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  She lowered her weapon. “Puller?”

  John Puller holstered his regulation M11 pistol. He looked equally stunned and was shaking his head. “Pine?”

  Tony Vincenzo was long gone.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked.

  He looked past her, in the direction of where Vincenzo was headed. “I was here to make an arrest.”

  She blanched and looked over her shoulder as the truth hit her. “Crap! Tony Vincenzo?”

  He nodded, frowning. “Long in the works, Atlee. And you, unfortunately, walked right into the middle of it.”

  CHAPTER

  3

  THE COFFEE SHOP, the sign outside said, had been in business since 1954. It held cracked red vinyl seats, pasty linoleum flooring, and scarred wooden-backed booths. The kitchen, glimpsed through the pass window, had pots and pans and grease that looked about as old as the restaurant. What it lacked in ambience and cleanliness, it didn’t really make up for with anything else, but maybe that was the point of a beloved local hangout. A few elderly customers were dawdling over their meals and looking at their smartphones.

  Pine and Puller sat facing each other in one of the booths, both cradling cups of coffee.

  Next to Puller was a man in his early thirties, and who had been introduced to her as CID Special Agent Ed McElroy. He was working on Puller’s team in the Vincenzo case and had been there to help take the man into custody.

  “So you two go way back, I guess,” said McElroy.

  Puller nodded and glanced at Pine. “You want to tell him?”

  Pine took a sip of her coffee. “Puller wasn’t a chief warrant officer yet. And I’d only been with the Bureau about four years. I was still on the east coast back then. I’m assigned out near the Grand Canyon now. Anyway, I was appointed to serve on a joint task force with the Army. A businessman the Bureau was investigating for bribing public officials managed to get his hooks into a couple of senior Army officers.”

  Puller took up the story when Pine paused and glanced at him.

  He said, “The ‘former’ generals were court-martialed and spent some time reflecting on their sins in the custody of the military branch they once served.” He paused and shot Pine a look. “It got dicey a couple of times.”

  “How so?” asked McElroy.

  Pine said, “Well, turns out the businessman had ties to a group of mercenaries from overseas. Really bad dudes with no problem killing anybody they were paid to. How many times did they try to kill us, Puller?”

  “Three. Four if you count the car bomb that we found before it went off.”

  “Damn,” said McElroy. “And what happened to this ‘businessman’?”

  Puller said, “He’s having a wonderful time in a federal lockup and will be for pretty much the rest of his life.”

  Pine glanced at Puller. “I’m really sorry for blowing your bust.”

  “You had no way of knowing. Just bad luck all around.”

  “So, you were chasing Vincenzo for crimes committed at Fort Dix?”

  “Among other things,” replied Puller, setting his coffee cup down. “Ed and I have been on this sucker for about a month and Tony Vincenzo is right in the middle of it.”

  “How long have you been in the Army?” she asked McElroy.

  “Going on fifteen years, the last five with CID. Been working with Chief Puller for about nine months now.”

  “You have a family?”

  “Back in Detroit. Wife and two kids. She’s used to deployments but they were hard. This job is a little more flexible.”

  Pine turned to Puller. “So you were about to bring the hammer down on Tony? How come?”

  “He’s part of a drug ring operating out of Fort Dix. He works in the motor pool. A good mechanic by all accounts, but apparently his pay wasn’t enough to support his lifestyle. He got hooked up with some really bad guys on the outside.”

  “He’s not military then?”

  “No. But he was committing crimes on a military installation, which is why I’m involved. Dix is technically under the jurisdiction of the Air Force Air Mobility Command. Base operations are performed by the Eighty-Seventh Air Base Wing, and it provides management as well.”

  “But if the Air Force oversees it, where do you come in?” asked Pine.

  “It’s a joint base installation, so there are Army and Navy elements there as well. Each branch retains complete control of their commands there. Vincenzo was employed by the Army, so the problem fell to me. He also recruited some stupid Army grunts as part of his plot, so that falls to me, too. The Air Force is in the background only. Army carries the load on this one.”

  “Boy, and I thought the Bureau’s structure was unwieldy.” “The Army out-complicates everybody,” noted Puller matter-of-factly. “And is very proud of that.”

  “Was he selling into the military, then, from these outside sources?”

  Puller nodded. “We believe so at least. And the readiness of our military isn’t helped by soldiers who happen to be druggies or who can be blackmailed by enemies of this country into doing stuff they should never do.”

  “I can see that.”

  “And why did you want to see Vincenzo? You working a case involving him? We might want to team up then.”

  “No.” She glanced at McElroy for a moment. “It’s personal, John. It . . . it has to do with my sister.”

  “Vincenzo did something to your sister?” said Puller.

  “No. This goes way back to his grandfather.”

  It was a long story, but Pine managed it in a string of succinct sentences chock-full of information, including what she had recently discovered in Georgia about Ito Vincenzo having taken her sister. She didn’t want to burden Puller with her problems, but she had great respect for him as both a person and an investigator. And it just felt good to get it off her chest.

  “Damn,” said Puller when she’d finished.

  “Roger that,” said McElroy. “Really sorry that all happened to your family, ma’am. That’s just awful. Nobody should have to go through that.”

  “Thanks.”

  Puller said, “Well, Tony Vincenzo’s old man is a bad egg, too. He’s in federal prison at Fort Dix.”

  “Yeah, I knew that. But all I wanted to ask Tony was where his grandfather Ito was. If he’s even still alive. Since the house is in Teddy’s name, he may not be.”

  “New Jersey has an online database for death records,” said Puller.

  “I checked there—nothing. But he might have died in another state, and not all of them have online databases you can search.”

  “I see your dilemma. But surely Tony or Teddy will know if he’s alive or not.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping.”

  “Sounds like your mother had quite the unique experience working undercover like that and bringing down the mob. And you have no idea where she is now?”

  Pine shook her head. “If she’s still alive, she’s beyond even the Bureau’s ability to find her, because I’ve tried.” She glanced at Puller. “Look, I blew your collar. What can I do to make this good?”

  “I’m not sure. We were going to make the arrest because we needed to lean on Vincenzo to get him to rat further up the chain. He’s small fry. CID wants the big boys, and none of the grunts we busted are really privy to their identities. I was deploying a team around the property when you walked into the circle. Ed was heading up the rear flank, but they weren’t in position yet. That’s how he was able to escape out the back.”

  “Can I bring any Bureau assets to bear on this?”

  He shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but we’re well stocked with manpower and resources. And we’ll find him. He doesn’t have many places to hide.”

  “Will you let me know when you do?”

  “I’ll definitely do what I can.”

  “I appreciate whatever you can do.”

  “We better get going. Got paperwork to file on this.” Puller rose and so did McElroy. />
  “A lot more paperwork, because of me,” said Pine.

  “If I had a buck for every wrong move I made, intentionally or not? So, kick it out of your head. Just one of those things.”

  After they left, Pine stared down at her unfinished meal and muttered, “Shit.”

  CHAPTER

  4

  YOU HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING,” said Carol Blum.

  Pine had returned to her room at the hotel where she was staying with her assistant, Carol Blum, who was in her sixties and had been in admin at the Bureau for nearly four decades. A mother of six grown children, Blum was rarely surprised or intimidated. She was traveling with Pine to help her on this case. Normally, Pine and Blum worked out of a single-agent office in Shattered Rock, Arizona. Known in Bureau parlance as an “RA,” or resident agency, as opposed to the far larger FBI field offices that were located in metro areas.

  “I know, but I still feel bad. Puller is a good guy. Knowing him, he’d planned this down to the last detail, only he had no way of realizing I’d walk right into the middle of it and blow the whole thing.”

  “But Tony Vincenzo was there? He definitely was the one running away?”

  “Yes. John thinks he can track Vincenzo down pretty quickly, but I’m not so sure.”

  “Is there any other way to get to Ito’s whereabouts, other than his grandson?”

  “Tony was Plan A. But Plan B is I can talk to Ito’s son, Teddy. He’s in the prison at Fort Dix right here in Trenton.”

  “Is Fort Dix a military prison?”

  “No. It’s just on the military installation’s land. It’s run by the federal Bureau of Prisons. Minimum to medium security, though they’ve got some crime bosses doing time there, along with politicians and businessmen gone bad.”

  “Okay. By the way, have you heard from Jack Lineberry?”

  “He was supposed to leave the hospital yesterday. He can afford the best home care around.”

  “Yes, I’m sure. But I was talking about—”

  “I know, Carol,” Pine said sharply. In a calmer tone she added, “I haven’t come to grips with it, if you want to know the truth. I thought he might be able to help me find my mother, but right now he needs to concentrate on healing.”

  “Understood.”

  “But I will check in and keep him in the loop. And he might have some information for me that could help.”

  Pine pulled out her phone. “I was going to try to schedule a meeting with Teddy Vincenzo. But an idea just occurred to me.”

  “What?”

  “I’m going to have Puller make the request to the prison. He may very well want to talk to Teddy Vincenzo, too, about Tony. Teddy might have some clue about where his son has gone to ground. And while it’s a federal prison, it is located on a military installation, so Puller can help cut through the red tape. We can get in faster that way.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” said Blum.

  Pine made the call and Puller answered on the second ring. She told him what she wanted, and he said he would make it happen, with one condition.

  “I want to go with you when you talk to Teddy.”

  “I was going to insist that you do,” said Pine.

  “I’ll try for zero nine hundred tomorrow, okay?”

  “Works for me. I’ll meet you there.”

  “See you then.” Pine clicked off and looked at Blum.

  Blum said, “Well, this might be a silver lining. I imagine Teddy might know more about his father than Tony would about his grandfather.”

  “I was thinking the same thing. Now the only question is, will he talk?”

  “With prisoners, it’s always about the quid pro quo.”

  “I know, Carol. But we’ll come up with something to dangle in front of him.”

  “So what now? We wait until you meet with him?”

  “No. I have another plan.”

  “What’s that?”

  “After Tony got away we searched for other people in the house, but I didn’t really search the house. I think I need to correct that oversight.”

  “Do you have a warrant?”

  “No, but Puller did. I can piggyback off that.”

  “He won’t have a problem with that?” asked Blum, looking skeptical.

  “I don’t see why he would. We’re on the same side.”

  “Well, he’s looking to nail Vincenzo for a crime and use him to get bigger fish. You’re looking to find out about Ito and solve what happened to your sister.”

  “And you think they’re mutually exclusive?”

  “Not necessarily. But I’m not sure they’re wholly compatible, either.”

  “Well, I’m willing to risk it.”

  “That’s what I thought you’d say.”

  “And you disapprove?”

  “If I did, I would have said so. But just keep what I said in mind, that’s all.”

  “I keep everything you say in mind, Carol.”

  CHAPTER

  5

  YOU DIDN’T GET HIM, DID YOU?”

  Pine looked over at the front porch of the house next to the Vincenzos’, where the old woman was still in the rocking chair, though her yarn and needles were nowhere in sight. It had grown chillier and she had on a heavier coat. Pine saw the orange glow of a rusted standup outdoor heater next to her.

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “He’s fast. But I thought you might have a shot. You’ve got long legs.”

  “Not long enough, apparently. Hopefully, I’ll get another chance. You stay outside all day? It’s pretty raw.”

  “There’s nothing in the house to keep me occupied. I like to know what’s going on around me. People passing by, punks running from the cops. Speaking of which, they’re inside the house.”

  “Military cops, yeah, I know. I saw their cars parked out front. You have any idea where Tony might’ve gone?”

  “They already asked me. I’ll tell you what I told them: no. I don’t make conversation with that man if I can help it. I know what he is, and he knows I know. Anybody pisses on flowers, well . . .”

  “Okay. Anything else you can tell me that might be helpful?”

  “I have to live here, you know.”

  “I know, Ms. . . . ?”

  The woman shook her head. “Sure you can find out if you want to but . . .”

  “I’m going to leave my card in your mailbox. You think of anything and you want to tell me confidentially?”

  The woman looked away, made the sign of the cross, mumbled what sounded like a prayer, pulled out a book from her coat, and started to read it in the fading light. Pine saw that it was a small Bible.

  Pine watched her for a few more seconds and then knocked on the front door.

  Her creds and mentioning John Puller’s name got her inside, where she spoke with a CID agent named Bill Crocker, a buzz-cut young man with a trim, runner’s build and a serious expression. She explained her interest and he said, “We’ve looked where we needed to look and bagged what we needed to bag. Chief Puller wants us to stay here until he says otherwise, and he told us about you. So look around. But if you find something we missed . . . ?”

  “You’ll be the first to know, I promise.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She started on the top floor and worked her way down. The place was a mess. There was a hole in one wall of a bedroom that allowed one to see outside. The faucets were all rusted, the sinks stained, and the carpet and padding was so threadbare she could see the subfloor in numerous places. Tony’s bed was a sleeping bag laid out in one room. His clothes were not hung in the closet; they were rolled into a massive ball on the floor. Empty fast-food containers littered the floor. A flat-screen TV hung on one wall. An Xbox controller lay under it.

  Well, at least he has his priorities right.

  The kitchen had far more ants and roaches than pots and dishes. And the few that were in the sink had food crusted on them so deeply that she wasn’t sure in which year they had been placed there. It
was so filthy here, the very air seemed permeated with grime, germs, and a burgeoning plague.

  She finally arrived in the basement. The dust patterns in the floor told her that CID had taken several large items from down here. The walls were paneled in cheap plywood, and someone had attempted to paint them the ugliest brown she had ever seen. The carpet was ripped and ratty and pulled up in several places to reveal the concrete slab just below. The air was musty enough down here to make Pine’s nose wrinkle and lungs twitch.

  She leaned against a wall and peered around the space. She would bet that the white residue on the carpet was coke dust or shavings from a pill mill machine. And the dust patterns were probably the outline of the base of said pill machine. Vincenzo obviously did his criminal manufacturing work down here where prying eyes could not reach. Normally she would be interested in that, but nothing about her current situation qualified as normal. Yet what she might be interested in was possibly staring her right in the face.

  The wall of old framed pictures. They were all hanging off-kilter, and Vincenzo had apparently never bothered to set them right. She doubted he ever looked at them while he was down here doing his drug alchemy. It was probably just his family, after all.

  She strode over there and flicked on the overhead light right above this section of the space. The fluorescent tubes popped, flickered, and then came to life, turning murky to milky. She started from the top left with an eye to working her way to the bottom right.

  Halfway through Pine stopped and stared at the image of a younger Ito Vincenzo, the man she believed had taken her sister, Mercy. And then he had tried to blame all of that on her poor father. She thought his features, surprisingly enough, were kind. She knew him to be anything but, at least when it had come to herself and Mercy.

  Her gaze continued to travel along the rows of pictures. She spent a little time with Bruno Vincenzo, Ito’s mobster older brother, whom she recognized from another photo of the man she had seen in a newspaper. He had been coming out of a federal courthouse and trying to shield his face with a paperback book. Pine believed that Bruno was the reason Ito had done what he had. It was retribution against her mother for having helped send Bruno to prison, where he had ended up getting a shiv in his carotid for turning snitch on his fellow mobsters.