Lineberry didn’t answer. He just looked at her.
She said, “Are you saying because the dude was paid off by the mob?”
“They wanted Bruno,” he said simply. “They wanted him to pay for not coming to them about your mother being a spy in their midst. So the deal was deep-sixed, and Bruno died. What we didn’t know was that Bruno convinced his brother, Ito, to go after your mother, who he thought was the one to betray him.”
Mercy looked at him closely. “Okay, let’s say that’s true. But my mom didn’t even try to look for me. Nothing you’ve said addresses that.”
In answer, Lineberry held up a single finger. “She left your sister’s side at the hospital only once. And that was to fly to Washington, DC, and demand that everything that could be done to find you be done. She said that if it wasn’t, she would go public with everything that she knew.”
“Hang on—what exactly did she know?” asked Mercy.
“She knew that the high-ranking official I’m talking about had been bought off by the mob. She knew that he was the one who had, in effect, killed Bruno. And she believed that someone connected to Bruno Vincenzo had taken you. She didn’t know it was his brother. I doubt she knew he had a brother. She just assumed it was the mob. And more than anything in life, she wanted you back.”
Mercy became noticeably subdued. “How did she find out the government guy was working with the mob?”
“She was undercover. She listened at lots of keyholes and overheard lots of conversations. Folks told her things they shouldn’t have because she was very, very good at her job. And she saw people come and people go. He was one of them.”
“But if she knew he was involved, why didn’t she report him to the authorities right from the start?”
“Because, Mercy, he was the authority. And she wasn’t even officially a government agent. She was still a teenager. He, on the other hand, was a legend, grown gray in service to his country. Who would believe her? He could have easily trumped up evidence against her. She used drugs back then. She hung out with criminals. There were myriad ways for him to go after her. So she kept silent. But when you were taken, that was the final straw. She went to see him and confronted this bastard right to his face. Because of you. And I can’t tell you how brave an act that was. You may not know much about how governments operate, but it was akin to David taking on Goliath. And she did it without a second thought for herself.”
“And what happened at this meeting?”
“She made her threats.” He paused. “And he made one in return.”
“What?” said Mercy a bit breathlessly.
“If she continued to make waves, if she kept demanding this nationwide search for you, if she kept drumming up attention for the matter . . . he would have your sister and Tim . . . ” He paused and eyed her knowingly.
“What the hell! How could a government guy do that?”
“It was a different world back then, Mercy. The mob was still a big deal. A lot of muscle. He was in too deep with them. And while your mother helped take down a lot of very bad people, there were a lot of other very bad people still out there. And this traitor was not about to have his entire reputation ruined over this.”
“You mean he threatened to tell the mob where my mom and her family were?”
“And that’s why they vanished overnight without a trace from Andersonville. She had lost one daughter. She couldn’t lose another. But I know that she continued to do all she could, spent time and money, everything she had, in trying to find you. I know this because I tried to help her do so. From the very moment you disappeared, I never saw her smile again. All the life, all the happiness was . . . struck clean from her.”
Mercy looked down. Her features had a lost, disbelieving component to them. “Then why didn’t you out this asshole?” she said sharply.
“By the time your mother confided in me, he was dead. He died quietly in his bed and was given a hero’s send-off for many years of faithful public service. He is now buried at Arlington National Cemetery.”
“How screwed up is that?”
“Very. And your mother couldn’t tell the truth at that point about him. No one would believe her, and it would have alerted the men still after her where she was. It would have put Tim and your sister in terrible danger. Your mother was caught in a box with no way out.”
“And you never told Lee any of this? Why not?”
Now Lineberry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “The easy answer is that I took an oath never to divulge official secrets. But if you want the blunt truth, your sister idolized your mother. She lived with her far longer than you did. Even after Amanda left her, your sister continued to have deep feelings for her. And I knew that if I told her all of this, she would be obsessed with finding her. She would put everything else on hold. She—”
“She wouldn’t have had her own life, you mean? She’d just be chasing all of this down and never do her own thing?”
“Yes. And maybe put herself in danger. And your mother believed if Atlee had no idea where she was, that would protect her. That’s why she left her.”
They sat there in silence for a few moments as Mercy processed all this.
“Look, I . . . I appreciate your honesty. I don’t get much of it. People sort of look through me.”
“I never will,” he said forcefully. “That you can take to the bank as easily as the check I’m going to write you.”
She glanced up at him. “You’re different than I thought you would be.”
“You’re exactly like I thought you would be.”
“Meaning what?”
“Indomitable.”
“That’s a nice, fancy word. But I wasn’t that way for a long time. I let people screw me.”
“But no more.”
“No. No more.” She looked at him. “Will you ever tell Lee what you just told me?”
“I think it might be better coming from you. And that decision I will leave entirely to you.” He rose. “And if you don’t mind, I’d like to have your sister and Carol come back in. We need to take a little trip, a long overdue one.”
“A trip? Where?”
“You’ll see. All of you will see.”
CHAPTER
81
THE “LITTLE” TRIP WAS NOT MADE BY CAR. It was made in Lineberry’s private jet, a Gulfstream 650 with all the trimmings.
Both sisters and Blum looked in awe at the plane’s luxurious interior, with its dark wood paneling, colorful carpet, and cream-colored leather seats with gold trim. They were greeted by a uniformed flight attendant and two professional-looking pilots who presented calm expressions and firm handshakes.
As they settled into their seats around a highly polished table Pine said, “Where exactly are we going?”
“It’s a very quick trip by jet” was all Lineberry would say.
“This will be my first time on a plane,” said Mercy. “The guy who told me what it was like never flew on one of these, I don’t think.”