Chapter 46
Within the hour, Rachel, Red, and Matt were situated at the end of Terre Belle anxiously waiting for Krapek and her team to investigate the lake house. It had taken some convincing, but Rachel eventually coaxed Krapek into letting them come along, explaining that she and Red would help Matt stay put while they waited to find out if his kids were in the house. Fifteen, thirty, and then forty-five minutes went by. Just as Matt was about to lose it, Agent Krapek drove down the street in her unmarked dark-blue car.
“Hop in,” she instructed Matt. “I’m going to take you to see your kids.”
Rachel and Red got into their vehicle and followed Agent Krapek’s car up to the lake house. Rachel watched Matt jump out and run into the house. By the time she’d caught up to him, Matt was sitting on the couch with Mary Kate and Patrick in his lap. The kids looked a little out of it. Rachel wasn’t sure if it was the stress of being kidnapped or if they’d been drugged. Both kids had their arms wrapped firmly around their father, quietly crying.
Rachel stepped back outside to give them some privacy. Agent Krapek walked up to her.
“I guess you want me to give a statement?” Rachel asked.
Agent Krapek tucked a stray blond hair behind her ear. “That can wait until we get back to New Orleans. You can come to the field office.”
“Bittersweet ending. How are the kids holding up?”
“Good as can be expected. They don’t know about their mother yet.”
“Is Melinda talking? I mean, do we know why she did this?”
Krapek shook her head. “We’ll get her and Moses transferred to New Orleans in the next day or two. Matt and his kids are free to go home after we get a chance to interview them.”
“What about Adam?”
“We have a BOLO on his vehicle. So far, Melinda isn’t cooperating, so we don’t know where Adam is or what his involvement is.”
“I can have Red…” Rachel started to say before Krapek cut her off.
“I don’t want you or Red doing anything else to compromise this investigation. You’ll be expected at our office tomorrow to give your statements.”
Rachel told Krapek they would be there and then left to find her partner. She told herself that finding the kids unharmed was the important thing. Everything else would work itself out.