“So when they took you, they thought you were your sister?”
“That’s right. With the hair and our height she and I closely resemble each other enough for a mistaken identity to happen, particularly to a couple of strangers like the guys who grabbed me. But then they found my shield and realized their mistake.”
McAllister leaned back and rubbed a hand across his chin. “So why no word from the captors about Carol? They must want to make an exchange, don’t you think?”
“I would say yes. And I don’t know why we haven’t heard from them.”
McAllister tilted his head to eye Bertrand before turning back to Pine. “And when and if that contact comes we’ll be in the loop, right?”
“I know Bureau protocols on abduction cases, Agent McAllister,” Pine said more sharply than she probably intended.
“Knowing and acting on those protocols are two separate things,” was his lobbed response. “And I don’t want to be sitting here drinking my hundredth cup of coffee only to find out you’re playing the hand all on your own.”
“What I’m going to be doing is the best I can to make sure Carol comes back safe and sound.”
“No argument there, but you didn’t answer my question.”
“You know how these things can go down,” replied Pine.
“Let’s face facts. The odds of Blum coming back in anything other than a body bag are pretty damn low. Do you disagree?”
“Yeah, I do disagree, because I’m on the case.”
“Bravado is not going to help. But moving on to another subject: Tim Pine?”
“I already told you, I have no idea where he is.”
“Have you heard from him or your mother?”
“No.”
“Not in any way?” he said, watching her closely.
Pine, sensing a trap, said, “Meaning what, exactly? In a dream? Telepathy? On a Ouija board?”
McAllister cleared his throat, finished his coffee, and said, “Agents have talked to Jack Lineberry. He mentioned a letter that your mother had written to him. And that he had given to you?”
Pine sucked in a breath. “Right. Sorry, I didn’t think of that.”
“Can I see the letter?”
“There are no clues in it. And . . . and it’s pretty personal.”
“The whole thing is personal, Pine. And it’s the only communication that we know of from your mother after she left you. We believe that she and Tim Pine hooked up after fabricating his death.”
“Vincenzo went there to kill Tim. He defended himself and Vincenzo died. They covered it up because they saw this as a chance to finally get away from the mob. I already told you all that.”
“That may well be the case. But right now all I know for a fact is that the man in the grave was Ito Vincenzo, when your mother and Jack Lineberry lied and said it was Tim Pine. Their motivations notwithstanding, that is a crime. And as I’m sure you know, I can’t take your word for it that Tim Pine killed Vincenzo in self-defense.”
“He kidnapped my sister and almost killed me,” barked Pine. “You don’t think he would have tried to murder the man he thought was our father?”
“If the killing was justified, he has nothing to worry about. But we’re not there yet, as you also well know. If somebody could get off killing another person based on what-ifs and maybes we’d have a lot more murders and far emptier prisons.” He reached over and tapped her hand. “If you were working this case on the Bureau’s end would you do anything differently than what I’m doing? If so, I’m listening.”