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Emotion surged in me, but I said, “You left us in good hands.”
“Mmm,” Nana Mama said, and smiled. “Happy me. Happy times.”
Of course they had not all been happy times. And of course my brothers and I had had a lot of coping to do as orphaned kids from the rural South transplanted to the big city. But we did have Nana Mama to guide us.
“What was your happiest time, Mom?” my dad asked.
She thought. “With you. Baby you.”
“Baby me,” he said and laughed. “Well, huh, that’s hard to imagine.”
Nana smiled. “Still remember. Me, you, porch. Reggie home. Family.”
Bree came into the room, set her briefcase down, and went over to my grandmother’s bed. “Good news, Nana,” she said. “I’ve lined up an air ambulance to take you to South Bend.”
Nana Mama’s smile broadened, and she looked over at her night nurses, Bobby Jain and Juanita Jones. “Lotto.”
“We heard,” Bobby said. “Lucky you. When does she fly?” he asked.
“At seven o’clock on the morning of the finals,” Bree said.
“Perfect,” Juanita said. “She’s usually strongest in the morning.”
My cell phone buzzed. It was Blanche Gray, attorney for Frost and Lear.
“Counselor,” I said, taking the call and leaving the room.
“Detective,” she replied. “I’m just getting ready to leave Jeffrey’s office. There are records, deal documents, and encrypted files here that I have never seen before. I think you should seize everything and turn it over to a forensic accountant. If you can, get the FBI involved.”
“I can.”
“Good. I have videoed everything I’ve done here and will put all the files back as I found them before I leave.”
I advised her to lock the office and turn the key over to the security guard. Then I called Ned Mahoney and gave him a briefing on Frost’s murder.
“He was executed,” I said. “He had business across multiple states, and some of it was likely Russian mob–related. I could use the FBI’s help.”
“We’ll send a team tomorrow,” Mahoney promised. “I want to know where all that real estate money came from.”
“So do we, Ned. Thanks.”
Later that night, after my dad and the aunts left for their hotel and Nana Mama went to sleep, I got Bree caught up on the latest happenings. She said she would contact her sources and see if she could find out anything more regarding Frost’s business deals.
Then she asked, “Where do you go from here on the Firebug?”
“I’m going to focus on finding Boog and Anna’s kids. John thinks that O’Hare might have them.”
“That’s the best-case scenario if they’re with O’Hare, Alex,” she said softly. “That if he has them, they’re still alive.”
My heart sank as I nodded. “I know.”
93
JOHN SAMPSON AND I had the Sunday-morning shift at St. Anthony’s kitchen. We were there bright and early, hoping that someone in need of a free meal might have seen the missing kids or Colin O’Hare. The rush finally slowed around eight thirty, but we still had no solid leads on any of them.
“It’s like they vanished into thin air,” John said, taking off his apron. “Maybe they left the area for good. The kids, I mean.”
“O’Hare too,” I said.
