“All right,” I quietly say. “What’s next?”
CHAPTERSEVENTY-SEVEN
Leo sendsJordan and Declan to Andrews inMarine Oneto meet my parents. I could demand to go but I opt to defer to Leo’s request for me to stay put, seconded by my weary detail.
But once the helicopter lands and the hatches open, I stride across the South Lawn to the helipad so I can be the one there to help them out.
Mom reaches the steps first. It breaks my heart to see how badly they’re both hurting and not be able todoanything to fix this for them.
She practically falls into my arms, hugging me tightly as I hold her and bury my face in her hair. “Love you, Mom.”
“Love you, too, sweetheart,” she says.
Dad reaches for me and pulls me in for a tight hug and I pretend I don’t hear the soft sob he lets out as we stand there holding each other. “Love you, son.”
“Love you, too, Dad.”
I catch a glimpse of Jordan’s grim visage when he emerges carrying a bag I assume is one of theirs. I’ll get the story from him later.
Dad and I flank Mom, with her holding both our arms as we slowly make our way back into the White House. Leo’s waiting for us upstairs on the elevator landing and using his wheelchair still. Mom practically tackles him for a hug when she steps out of the elevator and even Dad leans in for a hug from him.
Ten minutes later, the five of us—including Jordan—are settled in the private living room and Jordan is quietly taking care of us. I wish I could pull him into our arms and hold him, or let him hold us, draw direct comfort from him with my parents right there, but that’s a conversation for some future day.
Certainly not tonight.
Even if Ireallyneed him tonight.
“What…happened?” Mom asks, focusing on me. “No one will give us details.” She sniffles. “They told us Ellis murdered her but nothing else. They wouldn’t let us watch the news or have our phones.”
I’m going to tell the story when Leo speaks. “That was my call, Mom,” he says. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you subjected to the speculation and grief porn. I wanted us to be the ones to talk to you…”
I settle in to let the psychologist take over. Truly, he is the better choice to deliver the info right now. Especially when I’m so emotionally shell-shocked I can barely process anything.
The news about Belyaevskin broke wide open almost four hours ago. The journalist was taken into custody by Argentinian officials but he’d already uploaded all the info to several different websites for dissemination.
The genie can’t go back into that bottle. The world now knows it.
The US media has already wrapped Stella’s victimhood into the larger picture, because one of the Russian moneymen named by Belyaevskin was defenestrated from the top floor of their three-story mansion outside of Moscow two hours ago. Police immediately ruled it a suicide and closed the investigation, despite the signs of a struggle inside the house.
And so it begins.
The breaking news on most US news outlets right now is about Ingalls, Fargo, Borens, Gretz, Ellis, Belyaevskin… and now the Russian who couldn’t successfully fly.
The details of Stella’s murder aren’t even ranking B-block coverage on MSNBC and Fox News.
The timing worked in our favor, I suppose.
The video Jordan shot of my video call with Stella has been turned over to the FBI, who is now in a jurisdictional pissing match with local authorities in Florida for control of the evidence. I’ve labeled it subject to executive privilege for now, until the White House counsel can weigh in, and until Leo and Casey-Marie have a chance to research all our options and the ramifications of releasing it.
We know full well once it’s in the hands of the local officials that someone will leak it.
My parents know about the video—because Leo just told them—but he’s also told them he doesn’t want them watching it or any portion of it, unless we specifically show them sections of it.
I doubt they’ll argue with him.
All of us have given official statements about what we witnessed on the video call—including the FBI director—and considering Ellis helpfully offed himself the video isn’t required for a trial.
I think what Casey-Marie and Leo are really waiting for is to see which way the winds of public opinion blow regarding Stella’s greater role in everything, and if they’ll need to release it to help swing it back in our direction.
