Lineberry’s eyes narrowed. “Okay, I hope I’m wrong, but I see where this might be going.”
“I believe Ito kidnapped Mercy and took her to the Atkinses to repay Leonard Atkins. There was a letter from Atkins to Ito that basically said that.”
“Stealing a child to repay a debt? That is sick,” said Lineberry.
“But it may also be the truth.”
Blum said, “But why did he try to kill you? Why not just either take you both or do something less than attempted murder?”
Pine looked at the photo. “I’ve been giving that a lot of thought. From everything we’ve been able to learn about Ito, he was not a violent mobster type like his brother. But he was angry when he learned that Bruno thought he’d gotten screwed on a prison deal. And he blamed my mother. But I don’t think he was some monster. I think he was caught between a rock and a hard place. And when it came to it, I think he just wanted to take one of us. That’s why he did the nursery rhyme. Then he tried to knock me out so I couldn’t raise the alarm. But he hit me way too hard. And I nearly died.”
“But how could he have found your family in the first place?” barked an agitated Lineberry.
Pine leaned away from him. “We met up with your ex-fiancée.”
“You talked to Linda? You didn’t tell me that.”
“I’m telling you now.”
“What did she say?”
“What I thought she would.”
He shook his head. “No, there is no way. I can’t believe it.”
“She was the leak. She admitted it. She had you followed, she searched your briefcase, she overheard conversations. She met with Bruno; she found out about him through a mob buddy of his. She was even going to rep him, but another attorney took over for some reason. She steamed open a letter of yours that laid out my parents’ new identities and where they were going to live in Andersonville, and she made sure that Bruno got it. And he told his brother a sob story and guilted an otherwise law-abiding man into coming down to Georgia and turning into the devil.”
For a moment Pine thought Lineberry might faint or have a heart attack or lash out at her. There were so many emotions sweeping over his features, and his body tensed and untensed to such a degree that she grabbed his arm to make sure he didn’t slide out of the chair.
He finally put a hand to his face and quietly started to weep again.
Pine looked at Blum, who shook her head and put a hand to her lips signaling Pine just to remain quiet.
A long minute passed before Lineberry finally straightened and wiped at his eyes. Blum gave him a hand towel from a table next to the chair, while Pine poured him out a glass of water from a pitcher on the table.
He wiped his face, drank the water, and sat back in the chair, looking about a decade older than he had two minutes before. He gripped Pine’s hand.
“I am so sorry, Atlee. So sorry. This is all my fault.”
“No, it’s not, Jack. You trusted someone who abused that trust. But to be fair, I can understand her anger. You did leave her for my mother. You had two daughters with my mother.”
Lineberry passed a hand over his forehead. “I loved Linda with all my heart. Right up until the moment I met your mother. Then, for me, there was no one else. I’m not proud of what I did, but I’m just telling you the truth. If I had controlled my feelings better...”
“My mother was obviously attracted to you.”
Lineberry shook his head. “I was quite a bit older. I was in a position of influence over her. I was a professional who did something stunningly unprofessional. I never thought our relationship would result in pregnancy. I hated myself for having put her in that situation.”
“Did Tim know?” asked Pine.
“Please, call him your father. He was more of one to you than I ever was.”
“Okay, we sort of skirted around this issue before, but did my dad know that you were the father?”
“I never told him. And the timing of when he and your mother met was close enough that he had every reason to believe that he was the father. I don’t believe your mother ever told him differently.”
“But she loved him?”
Lineberry nodded. “She told me one night. He was her age. He was handsome and funny and just a good person. I could see why she loved him. At least now I can. But I was hurt — devastated, really.”
“If that was the case, why did you break things off with Linda? Why did you go to Andersonville? Because it was your job?”
“No, because you were my flesh and blood.” He finished his water and slowly put the glass down. “And despite what I told you earlier and how I reacted when you just now told me about Linda... I had suspected that the leak might well be coming from her. I knew she was smart and resourceful. I knew she might have found out about Amanda. It made me angry. And my suspicions caused me to care even less for her. And I needed to get away from her and take Amanda and her family with me, so I could watch over them. But I swear to you that I never knew Linda had found out about Andersonville.”
Pine rose and looked down at him. “I believe you, Jack.”
“Are you going to see the Atkinses?”
“We are. I have no idea if they’re still there or not. It’s been over two decades since that picture was taken. I called the police in Taliaferro, but I’ve heard nothing back.”
“Do you have the address?” asked Lineberry.
“I have the letters that Atkins sent Ito. The envelopes had a return address on them. I did a Google map search. It’s... remote.”
“What will you do if they are still there? And... Mercy is with them?”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. But if Mercy is there, and depending on what condition she’s in, I will find a way to tell her the truth, and I will bring her home.”
“Will you let me know what you find?”
“Of course I will.”
“I hope that... that she’s alive and well.”
“From your lips to God’s ears, Jack,” said Pine before walking out.
Chapter 71
They pulled onto a gravel road and continued down it until the gravel disappeared and the road turned to dirt. And then the dirt turned to wild grass and weeds, and then some young trees blocked their way.
“This doesn’t seem promising,” said Blum.
Pine added, “Looks like the forest is reclaiming its land.”
They got out of the car and threaded their way through this maze, finally emerging into an open area. Next, they came upon a rusted mailbox perched on a rotted, leaning post. Pine looked inside, but it was empty. She examined the faded metal numbers someone had hammered onto the post.
“Matches the number address on the letters the Atkinses sent,” said Pine.
They cleared a small bend in the path, and in front of them was the mobile home trailer that they had seen in the photo. It had not aged well. One part of the front wall had fallen off, exposing ratty, filthy insulation. The door was off its hinges, and a section of the roof had collapsed. A large cinder block provided the steps up to the door.
“Clearly no one has lived here in a while,” noted Pine. She stepped up to the door and looked through the opening. “Shit!”
She jumped back and her feet hit dirt. She pulled her weapon but didn’t fire.
“What is it?” asked an alarmed Blum.
“Snakes,” said Pine as she slowly backed away. “Copperheads. A whole nest of them in there, all over the place.” She holstered her gun. “Well, we’re not going to search in there, not that we’d be able to find much.”
“What did Atkins do after he came back from the war?” asked Blum as they walked back to the car.