Mercy

Chapter 44

Ten minutes later Pine and Blum were sitting next to a woman in uniform in a small office near the hotel’s business center. The woman was hitting keys on her computer, and footage was coming up on the screen.

“Okay, here we go.” She manipulated the footage to speed it up to whenever someone appeared in the parking lot. They saw people come and go in their cars.

Then Pine said, “Hold it right there. There!”

The woman froze the footage, and Pine and Blum stared at a very tall person in a hoodie getting out of a car. The film quality was poor, black-and-white and grainy.

“It’s hard to make out much,” said Blum. “Including whether it’s a man or a woman.”

“Can’t see the face at all,” Pine added in a disappointed tone. “Only the profile. Can you let it go frame by frame?” she asked the woman.

The security officer nodded and hit some keys. They watched as the person walked slowly away from the car and toward the hotel, with a duffel in hand.

“Still can’t make them out, and I couldn’t see the license plate, either,” said Pine. “Can you go back and enhance it?”

“Sorry, that’s the best I can do,” the woman said. “But the car’s make and model are clear. It’s a Honda Civic. Looks to be really, really old.”

“Yes it does,” said Blum.

Pine said, “Thank you for doing this.”

“No problem. Hope you find the person.”

Pine and Blum walked out and headed toward the elevator.

“I can’t believe this. She was right there and now she’s gone.”

Blum said, “Why do you think Mercy is involved in all this now?”

“She must have seen the FBI’s PSA. And that’s a problem.”

“Why?” asked Blum.

“The way the Bureau worded it, she might think they’re after her for Joe Atkins’s murder. Shit, I should have asked Wanda if Mercy was worried about that. But I can phone and ask her when I get back to my room. Since she called my cell I have her number in my phone list.”

Blum said, “Can you get the Bureau to change the message? We know she didn’t kill Atkins, not after Desiree confessed.”

“I tried to do that before, but they wouldn’t relent. You know they try to walk a fine line at all times. I can try again after what we learned from Desiree, but I’m not going to hold my breath.” She suddenly brightened. “When McAllister gets here tomorrow I can ask him about it. He might be able to persuade the higher-ups to go for that.”

“In the meantime you can put out an APB for a Honda Civic.”

Pine said, “I can and will, but would you like to take a guess how many of them there are? And we couldn’t even tell the color.”

“Well, you can put out a description of Mercy. She does stand out. And now we have an updated description of her.”

“Yeah, I can do that, too.”

“You don’t sound hopeful.”

“Oh, I am hopeful, Carol. And for one very good reason.”

Blum nodded. “Now you know that your sister is alive.”

Pine broke into a relieved grin. “It’s weird.”

“What is?”

“I’ve never been this happy and miserable at the same time. And who knows, we’ve already had one miracle. Maybe we’ll have another one and Mercy will show back up at the hotel.”

“My fingers are crossed.”

Blum went to her room, but Pine decided to check on Mercy’s room again. She figured she might have missed something. She had been too distracted to perform a thorough search.

She took a few minutes to look around and then picked up the discarded towel and washcloth and sat on the side of the tub holding them.

Would she ever again be this close to her sister? Would Mercy disappear again for another thirty years?

She had been euphoric for about two minutes. Now she had never felt this depressed. She dropped the towel and washcloth on the floor. “I’m sorry, Mercy. I was so stupid. I should have known that was you. I should have.”

She rose and left. She turned to pull the door closed behind her.

That’s when she felt a gun muzzle pressed against her spine and a voice said, “Come with us very quietly. Or you’re dead right here. And if you make one move or try to get away we will kill anyone we run into. If you don’t believe me, just try it.”

Pine looked back into the man’s hard, cruel features.

And believed him.