“Yeah. FBI. You think very highly of her.”
“She’s on leave from the Bureau working a personal case that crossed over into mine by virtue of a connection with the Vincenzos.” He went on to tell his brother about Pine’s working undercover at the penthouse, being abducted, waking up next to a dead woman, and almost being killed.
“And this Lindsey Axilrod is in the middle of it?”
“Seems like she set Pine up. And now she’s disappeared.”
“Give me the address of the penthouse.”
“Why, what are you going to do?”
“Don’t ask. And don’t worry, this will not have my personal prints on it.”
“Just make sure it doesn’t.”
“You and Pine are going to remain targets so long as you’re investigating this.”
“We’ve been targets ever since we signed up.”
“This is different.”
“Not to me.”
“Watch your back.”
“You do the same. I have to tell you, I had some trepidation about pulling you into this.”
“Blood is thicker than anything, John. Or it should be. But let’s try not to spill any of ours.”
Puller thought back to the near massacre in his apartment. “Easier said than done, Bobby.”
Chapter 36
LINDA HOLDEN-BRYANT?” Pine said into the phone. She was sitting in her car outside of Doug Bennett’s house with Blum next to her.
Jack Lineberry said, “Doug told you about her?”
“Yeah, he did,” snapped Pine.
“Why did he mention her?”
“Why the hell didn’t you mention her before now?”
“There was no reason to.”
“There was every reason to,” retorted Pine.
“Why?”
“You were engaged?”
“Well, yes. For a time.”
“Did you live together?”
“Yes, in New York.”
“When did you break up?”
“Why do you need to know this?”
“I think it’s obvious, Jack, don’t you?” she responded sharply. “In fact, I think when you gave me Bennett’s name, it had occurred to you that her name would come up. Maybe you had thoughts that she could be the mole.”
He started to cough but that wasn’t a deterrent for Pine, not this time.
The coughing subsided and he said, “You give me more credit than you should if you think that.”
“Did you ever talk to her about your work?”
“Of course not. Never!”
“Did you ever work from home?”
“I suppose I did on occasion.”
“Back then there were no smartphones, no computers, no internet really. How did you work from home?”
“I used the phone. A secure line.”
“What else?”
“I wrote memos. Sometimes people came by to see me.”
“While Linda was there?”
“Not always.”
“So some of the time, then?”
“Some of the meetings were on short notice and late at night. What did you want me to do, push her out in the street in her nightgown?”
“Are you sure she was asleep?”
“Atlee—”
“Are you sure she never looked through your briefcase, or eavesdropped on a phone call? Or followed you to wherever you were going to see what you were up to?”
“She knew I worked for the government. And she knew it was…secret.”
“But you trusted her?”
“Of course I did, but I took all appropriate precautions. I would never want to put her in danger because she inadvertently discovered some information about what I was doing.”
“There may have been nothing inadvertent about it. So let me ask you again: Why did you break up?”
Lineberry didn’t respond. Pine thought she could hear the quickened beats of his heart over the phone; they seemed to match her own. She glanced at Blum, who was watching her intently.
“Jack?”
“She found out about…about what happened.”
“What does that mean exactly?”
“She found out about me and Amanda.”
“How?”
“I was never exactly sure. But she confronted me.”
“Jack, if she found out about it, she must have taken steps to find out. Like having you followed.”
“I took precautions.”
“Screw precautions,” barked Pine. “They obviously didn’t work.”
More silence.
In a calmer tone, Pine said, “Did she know that my mother was pregnant? And that you were the father?”
When he said nothing, she added, “Jack, I really need to know this. And you know why. That’s the only way we can find out what happened to Mercy. Just like I told you back in your hospital room. We have to do this together.”
“She knew.”
“So she knew about my mother? I mean, who she was?”
“I never told her about the circumstances.”
“But she knew my mother’s identity?”
“Yes.”
“Did they ever meet?”
“Not to my knowledge. At least your mother never mentioned anything like that.”
“If Linda didn’t tell her who she was, my mother may not have known the connection.”
“That’s…true,” Lineberry said haltingly.
“You know where this is leading, Jack.”
“She was not the leak, Atlee. She couldn’t have been.”
“You don’t know that. And from where I’m standing, she is the most probable source of the leak. And she had the motive to sic the Vincenzos on my family.”
“How would she even know about the Vincenzos?”
“Wasn’t it in all the papers back then? After the arrests were made?”
“Well, yes.”
“And you’re telling me that Linda was so oblivious to what you did for a living that she couldn’t have made that connection? Or was she that stupid?”
“No one would accuse Linda of being stupid. Quite the opposite. She was a brilliant woman.”
“Then you’re proving my point. Did you ever have my mother over to your place?”
“Not while Linda was there.”
“But she could have seen her there if she had been suspicious. She could have left and then come back.”
“I just don’t think that’s possible.”
“What did she do for a living? Did she have a profession?”
“She was a lawyer.”
“Oh, great. Don’t tell me she was a criminal defense lawyer?”
“She was, actually, yes.”
“And you still think she couldn’t have possibly made the connection with the Vincenzos? Hell, she might have had mob clients.”
“No, no, I’m sure she didn’t.”
“Did she share her work with you?”
“No, she was as guarded as I was.”
“Then you can’t possibly know who her clients were, can you?”
“Now you sound like a lawyer cross-examining me.”