“I’m surprised that Lineberry didn’t tell you that we had met. I got your address from him. But he didn’t provide a phone number or email.”
“Well, he couldn’t because we have neither.”
“You have neither?” said Pine slowly.
“Myron won’t have them. He says it’s too dangerous. Too many ways for people to use that against us. You know, to spy on us.”
“Another little idiosyncrasy of his?” asked Pine.
Britta smiled into her coffee. “Yes. It’s quite a tally.”
Pine took a sip from her cup and sat forward, planting her elbows on the table. “For a number of reasons, I’ve decided that now is the time to try to make some headway on what happened to my sister.”
“Okay,” said Britta, all attention now.
“I have long believed that a man came through our window that night and took Mercy.”
“A man through a window? I didn’t know that.”
“Apparently, the police didn’t believe me. I had a head injury, too.”
“That nearly killed you,” Britta said indignantly. “You poor thing. You were in the hospital for a long while. Julia was frantic the whole time.”
“She’d already lost one daughter, she didn’t want to lose her other one,” said Pine as she watched Britta for her reaction.
“Yes, I think that was part of it.”
“Only now, I’m not so sure the man came through the window.”
Britta gaped. “I…I don’t understand.”
“I think he might have come through our bedroom door, which obviously means he first came through the house.”
Britta said, “But your parents? Wouldn’t they have—”
“My parents were…incapacitated at the time. I thought you knew that.”
“It’s been a long time, Lee. My memory is good, but it’s not that good.”
“Of course. I’m sorry.”
“But still, even with your parents…incapacitated, if a stranger passed right by them?”
“What if it wasn’t a stranger?”
“But surely.” Britta stopped and stared at her. “Is that why you’re here? Do you believe that one of your parents’ friends…?”
“I’m an FBI agent, what I believe doesn’t matter. It’s what the facts will show. I have to consider every angle, and one angle I have never considered before was whether the person who took Mercy, and nearly killed me, knew our family.”
“Well, I hope you’re not accusing us. I mean—”
“No, Britta, not at all. You were obviously friends with my parents, with no motive to do something like that. Please understand, I’m just feeling my way.”
This seemed to mollify the woman. She nodded and her features softened. “Of course, I can only imagine what you’re going through, Lee. How can I help you?”
“Just tell me anything you can remember from back then.”
Britta took a sip of her coffee. “Andersonville was a small town all those years ago, and it’s still a small town. Everybody knew everyone else.”
“And that fact could make my job easier, or harder.”
“Many people have moved away over the last thirty years. Or died.”
“That’s the harder part,” noted Pine.
Britta pursed her lips and shook her head stubbornly. “I can’t believe that anyone here, especially someone who knew your mom and dad, would have done such a terrible thing. I mean, what would have been the motive?”
“Some people don’t need a motive.”
Blum interjected, “Agent Pine is referring to serial killers, Mrs. Pringle. Their motive is they are obsessed with doing what they do. They can’t stop themselves.”
“So that’s who you think it was, a serial killer?”
“It’s possible.”
“But we never had anything like that happen around here back then.”
“It could have been the beginning of someone’s career. Or the end of it.”
“Well, I just don’t see it,” Britta persisted. “Why would a serial killer come here?”
“Unfortunately, it happens,” Pine said, “What do you remember about that time? Anything you can recall.”
Britta said nervously, “I remember your mother calling me, panicked. We had a phone back then and lived the closest to your house. She was out of her mind with fear. Your sister was gone. Your father was out with the police looking for Mercy. You had been badly injured and had been taken to the hospital. Your mom rode over with you and then rushed back home to get some other things you needed. Then we drove back over to the hospital together. Your mother never left the place until you did, I don’t know if you know that. Your father came and went but Julia never left your side.”
“I didn’t know that until I got back here. Agnes Ridley told me that.”
“God, names from the past. I haven’t seen or heard from Agnes since we moved away.”