“He was,” Robert said. “But when he scanned his passport at the international terminal, the system flagged him. The federal investigators had placed a travel restriction on him due to the ongoing tax evasion inquiry.”

“Did they detain him?”

“They stopped him at the gate,” Robert said. “They confiscated his passport and interviewed him for three hours in a back room.”

“Is he in jail?”

“No, they released him pending a formal indictment,” Robert said. “But he is trapped. He cannot leave the country, and his primary domestic accounts are being monitored.”

I looked toward the front window, the yellow fog still pressing against the glass. “If he was at the airport in Boston, he couldn’t be outside my house right now.”

“No,” Robert said. “Logan is two hours away from you. He was released around midnight, but his car was impounded at the airport.”

“Then who is out there?” I asked.

Before Robert could answer, a flash of red and blue lights cut through the fog outside.

The patrol car had arrived.

I stood up, my knees shaking, and walked to the window.