“You don’t sound hopeful.”
“Oh, I am hopeful, Carol. And for one very good reason.”
Blum nodded. “Now you know that your sister is alive.”
Pine broke into a relieved grin. “It’s weird.”
“What is?”
“I’ve never been this happy and miserable at the same time. And who knows, we’ve already had one miracle. Maybe we’ll have another one and Mercy will show back up at the hotel.”
“My fingers are crossed.”
Blum went to her room, but Pine decided to check on Mercy’s room again. She figured she might have missed something. She had been too distracted to perform a thorough search.
She took a few minutes to look around and then picked up the discarded towel and washcloth and sat on the side of the tub holding them.
Would she ever again be this close to her sister? Would Mercy disappear again for another thirty years?
She had been euphoric for about two minutes. Now she had never felt this depressed. She dropped the towel and washcloth on the floor. “I’m sorry, Mercy. I was so stupid. I should have known that was you. I should have.”
She rose and left. She turned to pull the door closed behind her.
That’s when she felt a gun muzzle pressed against her spine and a voice said, “Come with us very quietly. Or you’re dead right here. And if you make one move or try to get away we will kill anyone we run into. If you don’t believe me, just try it.”
Pine looked back into the man’s hard, cruel features.
And believed him.
CHAPTER
45
A BLINDFOLDED PINE DREW A LONG BREATH. She could not see the pitch-darkness that surrounded her like a cage, but she could sense it. She was also bound and gagged. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but for some reason she thought it was still nighttime.
Even with her feet and hands bound she had managed to sleep a little, if fitfully. She had no idea who had snatched her, or why. Or where she currently was. They had blindfolded her on the drive over to wherever they were. She had managed to gauge how long the trip had taken. About a half hour or so. In a mountainous area like Asheville, she could be in the middle of nowhere now.
She had heard noises every now and then, but the men had not come back. She had been helped down a set of steps, so she might be in a basement or a cellar.
Pine tensed when she heard footsteps above. There were the murmurings of conversation, then a raised voice was saying something she could not make out and then came more footsteps. A door opened and a light clicked on. With the blindfold on, the light couldn’t dazzle her, but her heart started to race when the footsteps drew near.
*
Peter Buckley and Britt Spector stopped in front of Pine, and both gazed down at Buckley’s hand, which held Pine’s FBI shield. Spector looked quite upset at the prospect of having a kidnapped FBI agent in their midst, but Buckley didn’t seem unduly disturbed by this. He glanced over at the two men who had abducted Pine and then turned back to her.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“FBI Special Agent Atlee Pine. Who the hell are you?”
Buckley pulled up a chair and sat down across from Pine.
“I am looking for someone named Eloise Cain. I understand that you have also been making inquiries about her. Why?”
“Answer my question first.”
“To negotiate, one must have something to negotiate with. You have nothing.”
Pine didn’t respond to this.