Chapter 41
Rachel didn’t have high hopes that showing Chris the video was going to yield anything helpful. But as O’Malley sat down on the couch and Red opened his laptop, beginning the video, she hoped it might.
“It’s a little grainy,” said Red, “but I think you’ll be able to see faces pretty well. We know that Matt stopped for gas around six thirty that evening. It was time-stamped on the receipt. Unfortunately, the outside camera wasn’t working, so you won’t see Matt on the tape. However, we’re hoping that someone came inside during that time frame that you might recognize.”
Red stayed seated next to Chris on the couch, while Rachel paced the room.
Within a minute, Chris sat up straight. “Stop the video.”
Red reached over and clicked the mouse.
“Rewind a bit,” Chris instructed.
Rachel stopped pacing and watched as the black-and-white video showed a guy walking to the register with a soft drink and a pack of gum. It was hard to tell his age, but he looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. Blond, shaggy hair, baggy blue jeans, a lanky frame.
“I know that guy,” Chris said, clenching his fists.
“Who is it?” Rachel asked.
“Adam Donnelly. Melinda’s brother.”
Now that she got a better look, she agreed. The man in the video resembled the photo in the yearbook Rachel saw earlier. Red shot Rachel a look of satisfaction while he froze the picture on the screen. Rachel had shared with him the information she’d gotten from Alanna the day before about Melinda’s little brother. They had decided to keep it quiet until Red and Stacy could look into Adam’s background a little further. Now it was obvious that this had been the right choice.
“Matt never said anything about running into Adam,” said Chris. “Of course, with his memory loss maybe he didn’t remember.” Chris stared at the computer screen, a look of worry and confusion crossing his face.
“Or maybe he never saw him,” Rachel added quickly. She could tell that Chris was upset. Whether it was because he was afraid that his wife and his brother-in-law were involved in the disappearance of his brother’s family or because Chris was somehow involved and felt like she’d just caught him, she wasn’t sure.
“New Orleans is more of a small town than a city sometimes,” said Red. “This could mean nothing.” But Rachel knew he didn’t mean the words. This was a breakthrough, and they both knew it.
“We’d like to keep this quiet for now,” Rachel repeated.
“Are you going to turn this over to NOPD?” Chris asked.
Red nodded. “We have to.”
After Chris left, Rachel sat down on the couch, balancing her laptop on her knees. “Let’s give it twenty-four hours. If we don’t come up with something, then we let Detective Jones know what we found on the tape.”
“Twenty-four, Rach. And not a second more. I don’t want to lose my license over an obstruction of justice charge.”
“Of course,” she agreed. The last thing she wanted was to compromise the investigation, but she had a feeling that they were close to finding out what had happened to Erin and to finding the kids.
“I’m going to pick up something for lunch at the café downstairs and stop by and see if Stacy wants to join us. She’s still working on some leads of her own.”
When she got back, Red was just getting off the phone. Rachel placed a couple of to-go boxes down on the coffee table. “Two chicken-salad plates. Stacy is working on something big, she won’t say what just yet, but you know how she gets when she’s in the zone. She’ll join us later.”
“I just got off the phone with my contact at the PD.” He waved a piece of paper in Rachel’s face. “The favor that I called in? It’s come through. I’ll have a full background report on Melinda’s brother in the next few minutes. I already got one little tidbit over the phone.”
Rachel’s ears perked up as she closed her laptop. “What’s that?”
“Stacy was right. Melinda’s brother Adam does have a rap sheet. Mostly petty stuff. Marijuana possession, DUI, fraudulent credit card use.”
“Right. We already knew that.”
“What you didn’t know was that Adam was seeing a shrink.”
“How’d you find that out?”
“Medical records.”
“I thought those were private.”
Red just smiled and turned his hands over. “Helps to have friends in high places.”
“Well, then, it’s worth talking to him. Where does Adam live?” Rachel asked.
“New Orleans. I have his last known address and employer. Waiting on the rest,” Red answered.
Rachel ate her salad in silence, thinking about how all these pieces could fit together. Red devoured his lunch as he scrolled through the reports coming in through his e-mail.
“Ah, here’s another report.” Red quickly scanned the e-mail. “I ran a cross-check on Adam and Melinda. Guess what came up?” he asked excitedly. “Property records in Lake Charles show that Adam owns a home there. Looks like his grandmother put some property in a trust for him.”
“Where is Lake Charles?” Rachel asked.
“It’s about a three-hour drive west of here. Straight shot on I-10. And guess what?”
“It’s near Lafayette?”
“Ding ding ding. We have a winner!” Red said, slamming down the piece of paper in his hand. “Lafayette is the halfway mark between New Orleans and Lake Charles. Same place where the O’Malley kids were supposedly spotted at a McDonald’s.”
Rachel tried to contain her excitement. “How soon can we leave for Lake Charles?”
“I’m ready when you are. We could be there by sunset,” Red said, consulting his watch.
“Let’s tell Stacy what’s going on. She may be able to stay here and keep an eye on things while we’re gone. What about Agent Krapek?”
“She’s got herself wrapped up in looking over O’Malley’s clients. I say we go check it out. Anything looks suspicious or out of place, we’ll sit on it until the posse arrives.”
Rachel didn’t need any more convincing. “Okay, let’s do it.” She grabbed her overnight bag and threw a few clothes and essentials in it. “Lake Charles, here we come.”