Zia said, “My pal said that was the absolute minimum.”
Amos was grinning now. “Remember, we’re talking early sixties. Back when a hundred million dollars was real money.”
She laughed. It felt so good, so cleansing, she did it again. “Back in the day.”
“There you go. Anyway, my pal checked the old files. The Mob was never sure it was Benny who took their money.”
“Call him Dino. Please.”
Zia nodded. “Apparently your guy was responsible for laundering their cash and putting it into legitimate businesses. Casinos, hotels, office buildings, a lot of what then was the new Chicago waterfront. The Mob bosses, they loved the guy.”
Jenna set her bowl in the sink, surprised to see she had eaten everything. Then she slid over to make herself a mug. “This sounds so like Dino. I can almost see him smiling.”
“Stealing a hundred mil from the Mob,” Amos said. “I wish I had known him.”
“I wish I hadarrestedthe guy,” Zia said.
Amos said, “Then one day . . .”
“The guy vanishes,” Zia said, enjoying the exchange now. “Plays like smoke in the wind. Poof and gone.”
“So the Mob brings in a new accountant.”
“Right. And this new fellow, he starts going through Benny’s books . . .”
Amos was chuckling now. “And he says . . .”
“Sorry to tell you, but hey, these numbers, they don’t add up.” Zia grinned.
“So the Mob . . .”
“Like kicking over an ant hill.”
Amos looked at Jenna, eyes merry. “Scrambling like mad. Searching everywhere.”
Jenna asked, “When did Dino appear in Santa Barbara?”
“There you go.” Zia nodded. “Eleven years later. First record of him. Buys the house in the hills. Applies for a California driver’s license. Registers to vote. Puts down ‘retired’ as his profession.”
“Was he married?”
“Yes, to Dorothy. Shows up in Santa Barbara with wife and one daughter, Eloise. Then his wife died in childbirth fourteen months later. Dino never remarried.”
“Just a retired guy living small,” Amos said. “Never gets arrested. Never has any reason to have his fingerprints taken. Lives a quiet and law-abiding life to the end.”
“This is wild,” Jenna said.
“What I said to my pal. Exactly.”
Amos asked, “What happened between him leaving Chicago and arriving here?”
Zia shook his head. “Nobody knows.”
“So he lays low somewhere until he can pretend to be this new guy.” Amos asked Jenna, “He never mentioned his own parents?”
“Just his dad, just the one time. He died when Dino was twelve. Apparently he worked for the Chicago Mob.”
Zia and Amos shared a look. “Interesting.”
