I ordered an Uber to take the kids to my aunt’s house and gave them strict instructions not to tell my aunt or my mother anything.
“They’re going to ask where you are,” MJ said.
He and Sofia were still wearing their pajamas. That alone was going to elicit questions.
“Tell them I’m at my house and I’ll come over later and explain everything. But for right now, tell them I need you all to stay there. I don’t want any of you coming here.”
MJ looked at me doubtfully, but said, “Okay. I’ll try.”
Agent Diaz arrived two hours later.
I heard his car pull into the driveway. I opened my front door as he was walking up the stone path. I was used to seeing him in a business suit, at least on weekdays, but today he was wearing khakis and a blue and gold FBI jacket. “Did you hear from Alex?” I asked.
He shook his head. “You?”
“No. He said he’d call me when it was safe. Maybe I should call him.”
“Don’t bother,” Agent Diaz said. “He’s already dumped his phone.”
“How do you—”
“We were tracking him. You too.”
“You were tracking me?” My voice cracked.
“As a precaution. It’s standard procedure. Be thankful we did. That’s how I knew where you were when you sent me that picture. I called Alex and told him he needed to get to the gallery pronto before you ruined everything.”
“Before I ruined everything?” My voice was even higher now.
Agent Diaz glanced around my foyer. “Can we sit down? I need to get a statement from you.”
My lawyer brain switched on at “statement.” “Am I in trouble?”
“No. I just need to know everything that happened last night.”
We sat at my kitchen table and I told Agent Diaz everything I could remember. Occasionally, he interrupted me with a question, but mostly he let me talk. I kept my phone on the table next to me the entire time, but it never rang.
When I finished, Agent Diaz closed the pad he’d been using to take notes.
“What should I do now?” I asked as he stood up.
“Whatever you want. The investigation’s over. Everyone’s dead.”
“What do you mean, everyone?” I only knew about Igor and Sergey.
“We’re still looking for Mischa. But his orange Lamborghini shouldn’t be too hard to find. Everyone else in Igor’s crew is dead.”
“How? It was only Igor and Sergey at the gallery.”
“I can’t say for sure, but my suspicion is after Alex sent you away, he went to Igor’s house and killed them. The guard at the gate and all three men inside were shot in the head at close range. That doesn’t happen by accident.”
“But why would Alex kill them? He had no reason.”
“Because they knew you, Grace. He was trying to keep you, and by extension the kids, safe.”
“But you would’ve just arrested them. Surely with the money and the guns, you have enough evidence now.”
“Yes. We would’ve arrested everyone. But it looks like Alex had other ideas.”
I sat at the table in stunned silence. I’d witnessed Alex shoot Igor and Sergey. But if he hadn’t, they would’ve killed me and maybe him too. It was self-defense. But why go to Igor’s house and kill everyone else? He could’ve just testified against them at trial, and they would’ve ended up in prison.
I shook my head and stared up at Agent Diaz. “I don’t understand any of this.”
He reached down and patted my shoulder. “Because you’re not a criminal. It may not make sense to you, but it makes perfect sense to Alex.”
“But he was going to testify. He was going to go into Witness Protection. We talked about it just a few days ago.”
Agent Diaz pulled on his jacket. “Maybe if things had gone differently, he would have. Or maybe he felt like he had no choice. I don’t know. But he’s disappeared with millions of dollars and a couple dozen assault rifles.”
“How do you—”
“Igor had a security camera in the basement. We found the feed.”
My heart sunk. Maybe Alex felt like he needed the guns for protection. Although why would he need two dozen of them? But there was only one reason to take the money. “What happens to him now?”
“We put out an APB. But with that much cash, it shouldn’t be too difficult for him to disappear. If he contacts you, please call me.” I don’t know why he placed his business card on the table. Obviously, I had his number.
After Agent Diaz left I called my aunt’s house. My mother answered the phone.
“Where are you?” she demanded.
“My house. Didn’t MJ tell you?”
“Yes, and that’s all he would tell me. You send the kids over here unannounced, still in their pajamas—”
“Why do they have to be announced? They live their too.”
That threw her off her tirade. “Yes, well, I don’t like any of this. You either come over here right now and tell us what’s going on, or we’re coming to you.”
I sighed. “Okay, Mom, give me an hour.” I needed a shower and a cup of coffee. I hadn’t slept and I was still wearing my peed-in jeans and MJ’s sweat-stunk T-shirt.