“We’ve got a pretty interesting case going on out here,” Red said. “Think you could fly in and help us out? We could use you on this one, Rach.”
Rachel smiled at the sound of his voice and leaned back in her chair. She remembered first meeting Red when he was a detective with the Miami police department. He’d been assigned to Mallory’s case and worked tirelessly to find her. During that time, Rachel had become close to him and treated him like a second father. When Red had told her he was getting ready to retire from the force and go into practice as a private investigator, Rachel had offered him a position at Florida Omni Search and he’d taken her up on the offer. This turned out to be a win-win arrangement for both parties. Rachel gave Red free office space in exchange for his expertise on some of her bigger cases. Lately, he had been working more of her missing-persons cases than his own jobs, but he never
complained. Rachel benefited from the situation because it meant she got to work with a pro every day, one who also brought plenty of smarts to her daughter’s ongoing case. That Red still had ties to the police department and was able to use them to help with Rachel’s other cases was just the icing on the cake.
“This is the missing family you told me about?” Rachel asked, juggling her cell phone and a manila file folder. As much as she tried to absorb the details of other ongoing cases, they remained vague in her mind; that was always the case when she was focused on chasing down leads about Mallory.
“Yeah. We got an interesting twist in the case, though. Saturday night, we got a call on our tip line. The husband was found at a truck stop in Baton Rouge.”
Janine hadn’t mentioned anything to Rachel about that this morning when Rachel had come in. Janine managed the office, including all the staff and the volunteers who ran their toll-free hotline. They got lots of calls because the number was publicized by the media so anonymous tips could be reported about missing people.
“Just the husband?”
“The wife and kids are still missing,” Red confirmed.
Rachel put down the file she’d been staring at for the last hour and rubbed her eyes. “Okay. Bring me up to speed.”
“Our crew had put up flyers in the usual truck stops and convenience stores within a three-hundred-mile radius of New Orleans. We got a call last night from someone who spotted one of our flyers at a truck stop in Jackson, Mississippi. The trucker, ah, his name is…”
Rachel could hear paper rustling on the other end.
“Keith Brunswick. He told us he bought Matt O’Malley dinner two nights ago in Baton Rouge. I guess Matt approached him in the truck stop parking lot and asked him for money. Keith, who seems like a friendly, honest type, invited Matt inside to eat dinner. Keith said Matt didn’t seem homeless, but that something about him was a little off.”
“What was off?”
“Matt looked…‘down on his luck’ is how he put it. Described him as dressed in a wrinkled T-shirt and track pants. Other than that, he was clean, but didn’t talk much.”
Rachel grabbed her pen and started taking notes. “Did he tell Keith where his wife and kids were?”
“He didn’t mention a wife or kids to Keith.”
“Where is Matt now?”
“Still in Baton Rouge. The police found him sleeping behind a Dumpster near the truck stop.”
“Have you talked to him?” Rachel asked.
“Not yet. The police are questioning him. From what I’ve gathered, Matt’s not saying much and his brother Chris has retained an attorney.”
“Chris is the one who asked for our assistance in finding Matt and his family?”
“Yep.”
“What’s your gut telling you?”
“I’m at a loss on this, Rach. He has an obvious head injury and may have suffered a concussion. He’s telling the cops he doesn’t remember what happened to him. Amnesia maybe?”
Rachel tapped her pen on the pad of paper in front of her. “How long are they going to hold him?”
“Don’t know. I’m going to talk to Chris later today. We can meet with them when you get here.” Red hesitated for a minute. “What’s going on there?”
Rachel lowered her voice. “Janine is in the office today. It’s very awkward, Red. I know she feels bad about the whole situation with her ex-husband, that Scotty might be implicated in Mallory’s kidnapping. She’s offered to take a leave of absence until this whole thing blows over.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her that wasn’t necessary. She has no reason to feel that way. Scotty is the bad guy here.”
“Anything solid on Scotty or the Amsels yet?” Red asked.
“No,” Rachel answered. “I’ve looked through the file you gave me on Scotty a hundred times. It’s on my desk now. All his cell phone records, employment history, witness statements. I can’t find anything that links him to Mallory other than the brief employment at Rick’s dealership prior to Mallory’s birth. I’m still waiting on your contact at the police department to find out something about the Amsel couple.”
“I’m sorry I can’t be there to help,” said Red, seeming to sense her frustration. “Just give Janine some breathing room. Something will shake loose. It always does.”
“I have a meeting with one of Scotty’s former drinking buddies.” Rachel checked the name in her file. “Dalton Bedford. We are supposed to meet at the Fish Shack in the next hour. I’ll see if I can catch a flight to Baton Rouge after that. I don’t think there’s much left I can do here.”
“It’ll probably do you some good to get out of the office for a bit. Call me back and let me know how the meeting goes and when you’ll be here. I’ll pick you up at the airport.”
“Sounds good.” Rachel disconnected, and picked up the file on her desk. Lately she felt like she was running in circles. She needed a break, and going to help Red on this case would get her mind off Scotty for a bit. Then she would come back to Miami and look at everything again with fresh eyes. There was something she was missing. She was sure of it.
Janine popped her head in the doorway. She was a few years older than Rachel, in her late forties. Janine wore her long dark hair in a braid and favored the hippie look, frequently wearing Birkenstocks with her jeans and peasant blouses. “Want to go out for a bite to eat?”
“Sorry, I can’t today.” Rachel saw the hurt on Janine’s face. “That was Red on the phone and he needs me in Baton Rouge. Can you take Maggie for a few days?”
Maggie was Rachel’s black Lab, who Rachel usually left with Janine and Jack while she traveled. This, unfortunately, was quite frequent lately.
“Sure. I’ll go by your house this afternoon and pick her up.” Janine hesitated outside Rachel’s office. “Are we okay, Rach?”
Rachel got up from her desk and walked over to Janine. “Of course. Things have been a little crazy for both of us.” She gave her friend a hug.
“I feel terrible about all this.” Janine started crying.
Rachel knew that the FBI had been questioning Janine about Scotty and that it was starting to wear her down. That was something else that Rachel and Janine had in common. They were both divorced, yet still involved with their ex-husbands because of their children. You hope that once you divorce someone, Rachel thought, that’s the end of the relationship. Sometimes, it’s only the beginning.
R
ed picked Rachel up from the airport in Baton Rouge, and they headed toward Louisiana State University. Rachel didn’t follow college football but nodded as Red talked about the LSU Tigers, who were currently in first place in the SEC.
“I’ll take your word for it,” she said. “But that’s enough about sports. Where should we eat?” Rachel had gotten lucky and was able to hop on the last flight out of Miami to Baton Rouge. She always kept a bag packed for times like this when she needed to get out of town fast. With Janine taking care of Maggie, she’d been free to leave right after the meeting with Scotty’s drinking buddy. The guy hadn’t given her any good information. It had seemed like just another dead end.
Red pulled into the parking lot of The Chimes, a popular restaurant located just off the LSU campus, which was crowded with a mix of students and young professionals enjoying drink specials and dinner. They grabbed a booth away from the bar area and the noise of the crowd. The waitress brought over some water and suggested they try the blackened alligator bites for an appetizer. They took her suggestion on the alligator, and both ordered a beer.
“How was the flight?” Red asked.
“Good, but I’m famished. Peanuts and a Coke is the only thing I’ve had since lunch. Even the alligator sounds appetizing.”
“I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I’ve eaten here twice and the alligator is always good.”
Rachel took a quick look around the place. “The alligator isn’t the only reason you’ve eaten here.” Her eyes set on a group of college girls laughing loudly in the corner. “I think the scenery may have something to do with it.”
Red followed her gaze and laughed. “I ain’t dead yet!”
“Speaking of, are you watching your diet?” Rachel had been concerned for him since his heart attack a couple of months ago. Red was a like a father figure to her and even resembled Rachel’s own father a bit. Red was short, beefy, and bald, had been divorced three times, had no kids, and was an avid collector of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. And just like her, he never gave up looking for Mallory. Because of that, Red had a special place in her heart.
“Yes, ma’am,” Red answered. “Cross my heart.”
The waitress brought over the plate of steaming alligator bites. Rachel plucked one off the plate and ate it. “Hmmm, that is good.” She washed it down with a swig of her Abita Purple Haze beer. “So bring me up to speed on Matt O’Malley.”
“The police questioned Matt with his attorney present, but Matt claims he doesn’t remember anything. Matt was released into the custody of his brother and attorney. They took him straight to the hospital. Chris is supposed to call me after Matt is examined. He’s pretty pissed that the cops didn’t take his brother straight to the ER when they found him behind the Dumpster. He had a pretty big knot on his head.”
“Has he lost
all
his memory?”
“Matt claims he doesn’t have any knowledge of what happened to his wife or kids. He told Chris and the police that he doesn’t remember anything that happened the last few months prior to the incident. He doesn’t know how he got to Baton
Rouge. Matt said he woke up behind the Dumpster three nights ago with a bad headache. That was the night he befriended Keith, the trucker.”
Rachel drained the rest of her beer. “Okay. So he was declared missing on Wednesday in New Orleans. On Thursday, he woke up behind a Dumpster at a truck stop in Baton Rouge. Ate dinner with a trucker and borrowed money from him. I’m assuming he didn’t have a wallet or cell phone on him?”
“Right,” Red answered. “He was confused and disoriented when the police got to him.”
“It wasn’t until Friday that Keith called us and the police. So where was Matt until that time? Where did Matt spend Thursday night, and why didn’t he call his brother?”
Red shrugged. “The police asked the same question. They think he was just sleeping or unconscious most of the time. But who knows. The only thing we know for sure is that Matt is having trouble with his memory.”
“Sounds like he has some form of amnesia.”
“That’s my guess. His brother took him to the emergency room at Our Lady of the Lake to get evaluated.”
“Retrograde amnesia. I remember that from my psychology classes at FSU. It usually results from head trauma.”
“Well, he does have a big ole goose egg on the back side of his head. Spots of dried blood on the back of his shirt and pants. The police took his clothes and shoes for evidence. They told his brother and lawyer to make sure Matt made no travel plans. All three of them are staying at the same hotel we are.”
The waitress came by and took their dinner order.
“I saw you eyeing the shrimp and grits at the next table,” said Red. “Why didn’t you get that instead of a salad?”
Rachel patted her stomach. “I can’t afford the calories.”
Red grunted and ran his hand over his shiny bald head. “You’ve lost weight since you’ve been in Mexico. You could stand to put on some pounds. You don’t have to order salad because of
me. I don’t mind eating the rabbit food if that’s what keeps the ticker ticking.”
Rachel called the waitress back over and ordered the shrimp and grits. Red was right, she realized. She had lost a good bit of weight. She was five six and normally weighed around 127 pounds. But the last month had taken a toll on her, and none of her clothes fit properly anymore.
“Let’s go back to the beginning so I make sure I’m not missing anything.” Rachel dug into her purse for the small notebook she always kept with her. “Matt and his family were returning from soccer practice when they went missing. Right?” When she didn’t get a response, Rachel looked up from her notebook. Red’s attention was focused elsewhere. She followed his gaze to the hostess stand.
“Red? What is it?”
“I think you’d get a better sense of what happened if you ask him.” Red nodded to the guy waiting in front of the hostess stand. He was tall and dark haired, wearing jeans and a dark green shirt. “That’s Chris O’Malley. Matt’s brother.”
R
ed walked to the front of the restaurant and asked Chris to join them. The tall man trailed Red back to their table.
“Rachel Scott,” Red introduced. “This is Chris O’Malley.” Chris O’Malley extended a strong hand. She shook it, taking in his dark curly hair and intense blue eyes. He was very tall, Rachel guessed around six three, and had a muscular build. There was no doubt that if Matt looked anything like him, they made a handsome pair of brothers.
“Nice to meet you,” she said. “I’m sorry to hear about your brother and his family. Red was just bringing me up to speed on what happened.”
Chris flagged down the waitress to order a beer. “I was just here to pick up some food for us so I can’t stay long.” He looked around the restaurant, drumming his fingers on the table. “Matt and I both graduated from LSU, and this was our favorite spot to hang out. I thought some familiar comfort food would help.”