“No, let’s just push on.” He cleared his throat. “The first threat came in the form of a letter that was mailed to the apartment in New York where you were living at the time. The location of that apartment was a secret, but nonetheless there it was. It was a clear death threat. The decision was made to move all of you into witness protection.”
“Why send a letter and essentially warn us, instead of coming there and trying to kill my mom?”
“I could never figure that out. It might have been done to intimidate, which it did. And also cause us to move you, which we did. We never determined why that was advantageous for whoever sent the letter.”
“So they knew of her identity even though she never testified in court?” she asked.
“Your mother ‘testified’ to federal authorities in quite a few lengthy interviews, which in turn led to other witnesses who did testify in exchange for plea deals. She also provided recordings she took secretly while in the presence of numerous mob bosses. Those recordings were validated by other sources and entered into evidence. It was all legal and aboveboard, but we took great pains to keep her identity secret. She was our best shot at taking the families down. We had to keep her safe. And in the end, many of the mob just took deals because the evidence was overwhelming. Most of the older members we arrested ended up dying in prison. As far as I know, the younger ones are still in prison, right where they belong.”
“Okay, tell me about the first witness protection experience.”
“You were relocated to Hudson, Ohio. It’s a suburb of Akron. It was far removed from New York City. We thought you all would be safe there.”
“But we weren’t.”
Lineberry said, “No. One night, about two months after you arrived, there was a home invasion. Two men with guns.”
“What happened?”
“You had a dog back then, a lab named Molly.”
“I don’t remember a dog,” she said.
“Well, you were very young, Atlee. Anyway, the dog barked and woke up your parents. Your father kept a shotgun. He fired at the intruders and managed to scare them off. The decision was made to move you the very next day to a temporary safe house pending the readiness of a more permanent location.”
“And where did that turn out to be?”
“Colorado. It was rural and any strangers in town would be instantly noticed. We really thought it would work.”
“But it obviously didn’t. What happened?” she asked.
“This time it wasn’t a home invasion. It was an attempted carjacking. They ran you off the road. It was only by the grace of God that two state troopers were coming the other way. They intervened and saved you and your family. One of the carjackers managed to get away. The other was killed after a shootout with the troopers.”
“Did they manage to ID him?”
Linberry said, “They did. He was Giovanni Colletti, part of a Colorado-based crime family. We obviously couldn’t interrogate him, but we did subsequently learn that a contract had been put out on your family by one of the Mafia families that had been destroyed by your mother’s work.”
“Okay, the big question becomes: How did they keep finding out where we were? There had to be a leak, Jack. And it kept leaking.”
“A fact we were well aware of. But we took every precaution, dug through the background of everyone who knew about your relocations. We could find nothing, no common denominator that would lead us to the mole. We constantly changed personnel, so that the inner circle was different, so that those who knew the most were limited. It was the most puzzling and infuriating phase of my career. After Colorado, the decision was made to take you out of witness protection and move you to Andersonville, Georgia. I was assigned there to personally look over you and keep you safe.” He paused to clear his throat once more. “I clearly failed at that.” A single cough followed this last comment, and then turned into a series of wracking ones.
“Jack, are you all right?”
As the spasm subsided, he said, “I’m fine. Just…tired.”
“Look, you clearly need to rest, but can I ask you a favor?”
His tone instantly became alert. “Certainly. Anything.”
“Can you provide me with information about who was in the loop with my family’s experience back then? I mean, anyone you can remember, no matter how attenuated their connection was?”
“Atlee, a lot of them are long since retired or even dead.”
“I still would like to go over them.”
“I don’t see the purpose.”
“Then I’ll tell you. Ito Vincenzo came to Georgia. He tried to kill me, and he took my sister. Whoever leaked our locations in Ohio and Colorado did the same in Georgia. That person must have communicated either with Bruno or Ito or someone close to them. If I can find that person, they may lead me to Ito.”
Silence followed for a few moments.
Lineberry said, “I’ll see what I can do. But I’ve been long since removed from that world. My contacts are largely no longer viable.”
“If you run into obstacles, call me and I’ll see what I can do to help,” she said. “I told you back in Georgia that we had to try to do this together. And I haven’t changed my mind.”
“And sometimes dredging up the past can be more devastating than people realize.”
“I need to know the truth. And I need to find my sister, and your daughter, Jack! Ito is really the only connection I have right now.”
“He may not even be alive,” said Lineberry.
“No one has seen him since 2001, apparently. But that’s not proof that he’s dead. Until I know that for sure, I have to keep looking for him.”
“It’s quite ominous that Teddy Vincenzo was murdered right after speaking to you. You don’t think…” Lineberry’s voice trailed off.
“No. I don’t think it’s connected to my case. I think Tony Vincenzo was into something far more serious than simply drug dealing. And I think he told his father. And his father paid the price.”
“Then Tony Vincenzo is a target as well.”
“And I just hope we find him before the people who killed Teddy do,” replied Pine.
Chapter 20
A SMILING PINE SAID, “John Puller, Carol Blum.”
Puller shook Blum’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Carol. I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”
They were standing in the lobby of Pine and Blum’s hotel. It was the following day, and the weather had turned chilly and rainy.
Blum stared up at the tall, ramrod-straight, and good-looking Puller. “I can say the same about you, Agent Puller.”
Pine said, “Let’s grab a coffee and talk about our next steps.”
They followed her into the small café off the lobby and ordered coffees. Then they took their drinks over to an empty seating area, sat down, and looked at one another.
“How’s your case coming?” asked Puller.
“We’ve learned a few new things but we’re still trying to gain some traction. My priority is to find Ito Vincenzo. I spoke with someone who might be able to help me find out what happened to him, but it’s a long shot. So let’s talk about your case. If that will lead me to Ito faster that’s where I need to go.”