then tossed her sport bag into the back and closed it.
He would use the time while tailing them to mull his options. Maybe something would come to him, a plan of action.
Mayfield turned the key and started the engine. He’d continue following them for now to see where they were headed with their investigation. That might help him formulate a cogent approach, ultimately making his job easier.
He pulled out of the parking lot and maintained a discreet distance. A mile or so down 29, an idea began to form.
He rolled down his window. The blast of cold air snaked around his neck and made him shiver—exactly what he needed. He had to cool down before he did something he was not yet prepared for, something he would later regret.
Once she had turned onto Highway 29, Dixon said, “I thought George was kind of cute.”
“Really?” Vail faced the side window and watched the wineries pass to her right. “He didn’t do anything for me.”
Dixon laughed. “Well I can tell you that Jimmy wanted to do something for
Vail chuckled. “Yeah he did. Did I blow him off properly?”
“That watch thing was a bit obvious.”
Vail feigned innocence. “Was I wrong? We’re on a schedule.” She smiled. “But seriously. Are you really ready to give up on Eddie? Is that over? For good? I thought you said you missed him, that you were just going to take some time off.”
Dixon sighed. “I don’t know. Sometimes I think it’s over, then sometimes I think it’s not. We love each other. That’s not the problem. We just, I’m just not sure we’re compatible.”
“Was he good to you, did he treat you well?”
“Yeah, that was never an issue.”
“So you two have some issues. All couples do. But you love each other, isn’t that worth something?”
“If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t still be discussing this.”
“So this guy in the gym—George. Is he better than Eddie?”
“Better? I just met him. How the hell do I know?”
Vail turned her body to face Dixon. “You’re attracted to him.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“Of course not,” Vail said. “My take? He’d be a good workout partner. But he didn’t seem to have much depth to him.”
A moment passed. “That’s a pretty huge leap based on one short conversation.”
“I make my living reading people,” Vail said.
“And your read of Jimmy?”
“Please.” She scrunched her nose. “He may be a winemaker, but . . . I wouldn’t even want to work out with the guy.”
Dixon drove another minute before speaking. “Why’d you bring it up?”
Vail rubbed her eyes. “Because I had a shitty marriage. It didn’t start out that way, but it sure ended that way. So I’m pretty careful. No, I’m extra cautious. I wouldn’t even think of getting involved with someone unless I knew certain things about the guy, about his heart. And his soul.”
“And you know all this about Robby?”
Vail sucked on her bottom lip and thought a moment. “It’s funny. I haven’t known him that long, but we’ve been through a hell of a lot together. I trust him. Implicitly.”
Before Dixon could respond, her phone rang. She pressed the hands-free device on her visor and answered the call.
“Roxx, it’s Brix. I got an ID on the male. Where are you two?”
Dixon peered out her window. “Coming up on Opus One. We’re headed to a meeting with someone from the AVA board.”
“Fine. Pull into the Opus One lot. I’ll be there in five. I won’t keep you long. But you need to hear this.”
BRIX WAS A LITTLE LONGER than five minutes out, but Vail didn’t mind. When they arrived at Opus One, Dixon had phoned the board president and told her they would be delayed. During the call, she led Vail up to Opus One’s terrace roof, which afforded a 360 degree panoramic view of the immediate valley. Parceled vineyards stretched in all directions, with the peaks of Mt. Veeder in the near distance.
The terrace was an arbor-covered walkway and patio bordered by rough-hewn limestone walls and planters lining the path. Ahead of them, over the edge, was a lush lawn that sloped gently downward, from the lip of the roof all the way to the parking lot.
“It’d be fun to roll down that,” Vail said.
Dixon’s phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, she brought it to her ear. “We’re upstairs on the roof.” She listened, then said, “Yeah, meet us up here.”
Thirty seconds later, Brix ascended the staircase and met them at the stone table. Off at the opposite end of the terrace, in a matching area containing tables, a couple stood beside one another at the wall, nursing a glass of wine and taking in the mountain view before them.
They took seats and Brix pulled out his notepad. “I’ve got a couple IDs for us. With all that’s been going on, this kind of got lost in the shuffle. The male victim was Isaac Jenkins. Private equity fund manager who lives in Sonoma.”
“And how did we keep
“Wife told his company, family, and friends that Isaac had a heart attack. Given what his business is like, and this market, there’s enough stress for ten heart attacks.”
Vail nodded. “Is he on the Georges Valley AVA board?”
“That’d be a ‘no.’ I had Ray check it out. He’s got no connection to the board that we could turn up. Ray also followed up on the question of how the UNSUB got your cell number. He said there was no breach of the department’s data backup, as far as the IT guys can tell. And all support personnel have been questioned. No one gave out our phone numbers, or any other information, to anyone.”
“Then how did he get my number?”
Brix put his forearms on the round cement table. “I love this view. You can see for miles. And it’s all gorgeous. This is a plot of land I wish we had for Silver Ridge.”
“Redd,” Dixon said. “The phone number.”
He shook his head and refocused his gaze on Dixon. “Yeah. So Ray and I were thinking where else he could’ve gotten it. How about the Bureau?”
Vail leaned back in surprise. “Whoa, I didn’t think of that. All he has to do is dial up the FBI Academy and ask for my cell phone number and they hand it right over.”
“That’s cute. But what I meant was, do you list it on your Academy emails?”
