Джанет Иванович - Fortune and Glory

“The dress is perfect,” I said. “What’s in the casserole?”

“Baked ziti.”

“The recipe with the gooey cheese sauce?”

“Yep. It’s the best. And it has Italian sausage from the butcher at Giovichinni’s.”

“It smells fantastic.”

“It just came out of the oven.”

Two cars were parked in front of Benny’s house.

“Drive around the block,” Grandma said. “The one car belongs to Dori Klausen. She won’t be in there long. She’s only dropping off. The other car belongs to the woman Benny hired to help Carla. She’s probably going to help with the reception after the burial.”

I did a lap around the block and parked in the space just vacated by Dori. We walked to the front door and rang the bell and the caretaker answered.

“We’re here to give our condolences to Benny,” Grandma said.

“Much appreciated,” the caregiver said, reaching for the casserole.

Grandma tightened her grip on the dish. “I gotta give this to him personally,” she said, pushing her way in, past the caregiver. “You understand.”

“He might not be up to visitors right now,” the woman said.

“I’m not just anyone,” Grandma said. “I was married to Jimmy Rosolli. I even got his La-Z-Boy. Benny gave it to me.”

“Who’s there?” Benny yelled from a distance.

“It’s Edna Rosolli,” Grandma said. “I brought you a casserole. Baked ziti with special sausage and cheese sauce. It’s for tomorrow.”

“Screw tomorrow,” Benny said, “bring me the casserole and a fork. I’m starving back here. All I ever get is a protein shake.”

“He’s supposed to lose weight,” the caregiver said.

“You’re killing me,” Benny yelled at the caregiver. “You’re fucking killing me. Excuse my language.”

“He’s in the den in the back,” she said. “I’ll bring him a fork.”

I led Grandma through the house to the tacked-on den. Benny was in the big comfy chair this time and the cat was in a donut-type bed by his feet.

“How’s it going?” I asked him.

“My wife died,” Benny said. “It’s not going so good.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“God’s will,” Grandma said.

Benny blew a raspberry at God’s will.

Grandma made the sign of the cross and looked up at the ceiling where I suppose God was lurking. “I had nothing to do with that,” she said to the ceiling.

“No offense,” Benny said. “You know I’m as good a Catholic as anyone else, but I’m not getting a lot of comfort from God.”

“That’s why we brought you this casserole,” Grandma said. “If God don’t come through, you can count on sausage from Giovichinni’s butcher.”

“You’re a smart woman, Edna,” Benny said. “I can see why Jimmy married you, should he rest in peace.”

Grandma put the casserole on a tray table by Benny and took the cover off the dish.

“Oh, man,” Benny said. “This is a work of art. It smells amazing. And the cheese!”

“It’s all hand grated,” Grandma said.

“Fork!” Benny yelled. “Where’s my fork?”

The caregiver appeared with the fork. She rolled her eyes at Grandma and me, handed the fork over to Benny, and left.

Benny dug in and made a lot of appreciative sounds while he ate.

“You want a beer with that?” Grandma asked him.

He stopped eating and looked at Grandma. “You got a beer?”

Grandma pulled a cold bottle of beer out of her purse. “I usually carry my gun in this purse, but I thought a bottle of beer would be better today.”

“After I observe the appropriate period of mourning, I’m going to marry you,” Benny said.

“It might be worth it just to get your clue,” Grandma said.

“Maybe we can make a deal,” Benny said. “I’m pissed off at Shine, and Salgusta is nuts. Maybe I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

“And what happens when we find the treasure?” I asked.

“We split it,” Benny said. “Trust me. There’s enough for both of us to be happy.”

“What have you got besides the one clue?” I asked him.

“I know two more clues,” he said. “And by the way, I like your hair. It’s real cute. I liked the ponytail, too, but this short cut is real cute.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I’m getting used to it. Are you talking about the clues in the Mole Hole safe?”

“Yeah.”

“We already have those clues,” I told him.

“Boy,” he said, “you’re sneaky. How’d you get into the safe?”

“We know people with skills,” I said.

Benny chugged half the bottle of beer. “I bet.”

“So, what else do you have?” I asked him.

“I know the treasure, and I’ve been thinking about a way to fence it that might be safe, but I’m not giving that up right away. What have you got besides the clues? You got the keys, right?”

“Maybe, but we’re not giving that up right away,” I said.

“Ha!” Benny said. “Wiseass.” He looked over at Grandma. “Did you teach her that?”

“She’s way ahead of me,” Grandma said.

“The two clues in the safe aren’t helping us,” I said. “Is your clue worth anything?”

“Not to me,” Benny said. “I’m not good at this sort of stuff. Every day I try to do the Jumble and I never get it.”

“What’s your clue?” Grandma asked. “Maybe we can figure it out.”

“It’s pink ,” Benny said. “It’s the number four clue and it’s pink .”

“Ace it, Philadelphia , and pink ,” I said.

“The six of us were real close when we thought this scheme up about the clues and the keys,” Benny said. “We weren’t all sick and crazy and dead.”

“Let’s start with Philadelphia,” I said to Benny. “You knew Jimmy for a long time. Did he have any Philadelphia ties? A second home there? Business property?”

Benny shook his head. “Not that I know. Jimmy didn’t go across the river a lot. He was more a south Jersey guy. He liked the shore. Wildwood, Cape May, Atlantic City. He liked the slots. Sometimes he played the poker table.”

“Did he have any properties there?”

“He used to have a house in Cape May, but that was years ago. Back in the day when the mob was big and there were lots of occasions for us to use our special talents, we all had real estate. We were living high back then, spending money like water. When the contracts started to dry up, to use a fancy term, we liquidated our holdings. It’s not like any of us got poor, it’s more we got careful with our lifestyles. Except for Shine. He always has a couple girls on the side. Still likes a new pinky ring once in a while.”

“What about Ace It ?” Grandma asked Benny. “If Jimmy liked to play poker maybe that’s the tie-in. Did he have a special casino?”

“He would go to the Hard Rock sometimes. Sometimes Tropicana.”

“I went to the Hard Rock with him once,” Grandma said. “We only played the slots. We didn’t go to the tables.”

“Did Jimmy have any aliases?” I asked Benny.

“Sure. We all did. His favorite was Mickey Gooley. Sometimes he used Mickey Fast. He probably had others, too. I can’t remember them all. I can’t even remember all of my own aliases.” Benny shoveled more ziti into his mouth. “I don’t suppose you have more beer in your purse?” he asked Grandma.

“I could only fit the one bottle,” Grandma said. “You don’t want to drink too much anyway. You got a viewing tonight.”

“I want to do what’s right for Carla,” Benny said. “And I know she deserves a nice viewing, but I’m not looking forward to this. Everybody and their brother’s going to come out tonight. Half of the people would put a knife in my back if I didn’t sit against the wall.”