“It has to be. I mean none of this stuff ever happened before.”
“Have you spoken to your husband?”
“Not since he left. I’m terrified. I have no idea if he’s okay or not.”
“But you’re no longer being guarded? I mean here you are out and about without armed guards.”
“That’s the other strange thing. They just upped and left. They said everything was fine. False alarm.”
“What did you do?”
“I did what any wife would do. I blew a fucking gasket, pardon my language.”
“I would have, too.”
“I was screaming at these guys. ‘Where’s my husband? What’s going on? Why are you involved?’”
“And what did they tell you?”
“Absolutely nothing. They just left. I got on my phone and started calling around to all of Ed’s friends and business associates. But none of them had heard a thing.”
“And his brother?”
“I called him too, but he didn’t answer. I left a bunch of messages. Nothing. The jerk. He has little enough to do with us, really. And now this!”
“But you don’t know for sure that he is involved in all this.”
“Then why hasn’t he called me back?”
“Does he live nearby?”
“In Old Town. Old Town Alexandria. It’s in northern Virginia, just across the river.”
“Have you been to see him?”
“I drove over there the same day the FBI left. I knocked and knocked. No answer.”
“I suppose you don’t have a key? You could have checked to see if he was all right. He might be injured or something.”
In answer Mary rummaged through her purse and took out a key. “I do. Ed had one from a while back. His brother probably forgot all about it. It was when he was out of town for an extended period and he needed Ed to go over and check on things.”
“So, did you go in?”
“I was afraid to. Besides, there’s an alarm system and I don’t know the code, only Ed did. And we never go there.”
“That is a remarkable story. I wish I had some advice to offer, but I truly wasn’t expecting something like that. I was just assuming it was some sort of domestic issue, or something with work or extended family.”
“I know, but it was just a relief to tell someone. I felt like I was going nuts. I really did. And then you showed up like an angel.”
Blum felt a pang of guilt at the woman’s words, but her loyalty was not to this woman. There were bigger issues at stake.
“I’m just glad our paths crossed,” said Blum with all sincerity.
They ordered their food and talked while they ate.
Blum said, “I think you should keep trying to call your husband, but don’t go back over to your brother-in-law’s house. If the FBI is involved, there might be something dangerous going on. You need to think about your own safety and that of your kids. At this point, I think you just do nothing. If your brother-in-law is into something criminal, you don’t want to get in the middle of that.”
“But should I report Ed missing? I mean, he is missing. My God, I can’t even believe I’m saying this. My poor husband.”
Blum looked at her thoughtfully. “Give it a day. Then you can think seriously of doing that. I’m very sorry this has happened to you. You strike me as a good and caring person. And obviously none of this is your doing.”
Priest’s face crinkled up and tears slid from her eyes.
“I know. I mean life is complicated enough without this crap. I’ve got two sons to raise. And Ed provides a great living, but he has to work crazy hours. For most of the time it’s just me and the kids. Until now that was fine. But now, I mean, I have no idea where Ed is.”
They started chatting about their respective families, and after their meal was done Blum said, “Why don’t you go to the bathroom and wash your face? Your makeup’s not running, so there’s no worries there, but your eyes are awfully puffy and red. Here.” She pulled a bottle of Visine from her purse and handed it to Priest. “I’ll watch your things. And I insist on paying for lunch.”
“Oh, no, you really don’t have to do that.”
“It’s the least I can do after all you’ve suffered.”
Later, the two women walked to the education center, where they parted company.
“Thank you so much, Carol.”
“I didn’t really do anything.”
“Yes, you did. You listened, and you believed me. That’s enough.”
The women shook hands and Blum walked back to her car.
Inside, she opened her purse and took out the key to Ben Priest’s home, which she’d slipped from Mary’s purse while she’d been in the restroom.
The price of lunch had been well worth it.
And maybe she and Pine could find Mary Priest’s husband. Preferably alive.
Chapter 29
Two a.m. was a good time to commit a breaking and entering.
Pine thought this as she squatted in Ben Priest’s backyard disabling the electronic pipe to Priest’s home security system and phone line. A few snips, a reroute of a circuit, and she could walk right in and the security system would have no clue about the breach.
This trick of the trade had not been in the official training at the FBI, but Pine had supplemented her skill set with an abundance of self-learning. This particular technique had been taught to Pine by the owner of a home security company. People and organizations with deep pockets could effectively protect against what Pine was doing by hardening the pipe and security measures that powered the alarm system. Most homeowners, even ones like Ben Priest, typically could not, or at least couldn’t do it well enough.
Pine rose, did a 360-degree check, and then hurried up to the back door. She kept to the shadows because she knew that Melanie Renfro suffered from insomnia, and a window in her home looked out over Priest’s rear yard.
She inserted the key Blum had given her in the lock and turned it, and a few moments later she was inside the house and closing the door behind her right as the wind picked up and the first few sprinkles of rain landed on the rear brick stoop.
Pine listened but heard no beeping, showing that her security workaround had been effective. She took out her Maglite and shone it around. The house had a bit of a musty smell to it, not unexpected in a place this old, no matter how well it had been maintained.
The back door opened onto a mudroom with built-in shelves and rain boots standing up in one corner. She moved past this and into the adjacent kitchen.
It was small and not particularly well laid out. As she viewed it under the beam of her light, she could see that the appliances were old, the cabinetry was several decades old, and the flooring looked and felt like linoleum. She opened the fridge. It was empty and not particularly clean.
She checked each of the drawers and cabinets. They were mostly empty. A few plates, a few utensils. Pine got the feeling they were either just for show or had come with the place when Priest purchased it.
The rain was really pouring down now. She could hear it smacking the roof and pelting the windows. Then a gash of lightning illuminated the interior of the house and was followed almost immediately by a loud crack of thunder.
She left the kitchen and entered the small dining room. It was a dining room in name only, since it was unfurnished. The elaborate chair rail and moldings on the walls were dusty, and in desperate need of fresh paint. An old-fashioned chandelier hung from a ceiling medallion shaped like a pineapple.
She’d hoped that Priest would have an office in his home, and that wish was granted when she opened the door to the room opposite the dining room and on the other side of the front foyer.
Inside, she shone her light around to reveal a large, square partner’s desk with a leather chair, a wall of books, a desktop computer, and a small wooden file cabinet. This place definitely looked to have been used.