Chapter 26
Rachel called Matt on the way back from Houma.
“Your timing is perfect. The FBI wants me to come in and take a look at a sketch,” Matt said.
“When?” Rachel asked. She had a pretty good idea that the sketch the FBI wanted to show Matt was the one of the man who Aaron had run off.
“This afternoon. Anything new turn up?” he asked.
Rachel could hear the desperation in Matt’s voice. She couldn’t bear to think about what Matt was going through. Losing his wife and not knowing where his kids were. If they were safe or not. Unfortunately, she knew the pain only too well.
“We’re on our way back from Houma. Part of my team is going back to work canvassing the area where your truck was discovered,” she answered. “I just wanted to call and check in with you.”
Rachel couldn’t believe she hadn’t received any strong leads from the hotline, other than the usual crazy people who just wanted attention. She hated that she didn’t have anything new to tell him. After all the media surrounding this case, no witnesses had come forward yet. Rachel wanted to go back to the original scene of the crime. It hadn’t taken place in a desolate, rural area, after all. This was freaking New Orleans, for goodness’ sake. Similar to New York, the city that never sleeps, New Orleans was open twenty-four hours a day. There was always activity. Homeless people, tourists, and locals all commingled at all hours of the day and night around the Riverwalk and French Quarter. She felt certain somebody had seen something.
“I’ve got a few things I’d like to discuss with you,” said Matt. “Alone. Is there a place and time where we could meet in private?”
“Of course.” Rachel said. “You just tell me when and where.”
“I’ll meet you tonight at seven o’clock. There’s a place called Crescent City Brewhouse on Decatur Street, not far from your hotel.”
“Okay, see ya then.” Rachel checked her watch. She had a couple of hours to kill before meeting Matt.
“What was that about?” Red asked.
“Matt wants to meet me tonight.”
“What’s going on with him?”
“He didn’t say, but I’m pretty sure the FBI is showing him the sketch of the man from Houma,” Rachel said. “I’m meeting Matt at seven, so that gives us about two hours to go back to the Quarter and take another look around.”
“Rach, we’ve canvassed that area a dozen times. I don’t see the point of going back again. Flyers are all over the place. If someone saw something, we would have gotten a call by now.”
His words caught Rachel by surprise. “What else do we have? You of all people should know that we don’t give up that easily.”
“I’m not talking about giving up. I’m talking about changing things up. We’ve laid all the groundwork with the flyers, the canvassing, and working the tip line. We need to start looking at motivation. This is different from any other case we’ve worked. A whole flipping family disappeared. That’s not an everyday occurrence. Something out of the ordinary happened here. It’s not like we are dealing with your typical runaway, bored housewife, or family member kidnapping.”
Rachel trusted Red’s judgment. In his role as a detective at the Miami PD, Red had solved many missing-persons cases and was knowledgeable in more areas of the law than she’d ever be.
She took a deep, calming breath. “Of course we’re not. So what do you suggest? Where do you think we need to be looking?”
Red opened his notebook. “I’ve been thinking about something. What would Matt have to gain from his whole family disappearing?”
“We’ve been over this. I don’t feel like Matt orchestrated such a complex scheme. You’ve said it yourself. His financials are solid. No evidence of an affair or anything like that. Everyone we’ve talked to said he is the ultimate family man, husband, father, brother…”
“Who else would have something to gain?”
“His brother, Chris?” Rachel guessed.
“With Matt and Erin out of the picture, Chris and Melinda would get the house. The business, the money, all of it would be theirs.” Red drew a big red circle in his notebook. “In all the cases we’ve worked together, the majority of them have one common denominator.”
“Revenge,” Rachel said, looking at the word Red had written. “You’re forgetting a couple of things. Why leave Matt alive? Why kill his wife, and kidnap his kids? That doesn’t make sense. I’m sorry, but I just don’t see Chris hurting his brother just to get the house. The same house he willingly gave up years ago.”
“Right, well, someone had it out for Matt. They injured Matt but didn’t kill him. They wanted Matt to look like the fall guy, maybe? Then they killed Erin and dumped her body in a different area to throw the cops off. Kidnapped the kids…” Red trailed off.
“Who is they?” Rachel asked. “What is there to gain from having Matt take the fall for his wife’s murder?”
Red tapped his pen on the paper.
“The police and the FBI have questioned all his business associates, former and current clients, and all his friends and acquaintances. They’ve turned up nothing,” Rachel continued.
“Maybe they missed something,” Red answered. “We are missing something…”