David Baldacci - Daylight

“Her life was already in danger,” noted Lineberry.

“In more danger, then.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Atlee. I wasn’t in those discussions, if they did occur.”

“It seems clear that was why Ito did what he did. To avenge Bruno.”

“Look, don’t assume that Bruno was telling the truth in that letter. It could have just been sour grapes on his part. And he deserved what he got. Like I said, the number of people he killed while he was in the mob? And how he killed them? It was nauseating. The bastard!”

“Okay, Jack, just calm down. The last thing you need is to get all worked up.”

She could hear him take several deep, calming breaths. “I’m sorry, I don’t usually let it get to me like that. I’m good now. Continue on with your questions.”

“You’re sure?” she asked.

“Yes. Quite sure.”

“Okay, moving on, you said that, at least initially, my family was in witness protection?”

Lineberry said, “That’s correct. After your mother served as an inside source for law enforcement, her identity was leaked, and threats were made. The decision was made to put all of you into witness protection.”

“How was her identity leaked?” asked Pine.

He didn’t answer right away. “That is something we never determined, although we did an exhaustive investigation.”

“Did you make the assumption that her identity had been leaked because of the threats?”

Lineberry coughed and said, “Exactly. That was the surest proof of all.”

“What was the nature of the threats?”

There was a long moment of silence.

She said cautiously, “We can do this another time, when you feel better.”

“No, let’s just push on.” He cleared his throat. “The first threat came in the form of a letter that was mailed to the apartment in New York where you were living at the time. The location of that apartment was a secret, but nonetheless there it was. It was a clear death threat. The decision was made to move all of you into witness protection.”

“Why send a letter and essentially warn us, instead of coming there and trying to kill my mom?”

“I could never figure that out. It might have been done to intimidate, which it did. And also cause us to move you, which we did. We never determined why that was advantageous for whoever sent the letter.”

“So they knew of her identity even though she never testified in court?” she asked.

“Your mother ‘testified’ to federal authorities in quite a few lengthy interviews, which in turn led to other witnesses who did testify in exchange for plea deals. She also provided recordings she took secretly while in the presence of numerous mob bosses. Those recordings were validated by other sources and entered into evidence. It was all legal and aboveboard, but we took great pains to keep her identity secret. She was our best shot at taking the families down. We had to keep her safe. And in the end, many of the mob just took deals because the evidence was overwhelming. Most of the older members we arrested ended up dying in prison. As far as I know, the younger ones are still in prison, right where they belong.”

“Okay, tell me about the first witness protection experience.”

“You were relocated to Hudson, Ohio. It’s a suburb of Akron. It was far removed from New York City. We thought you all would be safe there.”

“But we weren’t.”

Lineberry said, “No. One night, about two months after you arrived, there was a home invasion. Two men with guns.”

“What happened?”

“You had a dog back then, a lab named Molly.”

“I don’t remember a dog,” she said.

“Well, you were very young, Atlee. Anyway, the dog barked and woke up your parents. Your father kept a shotgun. He fired at the intruders and managed to scare them off. The decision was made to move you the very next day to a temporary safe house pending the readiness of a more permanent location.”

“And where did that turn out to be?”

“Colorado. It was rural and any strangers in town would be instantly noticed. We really thought it would work.”

“But it obviously didn’t. What happened?” she asked.

“This time it wasn’t a home invasion. It was an attempted car-jacking. They ran you off the road. It was only by the grace of God that two state troopers were coming the other way. They intervened and saved you and your family. One of the carjackers managed to get away. The other was killed after a shootout with the troopers.”

“Did they manage to ID him?”

Lineberry said, “They did. He was Giovanni Colletti, part of a Colorado-based crime family. We obviously couldn’t interrogate him, but we did subsequently learn that a contract had been put out on your family by one of the Mafia families that had been destroyed by your mother’s work.”

“Okay, the big question becomes: How did they keep finding out where we were? There had to be a leak, Jack. And it kept leaking.”

“A fact we were well aware of. But we took every precaution, dug through the background of everyone who knew about your relocations. We could find nothing, no common denominator that would lead us to the mole. We constantly changed personnel, so that the inner circle was different, so that those who knew the most were limited. It was the most puzzling and infuriating phase of my career. After Colorado, the decision was made to take you out of witness protection and move you to Andersonville, Georgia. I was assigned there to personally look over you and keep you safe.” He paused to clear his throat once more. “I clearly failed at that.” A single cough followed this last comment, and then turned into a series of wracking ones.

“Jack, are you all right?”

As the spasm subsided, he said, “I’m fine. Just . . . tired.”

“Look, you clearly need to rest, but can I ask you a favor?”

His tone instantly became alert. “Certainly. Anything.”

“Can you provide me with information about who was in the loop with my family’s experience back then? I mean, anyone you can remember, no matter how attenuated their connection was?”

“Atlee, a lot of them are long since retired or even dead.”

“I still would like to go over them.”

“I don’t see the purpose.”

“Then I’ll tell you. Ito Vincenzo came to Georgia. He tried to kill me, and he took my sister. Whoever leaked our locations in Ohio and Colorado did the same in Georgia. That person must have communicated either with Bruno or Ito or someone close to them. If I can find that person, they may lead me to Ito.”

Silence followed for a few moments.

Lineberry said, “I’ll see what I can do. But I’ve been long since removed from that world. My contacts are largely no longer viable.”

“If you run into obstacles, call me and I’ll see what I can do to help,” she said. “I told you back in Georgia that we had to try to do this together. And I haven’t changed my mind.”

“And sometimes dredging up the past can be more devastating than people realize.”

“I need to know the truth. And I need to find my sister, and your daughter, Jack! Ito is really the only connection I have right now.”

“He may not even be alive,” said Lineberry.

“No one has seen him since 2001, apparently. But that’s not proof that he’s dead. Until I know that for sure, I have to keep looking for him.”

“It’s quite ominous that Teddy Vincenzo was murdered right after speaking to you. You don’t think . . . ” Lineberry’s voice trailed off.

“No. I don’t think it’s connected to my case. I think Tony Vincenzo was into something far more serious than simply drug dealing. And I think he told his father. And his father paid the price.”