Chapter 40
The lake house was dark except for a couple of lamps illuminating the second level of the house. Matt’s thoughts ran over the details turned up when he’d searched the property records earlier. The original owner, Melinda and Adam’s grandmother, had the house built in the midseventies. When Melinda’s parents died in the automobile accident, the grandmother deeded the house as a trust for Adam. Looking at the terrible shape the house was in now—shutters barely clinging to the frame, tall weeds taking up residence around the lawn, thick coatings of dirt on the windows—Matt didn’t think anyone had occupied the residence in a very long time. As he sat in his truck watching the decrepit house across the street, he wondered what the hell his sister-in-law was up to. The ringing of his cell startled him. The name flashed up on the screen—it was Chris.
“Thought you’d be back by now, brother. Where are you?”
“Hey,” Matt said, trying to sound casual. “I decided to stay in Baton Rouge for a couple days. See the guys, hang out a bit.” Chris was silent for so long that Matt thought he’d lost the cell connection. Finally Chris said, “What’s really going on with you?”
Matt knew that Chris would see through the lie, but he didn’t want to let him in on his suspicions just yet. Chris would’ve been knocking down the door to the lake house by now, wondering what exactly his wife was doing up here in the middle of nowhere. He didn’t have Matt’s patience.
“Okay, you got me. It’s not just guy time. I just wanted to come back to the area where they found me. See if that would help with getting my memory back. I feel so hopeless just sitting around.”
“Matt, I would’ve gone with you. I can drive up tomorrow after meeting with Red. He wants to show me a video from the gas station where you stopped to get gas that night. I was hoping you would come along to watch it.”
“What’s the point of that?” Matt asked, running his hand through his thick hair.
“I guess to see if I recognize anyone. Maybe it will help get your memory back. They think someone was following you that night.”
“I can take a look at it when I get back. Let me know if you come up with something.”
“Look, Matt. Melinda is out of town with some of her girlfriends. She called tonight and said she’s not coming back until Monday. It’s really no big deal for me to drive up there tomorrow. Keep you company.”
Well, isn’t that a surprise, Matt thought, mentally rolling his eyes. Melinda wasn’t with her girlfriends on some spa trip. She was either using this house for a secret rendezvous with a lover or up to something more sinister. Matt hadn’t seen another vehicle other than Melinda’s Mercedes since he followed her to the lake house. He wondered if anyone else was going to show up to the party.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m good. I should be home in the next day or two. Everything okay at the office?”
“Busy as ever. But nothing we can’t handle. Take some time to do what you need to do.”
Matt watched the lake house as the front door opened. “Gotta go, brother. Call you tomorrow.” Matt disconnected and watched as Melinda walked to her car. Oblivious to anything else, she opened the trunk and pulled out a large suitcase. Matt slunk lower in the front seat, even though he didn’t think she would spot him. She slammed the trunk and headed back inside the house, cutting a ridiculous figure as she toted the heavy luggage in her spindly high heels. Five minutes after she disappeared inside, he got out of the truck. There was no other activity on the street. The other houses still looked to be vacant. That made sense. This area was mostly second homes and fishing camps for hunters and families. He expected it would be a little busier by the next morning. It was supposed to be a nice weekend coming up.
Matt quietly made his way toward the side of the house. The design was a two-story wooden A-frame that sat on a large wooded lot. The abundance of pine and oak trees made a good cover for him as he sneaked around. He decided to continue around the back and see if he could look inside. He wished he’d come more prepared. What he could really use was his hunting kit, complete with binoculars and a night scope.
The back of the house featured a dock with a large fishing boat on a lift. A white gazebo that had seen better days was surrounded by a rock garden and a path that led up to the deck of the house. As soon as he came around to the deck, a light flashed. He looked up and froze, his eyes resting on the motion detector light secured to the eaves of the house. He’d never understand why people put motion detector lights in an area like this that was abundant with wildlife. Any stray cat, raccoon, possum, or even gator would set that light off. When he didn’t detect any sound from the house, he carefully walked on the edge of the lot toward the water. He entered the gazebo and sat there under the cover of darkness contemplating his next move.
The back of the house was mostly glass. Floor-to-ceiling windows covered the first floor. The second floor had a light on in one of the rooms. A bedroom, Matt presumed.
The back door opened and Matt held his breath as Melinda walked out onto the deck. He watched as she lit a cigarette and sat down on one of the lounge chairs. Matt didn’t dare to move or even breathe as he watched Melinda smoke. She seemed to be looking right in his direction. He heard the faint ring of a cell phone. Melinda answered and started animatedly talking to whoever was on the line. Matt was about fifty yards away and could barely hear what she was saying. He felt bad for the person on the other end of the conversation, because Melinda was obviously angry, her hands flying everywhere and sparks cascading off the tip of her cigarette while she talked. The back door suddenly opened, and a man walked out to the deck.
She wasn’t alone? Matt strained to get a good look. He was pretty sure it wasn’t Adam. This guy was really tall. Something in the way he moved was familiar to Matt, though. He wished the motion detector light would come back on so he could get a good look at this guy.
Matt watched in fascination as the guy leaned over and kissed Melinda when she got off the phone. Nope, definitely not her brother. Then the kissing turned into more. It was like a train wreck. Matt knew he should just shut his eyes until it was all over with, but he couldn’t help himself. His sister-in-law and her mystery guest were getting down and dirty on the deck. He couldn’t believe that he’d once been involved with this woman. Yeah, it was back in high school, which felt light-years away, but he’d had feelings for Melinda once. Now she was married to his older brother. Sure, she was the aunt to his kids. She was in the family. But what seemed very clear now was that he didn’t know Melinda at all.
After about half an hour, Melinda and the tall man went back inside. Matt quietly made his way back to the truck. He tried hard to erase from his mind the fact that he’d just seen his sister-in-law have sex. That was one memory he could afford to lose, he thought. Just as he was about to start the engine, the front door opened and the mystery guest walked to Melinda’s car. Matt wondered who the man was and how he’d arrived, since the white Mercedes was the only car in the drive. When the man opened the car door, the interior light flashed on, and Matt realized he knew who the man was. For the third time in one night, Matt was shocked.
The mystery man was Moses.