Chapter 39
The house was registered to Adam Donnelly. How was Melinda’s brother involved in all this? Matt struggled to remember if Chris had mentioned that Melinda’s brother or grandmother had property in Lake Charles. When they vacationed together, they always went to the beach in Florida or skiing in Colorado. Matt’s mind raced with all kinds of questions.
What was Melinda doing at this lake house? Matt knew that Adam lived and worked in New Orleans. There wasn’t another vehicle in the driveway. Was this a house Melinda kept a secret from Chris? If so, why, and what was she using it for? He wondered if Melinda was planning on staying the night. He looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was getting close to two o’clock, and it would be suspicious if he parked here all day long. Besides, he was starving. After thinking about it for a few minutes, Matt decided to go get something to eat and then check into the Holiday Inn—he’d noticed one less than a mile down the main road. There he could investigate Gavin Beckwith on his computer. Also pull up a background check on Adam. He knew from Chris that Adam had been in trouble with the law before, but he thought it was just petty stuff. There had to be something useful he could find. Then, later on, when it was dark, he would head back and snoop around the house, whether Melinda was there or not.
Matt was thankful he’d grabbed his backpack that had his laptop and gym clothes in it before heading out to follow Melinda. As soon as he secured a room at the hotel, he pulled out his computer and went to work investigating Adam Donnelly as well as the art dealer his wife was involved with.
As a bail bondsman, Matt had plenty of access to websites that helped produce background searches, employment histories, and credit reports. He decided to do a full report on Gavin as well as Melinda’s brother. After typing in the pertinent details and starting the process, which usually took about an hour, Matt took a quick nap. If he was going to snoop around the property tonight, he needed to rest. His doctor had warned him that his head was still healing and that rest was essential. The headache that was starting to creep up on him now confirmed that.
After a two-hour nap, Matt checked his computer to see if the reports had come in. He took a look at Gavin Beckwith first, and woke up quickly. There was some interesting stuff. Gavin had filed for bankruptcy earlier in the year. His art gallery hadn’t been doing all that well. Was that why he’d wanted Erin to partner up with him in selling her paintings? Thinking she could help him get out of a hole? Or was it merely a ploy to get in her pants? Beckwith didn’t have a criminal history other than a DUI charge from twenty-one years ago. Probably from his college days, Matt guessed. He sighed. Nothing in the report gave him reason to believe that the man was involved in his family’s disappearance. Other than the fact that the guy was a douche bag and had been sleeping with his wife.
Adam Donnelly was next. Like Matt had thought, the background check had reported mostly misdemeanors, petty criminal stuff. It didn’t prove a lot. Adam ran with a sketchy crowd, according to Chris. Chris and Melinda were always bailing him out of trouble. Matt scrolled through the report on his computer until the last page, which included a black-and-white photo of Adam. Matt hadn’t seen him in almost two years. The kid never came to any family functions. However, looking at the photo now, Matt realized he had seen him recently. Closing his eyes, Matt realized a crucial piece of the puzzle fell into place.
Adam had been the one holding a tire iron over Matt’s head that night.