tax attorney. That was two months ago.” Chris furrowed his brow and turned up his big palms in a gesture of hopelessness. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
Rachel dug a business card out of her purse and handed it to Chris. “We’re here to help you. Our plan is to stay in Baton Rouge tonight. Tomorrow morning we’ll take a look at the truck stop where Matt was found. Afterward, we could go to New Orleans and reconstruct Matt’s last movements and go from there.”
The waitress brought Chris’s takeout bag and he paid the check. “We’ll probably head back to New Orleans tomorrow as well if Matt gets the all clear to go home. I’ll call you when we get settled.” They said their good-byes as Chris got up to leave.
“What do you think?” Red asked once Chris was gone.
“I really don’t know what to make of this one,” Rachel said. “A whole family disappears without a trace and then the husband shows up an hour away from where they vanished? Where’s his wife and kids?” She took a couple of bites of food and then pushed her plate away. “I’d like to talk to the trucker who found Matt. See what his take is on this.”
“I’ll call him and see when he can meet with us.”
“That would be great.” Rachel grabbed the check when the waitress dropped it off at the table and put down her credit card. “I have an idea. Remember my friend, Michelle Couch?”
“Yeah. Did she ever forgive you for burning her beach house down?” Red gave a chuckle.
“I didn’t burn the house down, you know that.”
“Just giving you a hard time.”
Recently, Rachel had gone to northern Florida to investigate the case of a missing firefighter. Michelle, who lived close by, had been kind enough to let Rachel stay in a beach house rental she owned. A serial arsonist had set fire to the beach house while Rachel was there. She’d barely escaped with her life, and Michelle’s house had been totaled in the fire. Fortunately, Michelle’s excellent insurance had reimbursed her fully and she was in the process of rebuilding.
“Before I left Miami, I called Michelle, and she said she’s in New Orleans this week attending a medical conference. She has some experience in working with amnesia cases. It would be great if we could have her talk to Matt.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Red agreed. “I’m going to step outside and call Keith while you settle the tab.”
Rachel waited while the waitress took care of her bill. She looked around the restaurant, remembering the good times she’d had while attending Florida State—this LSU crowd had a similar feel. She’d met Michelle in college in a psychology class, and they’d been fast friends ever since. Michelle had been there for her when Mallory went missing and had repeatedly asked if she could help on any cases she had. Now was a good time to take her up on the offer. Rachel signed the receipt once the waitress brought it to the table, and headed outside to find Red. He was just getting off the call.
“We’re in luck. The truck driver is on his way back through the area. He can meet us in an hour.”
Rachel checked her watch. “This late?”
“It may be our only chance to talk to him. You know truckers, they don’t work a regular nine-to-five.”
“That’s fine. I’d like to stop at the hotel and freshen up before we go.”
“Let’s get cracking then. I can’t wait to get your impression of what happened through Keith’s eyes.”
CHAPTER 6
They were staying at the historic Hilton Capitol Center hotel, which overlooked the wide expanse of the Mississippi River. As soon as Rachel entered the hotel’s lobby, she heard her name being called. She turned to see a tall blond woman walking in long strides across the lobby to meet her. The woman was wearing a sensible dark pantsuit with pumps, her short hair pulled into a tight nubby ponytail.
“Agent Krapek. What a surprise,” Rachel greeted her.
Rachel had met FBI Special Agent Cyndy Krapek when they’d worked another case together in the Bahamas, one that involved the missing daughter of Florida’s governor, John Knowles. After the teenager had disappeared during spring break, Knowles had called Florida Omni Search for help. That was how Rachel had ended up working in tandem with Krapek, who was part of the FBI’s Crimes Against Children (CAC) Unit, along with Agent Lee Phipps and Agent Drake Reynolds.
“The NOPD called us