“So how did she end up with this Tim guy?”
“They fell in love. Jack is quite a bit older than your mother, and their . . . relationship might have had more to do with the work they were doing, at least for your mother. I have to say that Jack Lineberry was very much in love with your mother, and probably still is.”
“And where is our mother?”
“With Tim, presumably.”
“And Lee? Where is she in all this?”
“When your sister was in college, your mother left her without any real explanation. She doesn’t know where your mother is.” Blum studied her closely. “You’re taking all this quite calmly.”
“Well, it’s no more earth-shattering than anything else you’ve already told me in the last ten minutes.”
This blunt statement made Blum smile. “You are more like your sister than you know.”
“Am I?” Mercy said dubiously. “My life has been very different from hers, apparently.”
“I know some of what you went through with Desiree.”
“I dreamed of killing her a thousand times.”
“I’m sure you have.”
“I came here to kill her.”
“Yes, Agent Pine assumed that.”
“Agent Pine, huh? FBI and everything? Didn’t know they had many gals doing that.”
“She’s an excellent agent, one of the very best.” Blum pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward the street.
“Good for her,” said Mercy, but the voiced compliment rang hollow. “And you’ve been looking for me for a while now?”
“Yes. It’s been quite the journey, with a lot of twists and turns.”
“Yeah, I bet.”
Blum glanced at her.
“What have you been doing all this time, Mercy?”
“Just surviving. Like everybody else.”
“It will be difficult for you to see Desiree, won’t it?”
“It may be more difficult for her than me.”
Blum said sharply. “You didn’t escape from that awful woman just so she could put you back in prison, did you?”
“I feel like I have every right to kill her.”
“But if you do, she wins. And I know you’re smart enough to know that. But if you can’t promise me you won’t attack her, then we’re not going to see Desiree.”
“She may be the only lead to find your boss.”
“And your sister. So unless you’re prepared to hold back your natural anger, we’re not going to be able to find Agent Pine, which means she’ll probably die.”
“I should have more feelings for her,” said Mercy, perhaps with a degree of honesty that startled even her. “But it’s been a long time. And a lot of shit happened in between. And she got to stay home. I lost the rhyme. I got pitched into the nightmare.”
Blum pursed her lips. “Ito Vincenzo, the man who kidnapped you, also cracked your sister’s skull that night. She lay there all night with her brain bleeding. It was only a miracle that she lived after a long time in the hospital. That night destroyed your family. Your sister later thought Tim killed himself, but your mother lied about that. Then she left to join Tim, as I said, leaving your sister all alone. It seems that Vincenzo apparently thought he was taking you to a good situation, where you would be taken care of. He knew nothing about Desiree. So I think, at least in his mind, that you were the winner of the rhyme and your sister was the loser.”