Blum said in a sympathetic tone. “I know this is all overwhelming. The truth is, the man who abducted you that night was named Ito Vincenzo. And we know why he took you. And that he gave you to Len and Wanda Atkins. Who, in turn, gave you to Desiree and Joe.”

  Cain said dully, “Wanda told me that. And Desiree is in jail here, I found that out.”

  “Your sister is the one who arrested her. Desiree had imprisoned another young girl named Gail. We freed her. Desiree is being charged with that crime, among others.” She paused. “And we got her to confess to killing Joe Atkins, Mercy. We have the recording. She confessed to stabbing him to death.”

  Cain looked at her, blinking back tears and shaking her head slowly. “This…this is sort of…”

  “…too much to process?”

  Cain nodded, her features pained.

  Blum sat down beside her. “Of course it is, Mercy. Or do you prefer El?”

  “Mercy really is my name?”

  “Yes, it is. Mercy Pine.”

  “Then…um, Mercy…is okay.”

  Blum said, “I know you must have a million things running through your head right now, and I don’t mean to add to your burden. But there are some things you absolutely need to know.”

  “Like what?”

  “That other FBI agents are here at this hotel. They came to interview Agent Pine about Tim Pine. But they know nothing about your being here, too.”

  Mercy wrinkled her brow. “Tim Pine?”

  “You and your sister believed he was your biological father. That was not true. Another man was your father, but Tim raised you with your mother until you were taken when you were six years old. He was thought to have killed himself, but now we know that wasn’t true. The FBI now knows that the man killed wasn’t your father but Ito Vincenzo.”

  “The guy who took me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Wanda said he was connected to the mob or something and had a grudge against my mother.”

  “He kidnapped you and then years later he tried to kill Tim Pine. Only Tim was able to kill him instead. The body was identified as Tim’s by a friend and your mother. And Tim vanished.”

  “Jesus Christ,” said Mercy, letting out a chest of air.

  Blum patted Mercy’s shoulder. “I know I’ve just dumped a lot into your lap. But my goal now is to keep the FBI away from you because I’m not sure how all that will play out.”

  “But you said Desiree confessed to Joe’s murder!” Mercy exclaimed. “Doesn’t that put me in the clear on that?”

  “Desiree did confess, but the FBI doesn’t know that yet. The proof of that is on your sister’s phone. And it will put you in the clear, as you said. The problem right now is we have her phone but no way to get into it. So I want to keep you and the Bureau separate until we find Agent Pine.”

  “You said she was kidnapped?”

  “Yes, from this hotel last night by two men. Now either they were working with Desiree, who was also dealing drugs, and are perhaps trying to use Agent Pine as leverage to get Desiree out of prison. Or they are tied to you somehow and took Agent Pine in order to make her tell everything she knows about you.”

  “But who would be after me?”

  “I don’t know. Do you have any enemies? Anyone looking for you?”

  “I don’t think I have enemies who would snatch an FBI agent. I mean, I’m not that important. I just have an ordinary life. I don’t have any friends—or enemies, really.”

  “Then maybe it is Desiree. She might be working with some very dangerous people.”

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “Agent Pine saw you in this gym yesterday, only she didn’t know it was you at the time.” She looked at Mercy’s head. “She couldn’t have known you would shave your hair off. She spoke to Wanda Atkins. Wanda told Agent Pine that she gave you Desiree’s phone number when you saw her.”

  “I used that to track Desiree down here.”

  “Yes, that’s what we thought. When Wanda told her that and described what you looked like now, Agent Pine immediately realized that it had to be you in the gym. By the time she got there you were gone. We found out your room number but you had left by then.”

  “I did leave. But then I decided to come back. I…I had spent a lot of money on the hotel room and I thought…I thought I should at least spend the night.”

  “I would have done the same thing,” said Blum kindly.

  “Do you have any idea where they might have taken Lee?” asked Mercy.

  “No. We only have the statement of a hotel employee that it was two men who abducted her. He gave a description, and the FBI is working on it with the local police. But I’m not sure they have any leads to go on.”

  “And that picture of me on the TV?”

  “Agent Pine had that put up. We found where you were being kept, and saw the last tape that Joe Atkins made. That’s where that image came from.”

  “Desiree really did kill him, then?”

  “Yes. Joe apparently was going to let you go. Desiree was having none of that. She stabbed him and ran for it. Len and Wanda helped her get away.”

  Mercy shook her head. “So now I know I have a twin sister and we come close to finding each other and now she’s been taken. Just like I was all those years ago. How messed up is that?”

  “Very,” said Blum quietly.

  Mercy glanced up. “Do…do I look like her?”

  “You’re a couple of inches taller, and she has long dark hair. But in the face and eyes, I can most definitely see it. Absolutely.”

  Mercy nodded and looked down again. “How do we find her?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “If Desiree is connected to this, she might know who took her.”

  “Yes, but she’s in jail.”

  “Then let’s go talk to her there. I’ve been meaning to talk to Desiree for a lot of years now.” She glanced up at Blum. “And we have nothing to lose, right?”

  “Right.” Blum attempted a smile, but it never reached her eyes because she obviously did not like this idea at all.

  Mercy rose, and her big hands curled into fists. “Then let’s go.”

  Chapter 48

  IS THIS YOUR CAR?” asked Mercy as they climbed into the Porsche SUV. Blum had taken the keys from Pine’s room.

  Mercy had changed into jeans and another hoodie, and checked out of the hotel; she had put her duffel in the back seat.

  “Good Lord, no. I can’t afford this.”

  “Then it’s Lee’s?”

  “No, she can’t afford it, either. It…it belongs to a man named Jack Lineberry. He’s very wealthy, and he let us use it.”

  “And what’s his connection to all this? Why did he let you borrow his wheels?”

  Blum put the key in the ignition and started the engine. “I suppose you have to know this, and now is as good a time as any.”

  “Know what?”

  “Jack Lineberry is your biological father.”

  Mercy took this calmly. She nodded and glanced out the window. “So our mom was quite the guy magnet?”

  “I don’t think it was like that at all. He was her handler when she was working undercover to bring down some Mafia families. They…they had feelings for each other. Or something like that, and your mother became pregnant with you and your sister.”

  “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.”

  Blum looked over at Mercy to find her glowering at her.

  “I wasn’t a winner in any way, shape, or form.”

  Blum said hastily, “Of course you weren’t. I’m only saying that Vincenzo meant to kill your sister, not you.”

  Mercy settled back in her seat and glanced out the window.

  Blum said, “And, unlike you, Agent Pine has very firm memories of you. She’s lived with that loss for the last thirty years.”

  Mercy said in a far calmer tone, “Desiree managed to beat those memories out of me. I remember snatches here and there. The name Lee. The fact that somebody else was there, you know?”

  “Yes, I can understand that.”

  “But it’s not the same as having memories. It’s just shit in your head you can’t make sense of. Like somebody gave you a book to read but first smeared all the words so badly that you can only make a couple out. It’s…a hard thing to live with, knowing it’s there somewhere, but never being able to find it.” She looked over at Blum. “Sorry if how I talk doesn’t measure up. You said your boss went to college and everything. I may sound dumb, but I’m mostly not. I read a lot. Books got me through a bunch’a shit.”

  “You sound just fine to me. And I think given what happened to you, it’s a miracle you’re even alive.”

  “I don’t give up. I never have. You hurt me, I just try harder.”

  “That is exactly who your sister is.”

  Mercy nodded but didn’t comment.

  “And Desiree?” asked Blum nervously.

  Mercy didn’t answer right away. “I won’t lay a hand on her.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because you’re right. I don’t want to lose, especially to that bitch.” A moment of quiet passed and then she added, “And maybe I’d like a shot at meeting my sister. Alive.”

  Chapter 49

  MERCY FOLLOWED BLUM, who was trailing Deputy Tate Callum down the hall toward the cell holding Desiree Atkins. And she was sweating. For two reasons. First, she was in a jail surrounded by cops; that was bad enough. She’d been in jail on the other side of the bars, and this was bringing back all those memories. Second, she was about to see the woman who had tortured and then very nearly killed her a long time ago. She knew which was worse: the flesh-and-blood woman easily won over the steel bars.

  Callum glanced at Blum. “And where is Agent Pine today?”

  “Tied up. She just wanted me to follow up on a few questions. Agent Cain here is assisting us.”

  They had come up with that story on the way over.

  Callum eyed Mercy. “So, you work undercover, Agent Cain?”

  Mercy smiled, ran a hand over her scalp, and touched her stained sweatshirt. “What was your first clue? Other than the fact that I don’t have my badge with me?”

  He laughed. “Right. Boy, they grow the ladies tall at the Bureau, don’t they?”

  They reached the cell door and Callum opened it and ushered them through. “Just let the jailer know when you’re done.” He closed the door behind them and headed back down the hall.

  Desiree turned and saw Mercy. “Holy shit!”

  Mercy said nothing. She just stared down at the woman.

  Desiree backed up against the wall. “Don’t you dare come near me.” She glared at Blum. “What the hell do you think you’re doing bringing this psycho here?”

  “I thought it was high time you two were finally reunited.” Blum failed to hide a smile.

  Mercy looked around and then sat down on the lower bunk. “Nice, clean digs, Desiree. You should be able to make do in a place like this for, what, the rest of your shitty life?”

  “They’ve got nothing on me. You just wait until I get myself a lawyer.”

  “Heard you pulled the same crap with another girl like you did with me. Sounds like she got away from you a lot faster than I did. You must be losing your touch.”

  “Shut up!”

  “It’s a wonder I was ever scared of you. I mean, you look like a plump little mouse ready to be eaten. And I can eat a lot.”

  “I scared you well enough back then.”

  “Not that hard to do with a six-year-old. A lot harder to do with a sixteen-year-old. And damn impossible to do right now.”

  Desiree shook her head. “You’re full of it! You had no idea who you were dealing with.”

  “The harder you tried to hurt me, the farther inside my head I went. Then your little fantasy fell apart and you left me alone. So guess who won the head game?”

  “You think I care about any of this?”

  Mercy smiled broadly. “I’ll testify at your trial. I can be exhibits A to Z on your being a sadistic bitch.” She looked over at Blum. “And now this lady wants to ask you some questions.”

  “Go to hell.”

  “That’s not very nice,” said Mercy.

  Blum interjected, “If you help us, Desiree, maybe we can help you.”

  “How?”

  “The police know you were running a drug operation. They want to know who you were working with. If you can tell them that, they can work a deal on your sentencing.”

  Desiree’s face lighted up for a moment and then went hard again. “Well, they better make it a damn good deal or they get squat from me.”

  “What can you tell us?”

  “Nothing, until I get a deal in writing.” She smiled maliciously. “But the guys I work with, they are some bad hombres.”

  “Do you think they know you’ve been arrested?”

  “They’re not stupid, okay?”

  “But you haven’t spoken with them?”

  She looked at Blum curiously. “Why do you want to know? And where is that other FBI bitch? Why isn’t she with you?”

  Blum looked at Mercy and then returned her gaze to Desiree. “I’ll see what I can come up with. But if I do come back with an offer, can you help us?”

  “Help you do what exactly?”

  “I’ll let you know once we have a deal in place.”

  Blum walked over to the door. “Officer?” she called out between the bars.

  As the man headed toward them Desiree said to Mercy, “You think you’re all high and mighty now?”

  Mercy didn’t even look at her. “Compared to you, I am.”

  “You’re just big and ugly. An animal, that’s all you’ll ever be.”

  “And loving every minute of it.”

  They left her there and walked back down the hall to meet up with Callum.

  They passed an older man with graying hair, thick jowls, and a pretentious expression, heading the other way. He was dressed in a sleek, dark blue suit with a red tie and a pocket square. He had a black leather briefcase in one hand. He glanced at Blum and Mercy and came away obviously unimpressed. The jailer escorting him said, “It’s right down this way, Mr. Marbury.”

  As they were out of earshot Mercy said, “I don’t trust people in suits who carry briefcases.”

  “Well, you just knocked out the entire legal profession.”

  “I know.”

  Blum said, “I’m not sure she’ll be able to help us. I think she was lying about the bad hombres. That’s why I didn’t mention what had happened to Agent Pine. There would have been no point.”

  “But if the guys working with her didn’t snatch Lee, who did?”

  Blum said glumly, “I don’t know. And we’re running out of time. I can just feel it.”

  Back with Callum, Blum talked to him about a possible deal in exchange for information on Pine’s whereabouts.