Blum took something from her purse and held it out to Cain, who snatched it and looked down at the photo. “That’s a picture that Agent Pine had of you and her and your mother when you were living in Andersonville, Georgia. It’s a Polaroid, the only one she had of you as sisters. I’ve been carrying it for her as we look for you.”
Cain’s gaze took in every aspect of the images. Things, murky elements in her memory, started to jostle back and forth, like bumper cars. The effect was as jarring as real bumper cars would be. “My mother?”
“Yes.”
“And this Atlee, you say she’s my sister?”
“That’s right.”
Cain thrust the photo back at Blum. “That’s a crock of shit. I’ve never even heard of anyone named Atlee.” She grabbed her hoodie and stalked off toward the door.
“But I’m telling you the truth.”
Cain whipped back around and shouted, “Leave me the hell alone, lady. I don’t need this shit, especially right now.”
As Cain turned away from her Blum frantically thought for a moment and then cried out, “You called her Lee when you were kids.”
On this, Cain froze in the doorway of the gym. She expected every muscle in her body to tense, but instead they relaxed, like a tired swimmer’s did, after getting safely back to shore.
It’s okay, Momma, it’s just Lee being Lee. She’ll find her way down. She always does. Don’t be mad at her, Momma.
Cain now began to tremble. The calm was gone. The bumper cars in her head were now smacking each other with increasing velocity. It actually hurt, not like a headache. It was like someone had lit a match to her soul. But she needed more than a name and an old picture.
She turned to Blum. “There are lots of girls named Lee.”
“Your mother’s name was . . . Julia,” Blum said tentatively.
Cain shook her head. “Means nothing to me.”
She again turned to leave while Blum desperately tried to think of something, anything to hold her. Then she remembered their meeting with Desiree, what the woman had said about the book that had driven Mercy into a frenzy. Maybe she would remember that.
“Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,” Blum blurted out.
Cain whipped around. “What?”
“The nursery rhyme the kidnapper used to choose between the two of you. ‘Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.’ Do you recall that?”
Cain sagged against the wall and then abruptly sat down on one of the weight stack benches.
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?”