Chapter 19
Matt was dressed and waiting for Chris to come pick him up by seven thirty the next morning. He’d filled a travel cup with the rest of the coffee, poured in a generous amount of French-vanilla creamer, and unplugged the Keurig machine. He’d called the police department, spoken briefly to Detective Jones, and confirmed that he could pick up his Durango. Just as he was putting some paperwork in his briefcase, he heard Chris honking from the street. He grabbed his things, set the house alarm, and headed out the front door.
“Morning. You ready?” Chris greeted him as Matt slid into the front seat.
“Yup. I just talked to Detective Jones. I can pick up my truck from the impound lot anytime today.”
Chris nodded as they headed down St. Charles Avenue, passing by an empty streetcar. “How was last night?”
“Rough. I can’t get that image of Erin’s…severed arm…out of my head. Her wedding ring on her…pale hand.”
“Sorry, brother. I know this has got to be hard on you.”
Matt choked up, struggling with his words. “I have to find Mary Kate and Patrick…I can’t imagine what they must be going through…if they are…” He couldn’t bear to think that his kids were gone.
Chris put one hand on his brother’s arm. “We’ll find them, brother. You got the best team on your side helping look for them. Keep the faith.”
“I’m trying.” Matt briefly considered telling his brother about the memory he recovered the night before. Something stopped him.
“Maybe going into work will help distract you. We had some new cases come in last night. I thought we would go to the office for your meeting with the feebs, and then we can pick up the files and head to the station. We’ll get your truck on the way back.”
“New bonds?” Matt asked.
“It’s been a busy week. Corrine has been working overtime since you’ve been out. It’ll be nice to have you back at the office for a bit.”
“As long as we’re back by nine. I don’t want to keep Agent Krapek waiting.”
The office of O’Malley Bail Bonds was located at the corner of Tulane and South Broad Streets, just a short walking distance to the jail and police station. The office was housed in an ancient two-story redbrick building that the O’Malleys had owned since the early 1940s. The bail bond office took up the entire first floor. The second floor was leased to a group of family-law attorneys. It made good business sense, and referrals were often exchanged between the two businesses.
Matt walked into the office and was immediately enveloped in a hug by Corrine, the office manager. Corrine was in her late seventies, with a bouffant of white hair that reminded Matt of a soft, pillowy cloud. She had been hired by his grandfather as he neared retirement; Corrine knew the business inside and out. Matt and his brother had tried several times to get her to retire, to no avail. Corrine not only was the office manager but also had taken a maternal role when Matt and Chris’s own mother passed away when they were kids. She was like a grandmother to Mary Kate and Patrick, always baking them sugary treats and buying them loads of presents on their birthdays and at Christmas.
“How are you, cher?” Corrine asked Matt.
“Good.” Matt gave her a quick kiss on her papery cheek.
“You’re looking better. Any memories coming back?”
Matt vaguely remembered her coming to the hospital in Baton Rouge to see him. He trusted her, but he wasn’t ready to let anyone know he had started to recover bits and pieces of his memory. There were still too many questions, and he needed answers first.
“No, nothing,” he said, giving her one more hug before heading to his office. He needed a minute alone to make some calls.
“Let me know when you are ready to head over to the station,” he said to Chris.
“We’ll leave after your meeting,” Chris answered.
In the solitude of his office, Matt sighed. Fooling his brother was going to be the hardest part. Since childhood, they’d always been tight and never kept secrets from each other. At least, he never kept secrets from Chris. He wasn’t sure now if Chris had always told him the truth about everything. Like the trouble he’d seen between Chris and Melinda yesterday at their house, for example. Chris always acted like his marriage was great, but Matt had seen for himself that that definitely wasn’t the case. As he thought back over the events of the night he was injured and his family was kidnapped, he realized that he wasn’t sure if he could trust anyone right now.
One person he could probably rely on was Rachel Scott. Tonight, he would call her so they could discuss the partial memory he had recovered about the night his family went missing. Together maybe they’d be able to come up with something to help find his kids.
A knock on his door brought his attention back to the present. “There is an Agent Cyndy Krapek here to see you,” said Corrine, peeking her head into his office.
“Bring her back,” Matt instructed.
Within a couple of minutes, Krapek and Phipps were sitting in front of his desk. Matt was prepared for their meeting and handed Krapek a spreadsheet of the last three months’ cases the office had handled.
“Chris is on his way to join us. He had a few phone calls to make. This is the list of recent clients we’ve helped. According to him, nothing out of the ordinary. Just routine stuff.”
Krapek casually glanced over the list and then put it aside. “Any more thoughts on the night your wife and kids disappeared?”
Matt met her gaze head on. “If you’re asking if I have remembered anything, the answer is no. And I don’t know who would’ve done this. Like my brother told you, we don’t have any enemies.”
With a friendly smile, Chris breezed into the office. He said hello and situated himself next to Matt, leaning his tall frame against the wall.
“Does the name DeShaun McAllister ring any bells?” Phipps asked.
Matt shook his head no and then looked to Chris, who replied, “Not to me either. Why?”
“His prints were found on the exterior of your vehicle,” Phipps answered.
“He has a record?” Chris asked, buzzing Corrine on the intercom before Phipps confirmed. “Check our files for a DeShaun McAllister.”
While they waited for Corrine to respond, Krapek continued her questioning. “Did you and your wife have any marital problems, Matt?”
Chris reached over and laid a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Don’t answer that,” he instructed. “Is my brother a suspect?” he directed at Krapek.
“We are just asking routine questions. If your brother wants our help in finding his kids, then he should have no problems in cooperating.” Krapek casually picked up the spreadsheet again and thumbed through it.
“I don’t feel comfortable where this is going. If you need me to answer any more questions, you’ll have to do it in the presence of my attorney,” Matt told her.
Corrine knocked once and then reached over and handed Chris a file. “Thanks, Corrine,” he smiled, politely dismissing her. He peeked inside the folder and then handed it to Matt. After Matt looked it over, he cleared his throat and closed the file. “Looks like DeShaun was a former client. This file dates back over ten years ago, but we bonded him out on a misdemeanor charge. I have no recollection of it.”
Krapek smiled. “That attorney of yours? You better call them.”