Crush - Alan Jacobson [13]
Brix’s eyes narrowed. He stared long and hard at Vail, then said, “Always good to visit with colleagues from outta town. Remember, drinking and driving is against the law ’round here. And the California Highway Patrol ain’t as friendly as I am.”
With that, he stepped around them and headed into the parking lot.
EIGHT
With nothing to do but wait, Vail and Robby headed to Calistoga Day Spa, where Vail would take in a mud bath, hot springs, and hour massage. It was a pampering to which she was unaccustomed—in fact, had never had, in her life.
Robby dropped her at the spa and had the next few hours to himself. When he returned to pick up Vail, she walked into the glass enclosed lobby by the front desk with her hair back in a headband and a smile on her face.
“Good time?”
“If I closed my eyes, I could sleep for hours.”
He carried her duffle to the car and tossed it into the back seat. “So how was the mud bath?”
“Interesting. I mean, I’m lying there, totally relaxed, then I realized that I’m lying in a pile of warm cow shit. And I paid a lot of money for it.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Once I got the thought out of my mind, it was very soothing. Not as relaxing as the massage. I had this hunk named Pedro, and he had these really strong hands—”
“Do I want to hear this?” Robby asked.
“Apparently not.” She looked over at him and grinned. “Jealous?”
Before Robby could answer, Vail’s phone started ringing. She reached into the rear seat and fished it out of the duffel. “Karen Vail.”
“Yeah, this is Stan, Stan Owens.”
“Stan . . . you got something for us?”
“Sort of. I had a chat with Redd Brix. I think you should go and talk to him, see if you can get him to request the BAU’s involvement.”
“You think he’ll go for it?”
“I softened him up for you, told him about my experience with the National Academy. He did a lot of listening, didn’t say much. Thanked me for the call.”
“Well, thanks, Stan. We’ll go chat with him right now. Any idea where he is?”
“Matter of fact, yes. It’s his day off. He’s at a buddy’s house digging out an old wine cave.”
“Digging out an old wine cave? Is that like spelunking?”
“Not sure what that is, but that cave is legendary stuff here in the valley. A hundred years ago there was an earthquake that caused a cave-in at one of the premiere wineries in the region. Black Knoll Vineyards, been around since 1861. Legend is that there were some special bottles in that cave, and when the earthquake hit, they were buried alive, so to speak. Some old geezer convinced his neighbor he knew where the cave was located, and it happens to be on land belonging to Brix’s friend.”
Vail took down the address, thanked him, and plugged it into their GPS.
“You don’t really want to go there now,” Robby said. “You’re oiled, massaged, and relaxed. Let’s go shower, get dressed, have a nice dinner—”
“Proceed to the highlighted route,” Stella’s GPS voice announced.
Vail shrugged. “You heard the lady.”
NINE
“You have arrived at your destination, on the left,” Stella said.
Vail compared the address to her notes and said, “Indeed we have.”
Robby nodded at the portable electronic device in Vail’s hands. “You like that thing, don’t you?”
“She’s grown on me.” Seeing Robby’s twisted mouth, she said, “What, don’t tell me you’re intimidated by a female voice telling you where to go.”
“You tell me where to go all the time.”
“Exactly. Turn right.” Vail thumbed a hand at the signpost. The numbers were lettered in block gold leaf on the label of a magnum wine bottle in the hands of a large statue of a waiter dressed in a tuxedo.
“Something tells me this is going to be interesting,” Robby said as he swung the Murano onto the driveway.
They drove a hundred feet before they came to an electric gate, which sat splayed open. To the right was a well-maintained