for those producers you work for to get their own coffee."
She smiled, touched by her mother's renewed faith in her. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"It's long overdue, Maya." Guilt flashed through her mother's eyes. "I should have been more supportive of you. I was trying to protect your father, but it shouldn't have been at your expense. I'm very sorry about that. I felt like things were spinning out of control, and I didn't know what to do. I didn't realize that your father had held things back from me until yesterday."
"They were too painful for him to share."
"But he's feeling so much better today, knowing the truth. Even if no one ever paid for his mom's death, he's been freed from the trappings of his guilt. You did that for him, even though you had to fight him every step of the way."
"I'm glad he feels better."
"Now, what else do you need from me?"
"Eventually, I'm going to need some clothes and a place to live. Darcy was nice enough to lend me these jeans, but they're a little tight on me. How did she get so skinny after having a baby?"
"Your sister is a fitness fanatic," her mom said with a smile. "You can come home and stay there as long as you want. Clothes are also not a problem. We can start with some online shopping today."
"Maybe later. I really want to tell Grandpa what's going on. Now that the two main suspects in Grandma's death have been arrested, I want to drive back to LA and talk to Grandpa."
"Are you sure it's safe?"
"I think so, and I don't want to let more time go by before I see him. He could hear about all this on the news, and that's not the way I want him to find out."
"All right. I'm going to trust your judgment. You can take my car. I'll ride back with your dad. We brought both our cars here as we weren't sure how long we'd be staying."
"Thanks."
"Be safe."
"I will."
She grabbed her mom's keys and headed out the door. There were still two men sitting in a vehicle in front of the house, but they made no effort to stop her from leaving. They'd probably gotten word that arrests were being made.
It took her over an hour and a half to get back to LA. When she arrived at her grandfather's facility around two, she was met by a guard, who checked her ID, and then accompanied her to her grandfather's room. He insisted on coming into the room, which was fine with her. She was glad they were being so careful.
Her grandfather was sitting at a table by the window working on a puzzle.
"Hi, Grandpa," she said, kissing his cheek before she took the seat across from him.
A happy light entered his eyes. "Maya, you look beautiful as always."
"And you look handsome as always," she returned, exchanging a smile with him.
"So much like your grandmother. I wish she could have met you, known you."
"I wish that, too."
His expression sharpened. "You're here because of her. It can't be good, not if you need a security guard."
"No. It's not good."
"Natasha was murdered," he said flatly.
"Yes, and it looks like Edward Coleman did it."
"Edward Coleman? The DA who became the Attorney General?" he asked in shock. "Why would he kill her?"
"Because he was a Russian spy and so was Grandma."
"What?" He shook his head in disbelief. "No. She wasn't a spy. She was an actress."
"From what I understand, she was recruited by Constantine Dimitrov while you and Natasha were still married. She wanted to get back into the movies, and her ambition was stronger than her good sense. Constantine used that to bring her under his control, to force her to spy for him in return for his help. Wallace Jagger was her first target."
"I always wondered if she really loved Wallace or Constantine. It seemed like she did at times."
"I think she had affection for both of them, but Constantine was using her, and she was using Wallace."
"I can't believe she was spying for the Russians. She didn't even like Russia. She hated growing up there. She had no one who loved her. She was poor. I never would have guessed that in a million years."
"Then you probably wouldn't have guessed that she actually turned on the Russians and went to the FBI and became a double agent."
His eyes widened. "Are you sure you're not making this up to make a better movie?"