Holden-Bryant glanced at Blum. “Oh, I’m not contagious, no worries there. Full course of antibiotics and recovering fast. But still not quite all there. And it’s so dreary out today. Crushes one’s spirits.”
“But I would suppose living in this place, your spirits won’t be crushed for long,” said Blum in a disarming tone.
“Aren’t you sweet. And very right. I’ve been very lucky. Privileged. Right place, right time.”
“I haven’t seen a butler in a long time,” said Pine.
Holden-Bryant tittered at that. “A holdover from my last marriage. I could have let most of the staff go because I actually live a simple life. But that wouldn’t have done them any good or been fair to them. The divorce wasn’t their fault, so I kept them on.”
“Very nice of you,” said Blum.
“They thought so, too. Now,” she said, turning to Pine, “you wanted to speak with me about Jack Lineberry?”
“Yes.”
“I understand he’s done very well for himself. Investments, right?”
“Yes. But I think you have him beat on the financial end.”
“I wouldn’t say that. His jet is bigger than mine, although I have two of them.”
“How do you know that?”
“We have some mutual friends. They keep me informed. But he earned his money.”
Blum said, “Well, I think you earned yours, too.”
“If you keep that up, you might be my new best friend,” she said. When she turned to Pine her expression grew far more serious. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Jack is in a hospital in Georgia.”
She tensed. “Is he all right?”
“He’s going to recover, but he was shot.”
Her features collapsed. “Oh my God. Jack shot. Who? Why?”
“The who is known. The why is also known. The person was actually aiming for me, but Jack was in the wrong place.”
“Why was someone trying to kill you?”
“I’m an FBI agent, it sort of goes with the territory.”
“And how do you know Jack again? Is he involved in some FBI thing?”
“No. I met him down in Georgia recently. I actually knew him as a child but didn’t remember him.”
Holden-Bryant’s features grew strained. “You knew him as a child?”
“It was only later that I found out he was actually my father.”
Holden-Bryant, to her credit, remained absolutely quiet. For about five of the longest seconds of Pine’s life.
“He’s your father?” she said in a hushed tone.
“Me and my sister, Mercy. Yes. My mother was Julia Pine. But back then she went by Amanda. Perhaps you knew her?”
Holden-Bryant took a moment to fluff her pillow and draw her covers up above her chest, as though she were burrowing in for a long winter’s nap.
“No, no, I can’t say that I did.”
Pine held the woman’s gaze for one long second. “I know that you and Jack were engaged back then.”
The woman suddenly flung the covers off her, pivoted her feet to the floor, and got out of bed. Under the robe she was wearing pajamas in a striped pattern. She marched over to a wooden cabinet against the wall and opened its door, revealing a full bar.
“You want something?” she asked.
“Little early in the day for me,” said Pine. “And if you’re on meds, should you be drinking?”
“Oh, I just feel like living dangerously right now,” shot back Holden-Bryant.
“I’ll have a glass of sherry, if you have that,” said Blum.
“I have everything, sweetheart. And I can use a belt right now.”
She brought over a glass of sherry for Blum, then sat down on the bed with a glass of bourbon. She crossed her legs and took a healthy sip. She primly wiped her mouth, sighed, and said, “I was engaged to Jack. For well over a year. We dated for years before that.”
“Then it must have come as a shock to you that he was fathering another woman’s children,” said Pine.
“God, I wish I still smoked,” barked Holden-Bryant. She eyed Pine shrewdly. “Why are you really here?”
“I’m going to tell you something. Something startling. It will probably shock you, at least I hope that it does. And then let’s talk about it.”
Holden-Bryant stared at her for a moment, then swallowed the rest of her bourbon and rose to pour out another one. After she resettled on the bed Pine told her some of what had happened to her family, though she didn’t go into great detail and she didn’t mention the Vincenzos’ involvement, not by name. She was saving that revelation. Even so, as she spoke Holden-Bryant seemed to grow smaller and smaller on the enormous bed.
When Pine finished, she folded her arms over her chest and watched the older woman.
Holden-Bryant finished her second shot of bourbon and put the empty glass down on her nightstand.
She sat back against her expensive and plumped pillows. “This was all a long time ago.”
“Old sins cast long shadows,” remarked Blum.
“Is that what you think, I’m a sinner?”
Pine said, “I don’t know or care. I just want to know what you might have done back then when you found out about Jack and my mother.”
“You have no proof that I found out or did anything.”
“Then let me ask you directly: Did you know that Jack had slept with my mother and that she had become pregnant?”
“And I could answer that by saying you have no way to make me respond to that question.”
“You’re right about that. And the only thing I have to fire back is I would like to know what happened to my sister. Wouldn’t you, if our positions were reversed?”
“I was a criminal defense lawyer. I lived in hypotheticals, but that doesn’t mean I have to answer one.”
“Is it really a hypothetical?”
“I don’t know,” said Holden-Bryant coolly.
“Did you know about Jack and my mother?”
Holden-Bryant glanced at Blum. “You look like a mother.”
“Six times over.”
“I never had kids. Wanted them. But I was too busy professionally. When I got married, the men I married had been married before. They had kids and even grandkids. They didn’t want a do-over. So, I lost out there.”
“But my mother had two daughters,” said Pine. “At a very young age.”
“Jack always wanted children. If we had married, I’m sure we would have had kids together.”
“But you didn’t. You broke up. Why?”
She gave Pine a whimsical smile. “Why does anyone break up? There was an issue. A problem. A falling-out.”
“And specifically for you?” said Pine. “What was it?”
Holden-Bryant got up and started to pour herself another drink. “Sure you don’t want one?”
“All right. I’ll have what you’re having.”
“Now you’re talking.”
“But the thing is, I want you to start talking.”
She finished making the drinks and slowly walked back to them.
Now maybe we’ll get somewhere, thought Pine.