I remembered the exploding stove and my singed eyebrows. “You are next!That’s what the message meant. If you didn’t cooperate, Yuri would kill you, too.”
“Yes. I think that was his plan. Until he came up with one that was even more sure to work. He told me that if I did not deliver the disc with the information to him, my family in Romania-my mother and my brother and his children-they would all be killed.”
“And all along, Yuri acted like all he wanted was to prove that you killed Drago so he could enlist our help.” I shook my head, feeling like a fool. Looking around the gallery, another thought popped into my head. “But if you copied the information onto the disc, why were you searching the gallery for it?”
“You mean, the night you were outside the window watching me?” I looked away sheepishly. Apparently, Beyla knew exactly what tripped the alarm that night. “I was not looking for disc. Not in here.” She glanced around the gallery. “I was checking for… how do you say this?… for bugs. To see if Yuri had cameras hidden. When I did not find any, I knew it was safe to go to the place where I had hidden the disc.”
“And Magda?”
“Magda.” Beyla shook her head sadly. “Magda’s death is heavy in my heart.”
For a moment, I thought she was confessing to killing Magda. But then I realized there was a sheen of tears in Beyla’s eyes.
“I was to give the disc to Magda,” Beyla said. “And Yuri would pick it up there. Only by that time, I do not trust Yuri. The disc I gave him was not complete. I leave false disc for Yuri and hide the real disc also at Magda’s so that Yuri cannot kill me and find it in my home. Yuri picked up the disc I left for him, and then he killed Magda. When he looked at the disc, he was very angry to see that all the information was not on it, but I tell him I do not care. He will not get complete information until I know my family is safe.”
“But then I showed up at Magda’s and took the real disc.” I felt like a fool, but I knew there was no use apologizing. “Then what about the pasta sauce?” I asked. “And the time you threatened to slit my neck?”
The expression that crossed Beyla’s face was nearly a smile. “The sauce… this, you do not understand. My sauce of tomatoes, it is very good. And your cooking…” She shrugged and made a face. Enough said.
“And you say I threatened to kill you?” Beyla shook her head. “No. This is not true. I tell you to watch yourself. I tell you these are dangerous people you are dealing with. It was a warning.”
I guess it all made sense. Though I would have felt a little more at ease if I just hadn’t seen Beyla kill a man. At the same time I wondered if I should call the cops, I wondered if Beyla would let me.
I didn’t have a chance-we heard the back door of the gallery open. I was all set to duck for cover, but Beyla stopped me. “It is safe, I think,” she said. “I have called a friend.”
The friend in question was John, the nerdy accountant from cooking class. Who suddenly didn’t look much like an accountant or very nerdy anymore. In a well-tailored navy suit, a white shirt, and a to-die-for Italian silk tie, John looked more like-
“Special Agent Derek Malchowski.” He stuck out a hand, and because I didn’t know what else to do, I shook it. He pulled a leather wallet from his back pocket and flashed his credentials. “FBI.”
My mouth fell open. “That’s why you lied for Beyla about the night Drago died.”
John-er, Derek-smiled. “Sorry to make you look bad in front of the locals. But Beyla needed an alibi, or the local cops were going to find out what was going on. We couldn’t risk it. Not that early in the operation.”
“And that explains what the two of you were doing in cooking class, too, right? It was an excuse for you to meet with Beyla. A way for you to get together and talk without anyone knowing.”
John-er, Derek-smiled again. “We were afraid Drago was onto Beyla, and we couldn’t take that chance. She was too valuable a source. And yes, since I know you’re going to say it, that’s why we missed bread class Saturday. Important meeting at headquarters.”
Suddenly, my attention snapped back to my best friend. “Eve! we have to…” But Derek was way ahead of me.
“Called an ambulance,” he said when I made a move to check on her again. Eve was still on the floor, but now she was curled up on her side and breathing peacefully.
With that worry out of the way, I had the luxury of being mortified. “I was so stupid to believe anything Yuri said. We almost ruined everything!”
Derek pursed his lips. “Actually, I think you conducted one heck of an investigation. Without you… well, we would have found the disc eventually, but you found it sooner. And thanks to you, it didn’t fall into Yuri’s hands. If it had, we’re pretty sure he would have disappeared. We’ve been expecting a new shipment of weapons, a big one. If Yuri disappeared, we knew we’d never be able to track him or that shipment. That’s why we held off arresting Drago, in case you’re wondering.”
He smiled. “You did fine there. Your only problem was assuming you knew who was guilty right from the start. Let me offer you a little professional advice, Annie: never make up your mind. Not about anyone. Not until you have all the facts.” He dug a business card out of his wallet and gave it to me along with a wink. “Give me a call the next time you start on a case. I might be able to help out.”
He turned and walked away just as the sound of sirens started pulsing outside the gallery. A team of paramedics rushed in and lifted Eve onto a stretcher, and I headed to the door to ride to the hospital with them.
But not before I took one last look at Yuri’s body.
Once upon what seemed like a very long time before, I’d promised him that I would do whatever I could to bring Drago’s killer to justice.
I wondered if he dreamed it would ever turn out this way.
I shook away the thought and stepped outside. Just as I did, a black car pulled up to the curb. No sooner had it stopped than a man stepped out of the passenger side. He waved Beyla over.
“You kept your part of the bargain.” That was all he said before he opened the back door. Crowded into the backseat was a woman with iron-gray hair who looked a whole lot like an older version of Beyla, another man, and three small children. When Beyla saw them, she let out a gasp, and tears ran down her cheeks.
“Thank God!” She grabbed my hand, and honest to gosh, I think she would have kissed it if I didn’t stop her. “This is my family. They are here. From Romania. They are no longer in danger.”
I wasn’t so sure that I had all that much to do with it, but I accepted her thanks. “I hope I can see you again,” I called out as she rushed to the car door. “I’ve got a lot of apologizing to do.”
Beyla turned and cast me a beaming smile.
“No need. And I will send you my sauce of tomatoes recipe. I think maybe it will taste better than yours.” With that, she ducked into the car and from what I could see, there were tears and laughter all around.
“Just let me know when we can get together,” I said, but the man who’d gotten out of the car first took my arm. He abruptly closed the car door and as soon as we backed off, the vehicle pulled away.
“Witness Security,” he said. “What most folks call Witness Protection. You won’t be seeing Beyla again.”
Honestly, the thought made me a little sad. But in the great scheme of things, I guess it really didn’t matter. After all we’d put her through, it was enough just to see Beyla happy.
Nineteen