Mercy put her hands in her pocket. “Yeah, I can see that, sure. So, I heard you were in trouble.”
Pine’s smile dialed back down. “Yes, I was. Then I got out of it.”
Mercy checked out her sister’s swollen face. “But not without getting kicked around?”
Pine crossed her arms over her chest, as she saw the euphoric moment of sisterly reunion seemed to be over. “Goes with the territory. I hope to pay them back at some point.” She stepped forward and rubbed her sister’s arm. “I know a little of what happened to you. And I’m so sorry. And I know how ridiculously inadequate any words are right now.”
Mercy shrugged. “I survived it. I got away, too, just like you. They didn’t beat me.”
“No, they didn’t.”
“That’s what it’s about, survival.”
“Yes, yes it is,” Pine said awkwardly. It was like they were two casual friends shooting the breeze over nothing really important to either of them. In the Hollywood version it would be all smiles, hugs, and tears. In real life, she suddenly realized it was far more nuanced. And complicated.
And why in the hell are you just realizing that now?
She said, “Look, I know the timing stinks, but I need to find my friend. She must be around here somewhere.”
“I don’t think so.”
“What?” Pine said sharply.
“You’re talking about Carol Blum? I was with her. We went to see Desiree in jail.”
Pine looked stunned. “You saw Desiree?”
“Carol thought she might have something to do with your disappearance. You know, Desiree’s drug friends? We thought they were the ones who grabbed you.”
“So what happened?”
“While we were there this big muckety-muck lawyer from New York showed up to meet with Desiree. Carol was smart enough to figure out that Desiree didn’t call the dude in, so she wondered who did. So when he left the jail, she had the idea of following him.”
“Where did he go?”
“This big-ass house. The dude met a guy there. I got into the house to see what I could learn. The place looked all shut down, you know, like the real owners had left to go someplace else. And maybe these guys were just using it. But then they all left and I was there all by myself. I felt like an idiot because I mostly didn’t know what I was doing. I hustled back to the car to tell Carol, but she and the car were gone.”
“Gone? Do you think she went after them?”
“I don’t know. Have you heard from her recently?”
“No, and I just left multiple messages and got nothing back.”
“Then I think something happened to her.”
“They might have realized they were followed.”
“Yeah, they might.”
Pine looked around and found several people standing there staring at them and listening.
She hooked her sister’s arm and said, “Let’s go up to my room and talk about this in private.”
They rode the elevator up to Pine’s room. She used her key card to get in.
Mercy said, “My duffel was in the Porsche. All my clothes and stuff were in it.”
“I’ve got some clothes you can wear. You’re taller than me, but they should work. We’re close to the same build.”
Mercy ran her gaze over her sister. “You look pretty strong and fit, able to take care of yourself.”