Montes motioned to the cash on the table. “I see I’ve caught you in the middle of something.”
“Just closing the books for today.”
Montes walked over and picked up a handful of twenties. After thumbing through them, he set them back down and said, “How’s business?”
Gennaro shrugged. “It’s an average week.”
“That’s always better than a down one, right?”
“Yes, sir. It is.”
Montes walked behind the chair Gennaro had been using and glanced at Gennaro’s laptop. He nodded and moved around the other side of the table, running a finger along its edge.
“Is there something I can help you with?” Gennaro asked. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why Montes was here. Gennaro always sent Pinkie’s cut on time, and he never skimmed enough off the top to be noticed.
“Actually, there is.” Montes looked over at him. “We’ve heard a crazy rumor, and I thought maybe you might know something about it.”
“What kind of rumor?”
“You remember Johnny Fratelli?”
Gennaro hid the sudden panic he felt by pretending to think. “Fratelli?”
“He was Eduardo Buono’s cellmate at Sing Sing. I know you know who Buono was.”
“Of course I know who he was. And now that you mention it, yeah, I remember Fratelli. He’s the guy whodisappeared with Buono’s cut of the JFK heist, right after he left prison. I haven’t thought about him since then.”
“You haven’t?”
“I’m sure you know I tried to find him when he first vanished,” Gennaro said. “When I couldn’t, I had no choice but to move on. Why are you bringing him up now?”
Montes regarded him for a moment. “Someone claiming to be him has been calling around, asking questions.”
Gennaro did not have to fake his surprise at this. “What kind of questions?”
Something in Montes’s expression seemed to shift without shifting. “He said he’d heard someone was trying to find him, and he wanted to know who. I take it he didn’t call you?”
“No.”
“Did you know him from back in the day?”
Gennaro shook his head. “Never met him.”
“I see. That’s probably why he didn’t call you. I think he’s only been contacting people he knows.”
“Yeah, that must be it.”
“You don’t happen to know who was asking about him, do you?”
“Not a clue. Like I said, I haven’t thought about Fratelli in years. I wouldn’t even know why someone would look for him.”
“That’s easy. Whoever it is thinks he still has Buono’s money and wants to get their hands on it.”
Gennaro felt a trickle of sweat running down the back of his neck. “I guess that makes sense. Sorry, Mr. Montes. I wish I could help you more.”
“No worries, Ricky,” Montes said as he walked over to him. “But I do have a favor to ask.”
“Anything.”
