Silence. He could sense the change in her. He'd have to be a moron not to. He also knew I had nothing to do with their deaths. He knew that even before he called. He was probably trying to see if we knew anything that we were withholding from him. His tone suddenly changed.

"Sorry, this has been a stressful time. A double homicide is a big deal. And when we factor in your sister's death and the Chicago connection, it becomes complicated. I apologize if I went about it the wrong way."

I'll say this for Sabrina, she didn't hold a grudge. Probably another thing she learned in prison—take care of business and move on.

"How did they die?" she asked.

"They were tortured. It was pretty gruesome. I talked to the Fairfield police, who put me in touch with the Nebraska State Police about a similar incident in Wahoo, Nebraska. I was told that you were involved in that one too."

"Involved?" I asked.

"You knew the victim."

"Barely," I said.

"The Nebraska State Police said you thought Guidry might be responsible for the incident in Wahoo."

"Can I call you back in a few minutes?" Sabrina suddenly asked. "This opens up a possibility that we haven't thought of. Del and I need to talk it out first, then I'll call you back."

"Make it fast." Uh oh. "Please." A last second save.

Sabrina hung up and stared into space. The wheels were turning. I was pretty sure they were turning in the same direction as mine.

"Guidry is not our enemy," she said. "Or at least he's not the one we should really be afraid of." I was right. The same direction.

"And I'm thinking that maybe Guidry might even be afraid of this third party. I'm thinking he went underground," I added.

"So who is it?" she asked.

"If we trace all this back to Vlad and his scheme to steal the eggs, and add to the mix the magnitude of the original heist from the Romanovs and the sheer value of the eggs, there can only be one answer. Who would still be in search of the eggs?"

"Russians."

Chapter 28

"So what do we tell Marsh?" I asked.

"The truth … or at least enough to get him looking in the right direction. He has a job to do and I wouldn't feel right withholding a vital piece of information. I don't know if he can do anything with it, but at least he'll have it."

"I don't think we have to tell him about Fordlandia."

"I agree. But we can tell him about the eggs. Honestly, I don't think it will help him much, but if he knows he might be looking for some Russians, it might put him in the right direction."

"Think it's the Russian mob?"

"Who knows? Maybe, or it could be like us and the Guidrys—a story passed down through the ages from family member to family member."

"And in the long run it really doesn't matter," I said.