedes hurried to her room, but left both her mother’s door and her bedroom door open.  She checked her emails first, and then checked the local news for an update on the storm, hoping to find current information on the bridge connecting the island with the mainland. She discovered the bridge would remain closed until the local authorities inspected it.

It was time to start digging into Ava’s personal life. Mercedes opened one of the more popular social media sites and typed Ava Torrez in the search bar.  Several names popped up.  She added Georgia to the bar and Ava’s profile popped up.

Mercedes clicked on her name and began scrolling through her online profile.  There were posts and pictures of Montgomery Hall.  In several of the posts, Ava bragged she had snagged a coveted job at one of the most prestigious private estates in the Savannah area.

Along with the Montgomery Hall posts were several of Ava and her friends, and among them were a few men.  She scrolled to older posts and stopped when she spotted the name Dykstra.  There was a group photo. Ava had tagged several people, all of whom appeared to be employees of the Dykstra Manor.

There was a second photo, this one of a smiling man and woman, along with Ava.  Mercedes read the tag line: “Mimi and Rick Dykstra.” For some reason, Mercedes envisioned an older couple, but they were younger, in their mid-thirties if she had to guess.  “That’s interesting.”

Mercedes clicked on their name and it opened another window, this one of the Dykstra’s social profile page.  The cover photo was of a smiling Mimi and Rick Dykstra.  In front of them were three young children.  The backdrop was a stately English Tudor-style home.

There was another photo, this one of Rick Dykstra behind the wheel of a Jaguar.  If the family was hard up for money, they had a funny way of showing it.

The more Mercedes researched the more questions that popped up.  Ava was a troublemaker, of that she was certain, but there was something more, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on, and she hoped asking Tori a few more questions, might help fill in some of the blanks.

The rest of the afternoon flew by, and Carlita and Mercedes descended the stairs at 6:30 on the dot.

Tori was already in the dining room, seated at the head of the table.