employment problems he had with Scotty. Always late to work. Sometimes not showing up at all. Seeming to pull extra cash from thin air. Maybe it was after Rick fired him that Scotty started cultivating a vendetta against your family.”
“I’ve been all over Scotty. Tracking down his whereabouts the last days of his employment at the dealership and around the time Mallory was kidnapped. I’ve come up empty-handed each time. There’s nothing to tie her disappearance to him.”
“We just have to look harder.” Red patted Rachel on the arm. “We’ll get him. One way or another.”
A sign announcing their arrival into Houma greeted them. A low rolling fog seemed to greet them at the same time. After ten minutes of following the directions Krapek gave them, Rachel gasped as she noticed a sign that read McDaniel’s Fish Camp. Madame Verdene had mentioned a fish camp when they’d first met. She’d said that was where Erin could be found.
CHAPTER 25
Rachel held up her hand, shielding her eyes against the harsh midday sun that periodically pushed its way through the fog. An unpleasant briny smell floated through the muggy air, and mosquitoes made a landing strip of her arms. Thank goodness she’d had the sense to wear long pants and sturdy boots. She lifted the yellow crime scene tape that was hanging between large cypress trees. Peter and Rankin, who’d met her at the scene, followed her and ducked under the tape, as did Red.
“Hey, Agent Krapek,” said Rachel, spotting the woman’s shiny blond hair. “I didn’t think we’d see you this morning. Anything new?”
Krapek looked up from the notepad she held in her hand. “Not yet. Our guys have been out here the last two days. We’re just wrapping it up.”
Rachel knew that the local sheriff’s office plus the FBI’s crime scene investigators had been through the swamp in recent days. If anything was there to be found, it probably would have been found by now. But nonetheless, Rachel was determined to take a look for herself, for the sake of the O’Malley kids.
“Can you show us where the arm was found?” Rachel asked.
Agent Krapek led the Florida Omni Search team over to the edge of the swamp where the local fisherman had pulled up his line. “Right over there.”
Rachel had Peter work his magic around the site with his thermal imager, while Rankin walked around the perimeter with Max in tow. Rachel was able to secure some clothing that the kids and Erin had recently worn. She watched as Rankin followed Max around the dirt trail that wound its way along the bayou. Max would sniff the ground, pause, continue walking along the trail, and sniff again. Red went to talk to the crime scene techs, who were loading up their equipment.
After two hours of going over an expended area, Rachel called it quits with her team. “I’m going to head over to the bait store and get some cold drinks. I’ll meet you guys back here in a few,” she called out to her team.
“Want me to drive you over? That’s a bit of a walk,” Red offered.
“It’s okay. I need to clear my head.” Rachel used a purple bandanna to wipe the sweat from her brow and headed down the road toward McDaniel’s Fish Camp.
It was a ten-minute walk, and Rachel was grateful for the silence. She walked into the two-story worn clapboard store.
“What can I get ya?” an old man called out from behind the counter.
“Just looking for something cold to drink.”
He pointed to the back of the store. “Soft drinks to the right, beer and wine on the left.”
“Thanks.”
Rachel felt his eyes on her as she made her way down the aisle. Dust covered most of the merchandise. Grimy boxes of cereal, bread, Pop-Tarts, and cookies filled the rows of shelving. At the end, a large walk-in cooler held water and soft drinks. Rachel grabbed two bottles of water, a soda for Rankin, and an energy drink for herself. On the way through the snack aisle, she impulsively added a large bag of salted cashews that seemed slightly less dirty than the rest of the merchandise. Juggling her purchases, she laid them down on the counter. The old man started ringing them up without even looking at her.
“That all?” he asked, bagging the items.
“Yes, thanks.”
“You looking for that missing family?” he asked, startling her with the question.
“I am. Did you know them?”
The old man shifted a wad of chewing tobacco around in his mouth. “Me? Naw.