Ch 29

"You were right Atticus," Cara said, half of a sub sandwich in her hand. "That account is to a Victor Mencino. He has been on the payroll of one Quigley O'Reilly since 1997. Trevor was telling the truth."

"What do you bet that Victor has the name of that goon on speed dial?" Dan said.

"Never mind the goon, let's find Quigley O'Reilly." Amy said, swallowing a BBQ chip she had been holding.

"Cara, we know Quigley O'Reilly has an off-shore account. Is there any other information you can find on him? Bank records, aliases, marriage licenses, death certificates, anything?" Jake asked

Cara replied, "I have one idea. We are pretty certain that Antonio Marcellius is Quigley O'Reilly and that Marcellius disappeared shortly after declaring bankruptcy. Bankruptcy stays with you for many years so unless he has a death certificate, there may be a way to try and trace him through his bankruptcy. Let me work for a bit." She said, pulling up a work station and setting to work.

Over in the corner, Ham, Jonah and Ian had fallen asleep on couches designed for this very reason. They had jet-lag and it was catching up to them.

Atticus' brain was working differently than the others however. He was laser focused on his laptop in the middle of the room. His dreadlocks covering his face as the blue-LED of the screen reflected in his glasses. He was still on the location of the art. Even if they caught Antonio/Quigley, there was the small matter of where this art was hidden. Atticus was almost certain this man would have the works on display somewhere only he could see them. Where could a person hide 13 works of art for over 20 years without anyone ever seeing them? Somewhere abandoned, thought Att. Bellosguardo. There was a shocking amount on the internet about this abandoned mansion outside Santa Barbara. They had a grounds crew, but only one or two household staff. The perfect place to store your art. On display in a beautiful location but for an audience of one, thought Atticus. His fingers hovered over one article from the New York Times stating that ownership of the palatial mansion was about to become public under the Bellosguardo Foundation. They were going to update the home to code and hopefully open it to the public for tours within the next two years-it was going to be turned into a museum! There was an inaugural benefit banquet being offered in a week for the paltry sum of $25,000 a plate. Atticus sat back and stared at the ceiling. Maybe it wasn't so far-fetched that the art was in this mansion.

"Amy," Atticus said softly, attracting only her attention. He motioned for her to come over. "I know you said to forget about the Bellosguardo lead, but I don't think that's such a good idea. Look at this article I found." He pointed to the screen indicating Bellosguardo's new foundation status and the benefit banquet. Amy scanned the article and bit her lip.

"It could be," Amy said, "It just seems like such a leap though. So many coincidences if that were to be the location."

"What are you talking about?" Jake asked as he pulled up a chair next to Atticus. Att and Amy filled him in on the article and Atticus' suspicions. "It could be, but, to have all this information about Hughette Clark in the news the exact week we are looking at the heist? I mean, the odds would have to be a million to one."

"I think we should at least check it out," Atticus said. "You two go undercover to that benefit dinner and then try to sneak off and explore."

Amy eyed Jake. Jake gave the world's tiniest shrug and smiled. "It would be fun, and you have the money."

"It's a $50,000 mistake if we're wrong though." Amy said, biting the inside of her cheek.

"What is a $50,000 mistake?" Dan asked walking up and putting a hand on Amy's chair.

Cara stopped typing for a moment, looked up and eyed the group. Then she leaned over and nudged Ian awake, motioning to him to wake the others and get over there.

"Atticus thinks we shouldn't be too quick to dismiss Bellosguardo as the location. They're transitioning the home to a museum and next week they are holding their inaugural benefit dinner for donors to get in on the ground floor for $25,000 a plate." Amy said. A bleary-eyed Ian, Jonah and Ham shuffled over to them and took seats nearby.

Silence, then discussion ensued all around. In the end, it was decided it was worth the risk and Jake, Amy, Ian and Cara would attend. Dan and Atticus would go with them to Santa Barbara while Jonah and Ham would stay behind in the command center during the benefit and run communications, Ham's hacker skills were pretty good.

"Now, I have some experience with this sort of event, Amy, and we'll need outfitting before we go. I'm thinking Rodeo drive and a good Tom Ford for you Jake and for Amy…" Here Ian trailed off appraising Amy from head to toe, one finger lazily tapping his chin. She began to blush as he lingered on her mid-section and chest. Ian's focus returned just in the nick of time, Amy could feel Jake getting uncomfortable again.

"I am envisioning Kiera Knightly's green frock from Atonement. Silk, sweeping, slit up the front and tiny straps. A pair of Louboutin's and your hair pulled to the side and you'll be a knockout."

"Wow, that's a very specific vision, Ian." Amy said nervously. Jake shook his head while standing akimbo. Everyone in the room was silent. They had all seen that movie and that green dress was famous for the scene in the library; it was cinematic legend.

"Awkward," Dan said and returned to his screen.

"What, am I wrong?" Ian asked mock-innocence in his voice.

"Aha!" Cara said, a smile spreading across her face. "Gotcha! You're good Quigley, but I'm better."

All eyes in the room turned to Cara, aka April May, who was in her element at the moment. She was sucking on the inside of her cheek as her fingers flew across the keys, she spoke as they worked; her eyes never leaving the screen. "I set up a trace, a mouse if you will, inside this off-shore bank account. I had to be careful because these international banks have wicked-good security but a little tiny mouse can sit for days and not be detected. I put a trace on Quigley's account and programmed it to alert me when even the slightest movement happened. On a hunch from the little one," here she nodded at Atticus who put a peace sign up to acknowledge the cred, "I also put a trace on Bellosguardo Foundation looking for any repeats. I got a hit. Quigley's money is coming from the Bellosguardo Foundation. He's good though, or whoever he uses is good. It's routed through about 6 different banks. This money is super squeaky."

"So, it is Bellosguardo?" Jake said with wide eyes looking at Amy.

Cara nodded, "If it isn't, then they're in some nefarious stuff that is very questionable."

"Oh my god! We did it!" Dan said standing with arms in the air in victory. "We have to call Anne Hawley! Then the Feds!"

"No," Amy said. "We've come this far, we are seeing this through ourselves. We can have the FBI on speed dial, but I am finding these works with my own eyes. We owe it to Bianca."

Jake looked at her and slowly began to nod his head. "It's what she would want."