Daylight (Atlee Pine #3)(5)
“No.” She glanced at McElroy for a moment. “It’s personal, John. It . . . it has to do with my sister.”
“Vincenzo did something to your sister?” said Puller.
“No. This goes way back to his grandfather.”
It was a long story, but Pine managed it in a string of succinct sentences chock-full of information, including what she had recently discovered in Georgia about Ito Vincenzo having taken her sister. She didn’t want to burden Puller with her problems, but she had great respect for him as both a person and an investigator. And it just felt good to get it off her chest.
“Damn,” said Puller when she’d finished.
“Roger that,” said McElroy. “Really sorry that all happened to your family, ma’am. That’s just awful. Nobody should have to go through that.”
“Thanks.”
Puller said, “Well, Tony Vincenzo’s old man is a bad egg, too. He’s in federal prison at Fort Dix.”
“Yeah, I knew that. But all I wanted to ask Tony was where his grandfather Ito was. If he’s even still alive. Since the house is in Teddy’s name, he may not be.”
“New Jersey has an online database for death records,” said Puller.
“I checked there—nothing. But he might have died in another state, and not all of them have online databases you can search.”
“I see your dilemma. But surely Tony or Teddy will know if he’s alive or not.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.”
“Sounds like your mother had quite the unique experience working undercover like that and bringing down the mob. And you have no idea where she is now?”
Pine shook her head. “If she’s still alive, she’s beyond even the Bureau’s ability to find her, because I’ve tried.” She glanced at Puller. “Look, I blew your collar. What can I do to make this good?”
“I’m not sure. We were going to make the arrest because we needed to lean on Vincenzo to get him to rat further up the chain. He’s small fry. CID wants the big boys, and none of the grunts we busted are really privy to their identities. I was deploying a team around the property when you walked into the circle. Ed was heading up the rear flank, but they weren’t in position yet. That’s how he was able to escape out the back.”
“Can I bring any Bureau assets to bear on this?”
He shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but we’re well stocked with manpower and resources. And we’ll find him. He doesn’t have many places to hide.”
“Will you let me know when you do?”
“I’ll definitely do what I can.”
“I appreciate whatever you can do.”
“We better get going. Got paperwork to file on this.” Puller rose and so did McElroy.
“A lot more paperwork, because of me,” said Pine.
“If I had a buck for every wrong move I made, intentionally or not? So, kick it out of your head. Just one of those things.”
After they left, Pine stared down at her unfinished meal and muttered, “Shit.”
CHAPTER
4
YOU HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING,” said Carol Blum.
Pine had returned to her room at the hotel where she was staying with her assistant, Carol Blum, who was in her sixties and had been in admin at the Bureau for nearly four decades. A mother of six grown children, Blum was rarely surprised or intimidated. She was traveling with Pine to help her on this case. Normally, Pine and Blum worked out of a single-agent office in Shattered Rock, Arizona. Known in Bureau parlance as an “RA,” or resident agency, as opposed to the far larger FBI field offices that were located in metro areas.
“I know, but I still feel bad. Puller is a good guy. Knowing him, he’d planned this down to the last detail, only he had no way of realizing I’d walk right into the middle of it and blow the whole thing.”
“But Tony Vincenzo was there? He definitely was the one running away?”
“Yes. John thinks he can track Vincenzo down pretty quickly, but I’m not so sure.”
“Is there any other way to get to Ito’s whereabouts, other than his grandson?”
“Tony was Plan A. But Plan B is I can talk to Ito’s son, Teddy. He’s in the prison at Fort Dix right here in Trenton.”
“Is Fort Dix a military prison?”
“No. It’s just on the military installation’s land. It’s run by the federal Bureau of Prisons. Minimum to medium security, though they’ve got some crime bosses doing time there, along with politicians and businessmen gone bad.”
“Okay. By the way, have you heard from Jack Lineberry?”
“He was supposed to leave the hospital yesterday. He can afford the best home care around.”
“Yes, I’m sure. But I was talking about—”
“I know, Carol,” Pine said sharply. In a calmer tone she added, “I haven’t come to grips with it, if you want to know the truth. I thought he might be able to help me find my mother, but right now he needs to concentrate on healing.”
“Understood.”
“But I will check in and keep him in the loop. And he might have some information for me that could help.”