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

She was excited to spend time with her grandchildren and mentally ticked off the list of fun things she had planned.

Her mind wandered to Jon Luis, the man Mercedes had planned to meet.  What if Mercedes had arrived at the meeting spot early and ran into the killer?  Even with a pistol-packing Autumn close by, the killer could’ve easily shot Mercedes before Autumn was able to reach her.

Carlita made a mental note to remind Mercedes to contact Detective Wilson the next morning and share the fact the other authors in her group knew about the planned meeting.

What if someone had it in for Jon Luis and the person was desperate to keep him from talking to Mercedes?  If that was the case, was Mercedes’ life in danger?  Carlita’s stomach churned at the thought.

Somehow, she had to convince her daughter to bow out of the author group, or at least avoid them until the authorities tracked down Jon Luis’ killer.

Her last thought as she drifted off to sleep was the confrontation between Elvira and Gina.  It was going to be a long week, especially if the two of them continued to cross paths.  She couldn’t think of two more bullheaded people than her troublesome tenant and daughter-in-law.

Carlita was the first one up the next morning and she tiptoed through the living room to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.  Although she tried to keep quiet, Tony started to stir and finally crawled out of bed.

“You gotta do somethin’ about the metal bar on the sofa bed.” He rubbed his back.  “It felt like I was sleepin’ on a tire jack.”

“I’m sorry son.  I had no idea it was so uncomfortable.  Of course, I’ve never slept on it.” Carlita poured water in the back of the coffee maker and turned it on. “You wanna Blumenthal bagel?”

“Sure.” He stepped into the kitchen to help his mother fix the bagels and after they finished toasting, Carlita slathered a thick layer of cream cheese on them while Tony poured two cups of coffee.  They carried the bagels and coffee out onto the balcony.

The early morning air was cool and crisp and Carlita shivered.  “I need my sweater.” She hurried inside, grabbed her sweater off the chair and headed back to the deck. “I’m sorry about the bed.  I got an air mattress around here somewhere.  We can put it on top of the mattress.”

They sat on the deck, chatting about the pawnshop business, Gina and Paulie’s visit and finally, the death of Jon Luis.  “I’m thinkin’ the people in Mercedes’ author group need to be questioned,” Carlita said.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.  Time for a refill.” Tony carried their empty coffee cups back inside while Carlita and Rambo stayed on the deck.

Tony returned with the coffee and Mercedes trailing behind.

“You’re up early.” Carlita took the coffee cup from her son.

“I couldn’t sleep.” Mercedes eased into an empty chair.  “I kept thinkin’ about Jon Luis, wondering how long he’d been there and how if I woulda been there a few minutes earlier, I mighta been a witness to his murder.”

Tony sipped his coffee.  “Didja notice anyone hanging around while you were waitin’ on the cops to show up?”

“No, but now that you mention it, Autumn and I noticed a set of keys near his body. She took a few pictures and sent them to me. I’ll go get my phone.” Mercedes headed back inside and returned with her cell phone.

She switched her phone on and clicked on the camera icon before scrolling through the screen.  “Here they are.” She handed the phone to her brother.

Tony tapped the screen to enlarge the picture.  “Looks like a buncha keys. He was probably holdin’ onto ‘em when he got whacked and dropped ‘em on the way down.” He handed the phone to his mother.

Carlita squinted her eyes and studied the photo.  “Looks like car keys and house keys…but there is one that looks different.” She handed the phone to her daughter.  “It’s the one with a plastic key tag.”

“You’re right,” Mercedes said. “I have no idea what it is.” She switched the phone off and set it on the table.  “I hope they track down the killer soon.  This whole thing is creepin’ me out.”

“You think someone in your writing group might be a suspect?” Carlita asked.

“I hate to think of any of them as suspects.” Mercedes rattled off the names of the other authors. “There’s Tom Muldoon. He’s gotta be in his 50s.  Tom writes thriller/suspense novels and lives out of town.  He’s kinda quiet.”

“Then there’s Stephanie Rumsfield.  She’s older, a throwback from the hippie era.  Stephanie writes Harlequin-type romance.”  Mercedes wrinkled her nose.  “She moved here from Montana with her boyfriend.”

Mercedes told them the third was Cricket Tidwell. “She’s sweet as can be and writes crochet and cook books.  She owns The Book Nook and lives above the store.”

“What about the young guy, the one you met for coffee a few weeks back?” Carlita asked.

“Austin Crawford?  Austin writes historical mysteries set in the Civil War era.  His dad is an author, too.  I forget his name.”

“All four of them knew you were meetin’ with this Jon Luis guy last night?” Tony asked.

“Yeah. I mean.  It’s kind of a big deal.  Jon Luis is…was famous around these parts.  Snagging an interview with him is unheard of,” Mercedes said.

“You need to share all of this with Detective Wilson.  Make sure to tell him your author group knew when and where you were meeting with Jon Luis,” Carlita said. “I wonder if Gina and the kids are up.  I was thinkin’ about taking the kids to Morrell Park and Leopold’s for ice cream since it’s not gonna rain today.”

Mercedes phone chirped and she flipped it over.  “It’s the number for the police