To Ron Kunihiro,
who has the heart of a lion and is loved and respected by all who know him
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
CHAPTER 46
CHAPTER 47
CHAPTER 48
CHAPTER 49
CHAPTER 50
CHAPTER 51
CHAPTER 52
CHAPTER 53
CHAPTER 54
CHAPTER 55
CHAPTER 56
CHAPTER 57
CHAPTER 58
CHAPTER 59
CHAPTER 60
CHAPTER 61
CHAPTER 62
CHAPTER 63
CHAPTER 64
CHAPTER 65
CHAPTER 66
CHAPTER 67
CHAPTER 68
CHAPTER 69
CHAPTER 70
CHAPTER 71
CHAPTER 72
CHAPTER 73
CHAPTER 74
CHAPTER 75
CHAPTER 76
CHAPTER 77
CHAPTER 78
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTER
1
NOW IS THE MOMENT OF RECKONING.
FBI Special Agent Atlee Pine was sitting in her rental car outside of Andersonville, Georgia, with her assistant, Carol Blum, next to her.
She hit the name on her contact list and listened to the phone ringing.
Pine, how nice of you to call, the dripping-with-sarcasm voice said into her ear.
The man speaking was the FBIs top dog in Arizona, Clint Dobbs. He was the one who had given Pine permission to take a sabbatical in order to find out what had happened to her twin sister, Mercy, who had been abducted from their home in Andersonville thirty years before. Six-year-old Pine had nearly died in the process.
Sorry, sir, its just been a little busy.
I understand that you have been extremely busy. You solved a series of murders down there, prevented other killings, nearly got blown up in the process, and discovered something truly remarkable about your past. Hell, the Bureau might owe you a bonus.
I take it youve been kept informed through other channels. You could say that, yes, since you have been remarkably uncommunicative.
Would that source of info be Eddie Laredo?
Laredo was an FBI special agent who had been sent down to Georgia to help in a murder investigation. He and Pine had a history, a complicated one, but she believed they had resolved things.
I have multiple sources keeping me informed. What did you find out about your sisters disappearance?
When my mother was a teenager she was a mole in a sting operation involving the mob back in the eighties. One of the guys that went down as a result was a man named Bruno Vincenzo, who was murdered after he went to prison. Bruno had a brother in Jersey named Ito. Apparently, Ito found out what happened and blamed my mother for his brothers death. Somehow he discovered where we were, came down to Georgia, and kidnapped my sister.
Do you have a line on this Ito Vincenzo? Is he even still alive?
I checked the states official online database. Theres no record of his death, but he might not have died in New Jersey. I found out that he lived in Trenton. Ive got the house address. Its in the name of a Teddy Vincenzothats his son.
Sounds like he might have inherited it, so maybe his old man did die. Maybe he was a snowbird and breathed his last in Florida. If so, he might be beyond your reach, Pine.
I can still talk to his family. They might know something helpful.
Okay, if theyll talk to you. And where is this Teddy Vincenzo? Pine let out a long sigh. In prison at Fort Dix.
Ah, well, crime indeed runs in the family. At least hes in Jersey. So you want to go to Trenton now? Is that why you finally called me? There was an edge to Dobbss voice that Pine did not care for.
I dont see any other way.
Oh, you dont, do you? Maybe you and I have a different idea about that, Pine.
I just need a little more time. I got sidetracked by the murders down here. But for that I could have made a lot more progress.
So what youre saying is that while youve been on leave, youve actually still been working as an agent.
Thats exactly what Im saying.
I agree with you, Pine, said Dobbs, surprising her. You did great work down there, as I already pointed out. If it were up to me, Id tell you to take as much time as you need, but while Im the top agent in Arizona, I do have people above me, Pine, a lot of them. And there have been grumblings around the Bureau.
I didnt think I was that important, said Pine sharply. And whos complaining?
Let me point it out then. Ive got two agents on rotation covering for you in Shattered Rock, even though theyve got their own assignments. Theyre not happy about that because theyve got no backup, which you apparently enjoy but they dont. And Ive also had to redirect admin resources there because Carols with you. And while I know this is the twenty-first century, the fact that you are, well, you know . . .
You mean the fact that Im a woman, that the guys dont think Im carrying my weight?
They think youre getting special treatmentand, in fact, you are. Ive had more than a few complaining that theyve all got problems but they still have to get up and go to work every day, so whats the deal with you?
Pine barked, You were the one to tell me to work out this issue if I wanted to keep working at the Bureau. And the only way I can do that is to find my damn sister.
Blum put a calming hand on Pines arm.
Dobbs said, I will take into account your natural anger, but just keep in mind who the hell youre talking to, Pine.
Pine took a long breath. I just need a little more time, sir. A few more days.
Dobbs didnt say anything for so long that Pine was afraid the man had hung up.
Trenton, New Jersey, huh?
Yes, said Pine quietly.
Funny thing, Pine. I started out in Trenton more years ago than I can remember. It was going through some challenging times back then. Its going through more challenging times right now. He paused. Okay, a few more days. If you need any backup or info, dial up the guys there and tell them Clint Dobbs said its okay. They wont believe you, but theyll believe it when I tell them its true.
Pine glanced at Blum with wide eyes. Um, I was not expecting that.
I wasnt expecting to say it, Pine. The offer just popped into my head. But I need to make this point as clear as I can: You have to finish this and come home. You got that? The Bureau pays your salary to work for them. I know I told you to go after this to get your head straight, but at the end of the day thats your problem, not mine. And youre not the only agent I have to deal with, okay? I got hundreds of them, and they all got problems. You got that?
Yes, sir. Got it. And Im so grateful. Thank you for
But Dobbs had already clicked off.
Pine slowly put the phone down. New Jersey, here we come.
CHAPTER
2
TWO DAYS LATER, Pine was driving in her rental car through a working-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Trenton. She was thinking about what she would say to Anthony Tony Vincenzo, who sometimes stayed at the home his father, Teddy, had apparently inherited from his father, Ito Vincenzo. She didnt want to deal with the inevitable red tape of visiting Teddy Vincenzo in prison if she didnt have to; Tony was low-hanging fruit. But with her current frame of mind, if Tony chose not to help her, she might just shoot him.
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