Crush - Alan Jacobson [153]
But Dixon suddenly pushed back. “Brix—” She scrambled to her left. “Light!”
Vail swung the Maglite around and, twenty-five feet away, found Brix on the floor, facedown and alongside a stack of barrels. Vail knelt down and pressed her fingers against his neck. “Strong pulse. Call it in.”
As Dixon opened her phone, Vail reached for her handcuffs. But they weren’t there. Of all the things she’d replaced, she had forgotten to get a new set. She went back to Brix, felt around his belt and found his cuffs, then brought them over to the unconscious Mayfield and clamped them down, extra tight. When he awoke, there was no way he was getting out of those. Especially with a fractured arm.
Vail pulled her BlackBerry and checked for messages from Robby. Nothing. “Call Ray and the others,” she said to Dixon. “Let ’em know we have the suspect in custody and he needs transport to county.” She looked over at Mayfield, who was stirring, regaining consciousness. “He’ll need medical attention on arrival.”
AS DIXON POCKETED HER CELL, Brix slowly sat up. Dixon extended her arm, locked hands with Brix, and pulled him up. He swayed a bit, then steadied himself against the barrels and looked over at Mayfield. “Bastard clocked me from behind.”
“You okay?” Dixon asked.
He stretched his neck and rolled his shoulders back. “I’m fine.”
“You missed all the fun,” Vail said. She brought a hand to her throat and rubbed it.
“Where’s Eddie?” Dixon asked.
Vail locked eyes with Brix. He frowned, then said, “Take her. I’ll stay and keep watch over the douche bag.”
Vail led Dixon to the next room, created by walls of barrels, and stood there while Dixon approached the body. She knelt down, her back to Vail, started to place a hand on his chest—and stopped. No doubt, her “cop instincts” trumped her emotions and she knew not to contaminate the crime scene. But did it really matter?
“It’s okay, Roxx,” Vail said. “You can touch him. Pay your respects.”
She reached out again, placed the back of her hand against his cheek, then his forehead. Gently closed his eyes. Said something to him, and her back heaved in sorrow.
Vail remained where she was, giving her friend some space.
A moment later, Dixon stood up and, wiping away tears, squared her shoulders, brought up a hand and moved her hair off her face.
“Let’s go,” she said, walking past Vail.
SIXTY-ONE
Brix called one of the officers who was watching the castle’s periphery and had him secure Eddie Agbayani’s crime scene. The paramedics, clad in light gray tops, darker pants and ball caps, transported Mayfield, under heavy guard, to the Napa Valley Medical Center ER, not far from the Napa Police Department. Brix refused treatment, saying he was “Just fine now, thank you very much.”
Vail chucked it off to male ego, embarrassment to having been taken out, but then she realized she’d probably behave the same way. She chided herself for looking for male-female gender issues in every situation. It was something she would have to work on, because she knew, invariably, it would sneak into her thoughts, despite her best efforts to keep those attitudes in check.
On the way to the hospital, Dixon and Vail stopped at the Heartland bed-and-breakfast in Yountville. Robby was not there. Nor was his car. In fact, he had not been there the entire day—other than the maid service straightening the bed and cleaning the bathroom, the room was as she had left it when she locked up this morning.
“I take it it’s not like Robby to ignore your calls,” Dixon said.
Vail stood at the foot of the bed, hands on her hips. “No, it’s not.” She turned and faced the new suitcases Robby had purchased at the outlets a couple of days ago. Flipped his open, moved aside his dirty underwear and socks. Hit something hard and flat. Dug it out and held it up.
Dixon joined Vail at her side. “His cell phone?”
Vail did not reply. She flicked it open. It was powered off. She turned it on, waiting for it to boot and then find service. When it had finished, she scrolled to the incoming log. All the messages she had