“No, it all sounds spot-on, Agent Pine.”
Then Pine’s eyes narrowed and her look became less certain. “But it does seem unlikely that they would just take Desiree’s word for it that he was dead. They might have thought they could still save him, or that she was even lying about it. But if he was dead, they would have been terrified that animals could have torn Joe’s remains apart overnight. And we know that didn’t happen.”
“So maybe they were the ones to make sure their son’s body wasn’t desecrated?”
“Which means we need to find Len and Wanda Atkins and ask them that directly.”
“If they’re still alive.”
“If they are, they would be getting Social Security and Medicare. We could find them that way.”
“And he was a Vietnam vet. He was wounded. So . . .”
Pine picked up this thought thread. “That means he might be in contact with the VA for meds and treatments and the like. That would actually be faster for us than going through the HHS bureaucracy, because I don’t really have good contacts there.”
She pulled out her phone.
“Who are you calling?” asked Blum.
“Who else? John Puller. He already helped me get Len Atkins’s military records.”
She spoke with Puller, who told her he was recovering quickly from his injuries. He also said he knew several people at the VA because of his father being in one of their facilities, and he would do all he could to help her locate Len Atkins.
She thanked him and clicked off. “Okay, we’ll let him work his magic.”
“While he’s doing that, do you think you should go and visit Jack Lineberry?”
Pine’s expression hardened and she glanced out the car window. Lineberry’s image swelled up in her head like a nightmare. “You asked me that before.”
“And you never answered me, which is why I’m asking again.”
“Why should I go see him?” asked Pine, her tone heated.
“Like it or not, he is your biological father. And the way you left it with him?”
“Look, I’m not proud of what I did.”
“And now it’s time to move on to another level with him.”
Pine glanced sharply at her friend. “And why do I have to do that?”
“Because you’re going to need his help, whether you find your sister or not.”
Pine looked even more confused. “Come again?”
“I presume you still want to find your mother. And Tim Pine, now that you almost certainly know he wasn’t in that grave. And Jack can be a valuable asset in helping you do that. However, I’m not asking you to cut him any slack.”
“Good, because I don’t intend to,” interjected Pine.
“But,” continued Blum imperturbably, “I think he is trying his best to do the right thing. And he is your father. And if you don’t at least make an effort to have a relationship with him, I think you’re going to regret it later.”
“I regret a lot of things, Carol,” said Pine. But she put the car in gear and headed on to see the man who had lied to her more than any other person in her life.
Except for my damn mother.
CHAPTER
4
JACK LINEBERRY’S ESTATE WAS AN hour south of Atlanta. He had made an enormous fortune in the financial world and owned, in addition to this main residence, a penthouse in Atlanta and a pied-à-terre in New York, as well as a private jet. It was a lifestyle that most people would be thrilled to enjoy. Pine was not among them.