Dixon's Duty

by Jenna Byrnes

  Dix’s heart soared. “Yeah. And then I’ll tell you I love you, too. If we’re crazy, we’ll be that way together. Because I’m happy right here and I never want to leave your arms.”

  Bryan kissed him again. “How about I slip away just long enough to grab a warm washcloth and clean us up? Then I’ll be right back.”

  Sated and full of joy, Dix smiled. “Works for me.”

  * * * *

  Dix reached a mobile glass guy the next morning, and both his and Adam’s vehicles were repaired before noon. He gladly paid for the quick work, and didn’t plan to say anything about the bill to Bryan. It wasn’t his lover’s fault. Merely thinking of the sexy stud had Dix smiling. He did that so often these days, he could have sworn his jaw was sore from the unusual activity. Of course it could be all the blow jobs. Either way, he was a happy man.

  When his phone rang at one-thirty, he was pleased to hear Bryan’s voice on the line. “Hey handsome. I’ve been thinking about you. ‘Course, that’s nothing new.”

  “James, Sami didn’t show up for work today. I’ve been trying to call her, but it goes straight to voicemail.”

  “Is that unusual for her?”

  “Well, yeah. She always calls when something comes up. She knows we only schedule one waitress during the noon shift. I’ve been so busy, this is the first chance I’ve had to call.”

  “Have you phoned Adam? He might know where she is.”

  “No, you were the first person I thought to call.”

  “That makes me happy, but in this case, I think Adam might know more than me. I’ve talked to him a couple times already today. We got both cars fixed first thing this morning.”

  “Wow, that was fast!”

  “Yeah, he seemed to do good work, too. I’m pleased. Anyway, I’ll call the kid and get back to you. Don’t worry, I’m sure she’s fine.”

  “Thanks, Dix.”

  “You bet. Talk soon.” He ended the call and punched up Adam’s number. “Hey, me again. Three times in one day, people are going to start thinking we’re best friends.”

  Adam chuckled. “After the miracle you pulled off with getting my window fixed so fast, I’ll happily call myself your friend. What’s up?”

  “Bryan just phoned, he said Sami didn’t show up for work today. Any idea where she is?”

  “What? You’re kidding me. She never misses work. I don’t have a delivery for them today, so I haven’t seen her since this morning.”

  “You saw her before work, though, and she was okay?”

  “Sure. I left about seven-thirty, same as usual. She was still in bed since there’s no school. Did he try to call her?”

  “Went straight to voicemail.”

  “Hmm. I’m not too far from there. Let me finish this delivery and I’ll swing by.”

  “Thanks, Adam. Oh, and call me back, okay? Bryan’s busy today and me…not so much.”

  “That’s a good thing, right? Will do. Bye.” He hung up.

  Dix put down the phone, wondering what could have caused Sami to miss work. He didn’t know enough about her daily routine to speculate. He stood and stretched, then walked to the coffee pot to pour himself a cup.

  Back at his desk, he pushed papers around, trying to keep his mind occupied. About thirty minutes had gone by when his phone rang back, and he recognised Adam’s number. “Dixon.”

  “Dix, it’s Adam.” The words tumbled out in a rush. “Something’s wrong. Sami’s car is here, but she’s not.”

  “Okay, slow down. Could someone have picked her up? A girlfriend, someone like that? Maybe they went out for lunch.”

  “Without her purse and phone?” His voice screeched. “And her favourite pair of shoes is still by the door.”

  Dix forced himself to remain calm, refusing to let his thoughts get carried away. “She’s a woman. Surely she has more than one pair of shoes.”

  “Of course she does, she has like twenty. But only one she wears daily, and she kicks them off by the door when she gets home. She carries the one purse, and never goes anywhere without her phone.” His breathing became jagged. “That’s not the only thing. The apartment is messed up, like maybe there were signs of a struggle. I don’t know. I’m hyperventilating. I can’t think.”

  “Take it easy, Adam. Give me the address, and I’ll be right there.”

  “Three fifty-five Jacobs, apartment three. Main floor on the right.”

  “Okay, listen. I’m on my way. Don’t touch anything more than you already have. Find a place to sit and catch your breath. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  “Thanks.”

  Dix ended the call and stood, pocketing his cell phone. He grabbed his suit coat and went to Mac’s desk. Once again, he forced himself to remain calm. “I need to go take care of something.”

  “What is it? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

  “Nah, it’s just—well, you know Sami, Bryan’s daughter? She didn’t show up for work today. Her boyfriend says their apartment looks trashed, like there might have been a struggle. Her car and phone are still there, but she’s nowhere in sight.”

  Mac stood. “Sami, the pretty little thing with the long blonde ponytail?”

  Dix froze. His gaze locked with Mac’s and both of them turned to the large evidence board across the room. Four other women with long blonde hair stared back at them with vacant eyes. Those women were all dead. “Oh, my God.” Dix thought he might hyperventilate, too.

  “Come on.” Mac shoved him towards the door. “I’ll drive.”

  Chapter Six

  “I need to call Bryan.” Dix fumbled for his phone as Mac drove to Sami’s address.

  “You need to hold up. Let us have a look around, see if we need to call the unis before we go off half-cocked. Hell, she might be home by the time we get there.”

  “I hope so.” Thoughts of Bryan’s daughters flitted through his mind. Kayla was nice, but calm and reserved. Sami had spunk and personality to spare. She reminded him of what his own daughter might have been like, had she lived. A tear formed in the corner of his eye and he brushed it away.

  Mac glanced at him sideways. “She’s not Julie, Dix. I know you’ve become attached to the kid, but don’t let things get out of control in your mind. She’s not your daughter.”

  “I know that,” he snapped, then took a breath. When he spoke again his voice was calm. “But she’s sweet and affectionate and, God help me, she’s starting to feel like one.”

  “I know that, too,” Mac said softly. He pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex.

  Dix spotted the beer truck taking up several spaces on the end. They climbed out and he led the way. “Apartment three, on the right,” he said.

  “Right behind you.”

  Dix pulled gloves from his pocket and slipped them on. He nudged open the door to number three and peered in. “Adam?”

  He appeared in the doorway. “Thank God you’re here. I’ve been frantic, imagining all kinds of awful things.”

  They stepped in cautiously, looking around. “You haven’t thought of any place she could be? Anyone you could call?”

  “I phoned her friend Trina, but she’s at work and hasn’t seen Sami for about a week. I couldn’t think of anyone else. She has lots of friends from school, but most of them are gone this week.”

  “Yeah.” Dix went in farther. The apartment was small but tidy, until they reached the bedroom. Sheets and a comforter were strewn across, hanging halfway onto the floor.

  “Purse and phone here.” Mac pointed to the dresser. He slipped on some latex gloves and picked up the phone. “Last call out was yesterday, to her dad. Ten missed calls today, from him and the boyfriend. No unknown numbers.”

  Using two fingers, Dix gently lifted the covers off the bed and peered under them. “Well, shit.” He tossed them back part way. “Blood.”

  A small spot, the size of a jagged quarter. He looked at Adam. “You notice if that was there before?”

  “It wasn’t. S
he just did laundry yesterday, including the sheets. I heard all about it last night.”

  Dix smiled. “Look at everything I do for you?”

  “Yeah, sort of. ‘It’s my vacation and I spent the whole damn day doing laundry’.”

  Nodding, Dix glanced at Mac. “We need to get CSI over here. A couple unis to canvass the neighbours.”

  “I’ll do that. The call you have to make won’t be so easy.”

  He nodded and they went into separate rooms. Dialling Bryan’s cell, he rehearsed his words before the call connected.

  “Yeah, Dix? Anything?”

  “Bryan, Mac and I are at Sami’s place with Adam. Her car is here, but she’s not. We’ve also got her phone and purse. And a certain pair of shoes Adam says is all she wears these days.”

  “Oh, my God, Oh, my God.” Bryan gasped. “Where is she, Dix? What does this mean? Why doesn’t Adam know where she is? Does he know she got home last night?”

  “Buddy, listen. She was fine this morning when he left for work. There’s probably a logical explanation for this, and we’re going to laugh about it after we scold her up one side and down the other.”

  “I’m coming over.”

  “No! Look, you won’t be allowed in until the techs have processed the scene. Don’t waste your time.”

  “Why did you call techs? What do you mean, ‘scene’?”

  “Sweetie, I need you to calm down. It looks like there might have been a struggle here. We’ll know more once the CSI unit arrives.”

  “Oh, my God!” Bryan’s voice was frantic.

  “I’m going to stay here and work the case. You need to sit tight, and I’ll call as soon as we know anything. Bryan, I mean it. I will call you. Don’t come here.”

  “Is she dead, Dix? Is that why you don’t want me there?”

  His gut roiled. Memories of the phone call he’d placed to his wife after Julie had died rushed through him. He handed the phone to Adam, who’d been listening to his end of the call. “He thinks she’s dead, and her body’s here.”

  Adam grabbed the cell. “Oh, no, sir! Sami was fine the last time I saw her. She’s just not here now. The blood spot is tiny, really. I don’t know if she’s on her period or not, we didn’t, um…last night.”

  Dix held his head until the wave of nausea left him. Perhaps it wasn’t the smartest idea to hand the phone over.

  “Okay, yes. We’ll call you. I will. Bye.” He ended the call and glanced at Dix. “You all right?”

  “I think so. Thanks.”

  “He’s calmed down a little. He believed us. I can’t understand what’s going on, though. This is not like Sami.”

  Dix pocketed his phone and glanced up as uniformed officers arrived. “You’re going to have to tell your story again. Just do it until they’re satisfied, then you might want to think about getting that beer truck back to the warehouse. The neighbours might not like you taking up so many spaces in the lot.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  A female officer entered the bedroom. “Dixon, what’s homicide doing here? Somebody jump the gun? I didn’t think we had a body, yet.”

  He scowled. “Anderson, I’m here because I’m a friend of the missing girl. This is her boyfriend. We don’t have a body, and we pray to God there won’t be one.” He brushed past her and murmured, “Some tact would be appreciated.”

  “Sorry.” Anderson seemed genuinely embarrassed.

  Dix didn’t care, he just needed to get out for a few minutes. “I’m going to look around the block,” he told Mac as he walked by.

  “CSI is on the way. Ten minutes, tops.”

  “Thanks.” Dix kept walking. If he was going to be sick, he wanted to be outside, far away from everybody. He’d never thrown up at a crime scene, not in his early days, or even covering the grisliest murder. But the thought of Sami Scott being referred to as ‘the body’ was the most sickening thing he’d heard in a very long time. He was very close to losing it.

  * * * *

  Shortly after five, he texted Bryan.

  No news. I’ll be there soon. Mac dropping me off.

  A minute later came the reply.

  ok.

  “You sure you don’t want to go get your car?” his partner asked.

  “Nah, it’s better off at the station than here. Bryan can take me later. Thanks.”

  “Sure. Sorry we don’t have any news for him. On the bright side, this doesn’t fit the MO of our case, so it’s probably not related.”

  “Yeah.” Dix could only hope, but he wasn’t at all convinced. “See you tomorrow.”

  “I’ll fill the captain in. See you.”

  He exited the car in front of Last Chance and hurried inside. There were no customers, which was probably a good thing, as Bryan made a beeline for his arms.

  “God, I’ve just been beside myself.” He hugged Dix tight.

  “I know. I’m sorry. There just wasn’t anything to report.” He inhaled the scent of Bryan’s hair and hugged back with all his strength.

  “What are we going to do, Dix? I mean, what’s the next step? How far out are the police canvassing?”

  “Let’s sit down.” They chose the two closest chairs. “The problem we’ve got is that with adults, they usually need to be missing at least twenty-four hours before police can do anything. Because I got involved, we started the process earlier.”

  “I don’t understand. My daughter is missing. The cops need to do something.”

  “She’s not a minor, and adults sometimes go off by themselves. Nothing against the law there. And yes, her bedroom was messed up. But not really bad, like no broken lamps or anything.”

  “So there has to be a murder before anyone will take it seriously?”

  “I didn’t say that. We’re taking it very seriously. There just isn’t much we can do, yet. First thing in the morning we’ll put out an APB—an All Points Bulletin. That’ll alert other law enforcement to be on the lookout for her.”

  Bryan frowned. “I want them to be looking for her now. Not tomorrow morning.”

  “I understand. I do, too. But you’d be surprised how much money these things cost, and how many times the person turns up the next morning. Drunk, hung over, whatever, but all completely unaware anyone was looking for them. I’ve put out some feelers, Bryan, so local precincts are aware we’re looking for her. But officially, it has to wait until tomorrow.”

  “So back to my original question. What are we supposed to do now? I can’t just go home and pretend like nothing’s happened.”

  “I don’t know, babe. Have you spoken with Kayla? Maybe she heard from her.”

  “Yes, and no she hasn’t. She’s at work, but she’ll leave if we need her to.”

  “No reason right now. I’m afraid we’re going to have to give it some time.”

  “This sucks. I mean it really sucks.” He stood and paced. “This whole day has been awful. We were busy at lunch with no waitress or cook. I finally got a hold of Mike and he came in to cook for me. Luckily, the rest of the day’s been quiet.”

  Dix stared at him. “Why no cook?”

  “Galen called in sick.”

  He stood and went to Bryan. “And you didn’t think that was worth mentioning?”

  “Why would I?” He studied Dix’s face for a moment then shook his head. “Oh, no. Don’t start this shit again. Galen sounded like hell when he called, coughing and hacking.”

  Dix couldn’t believe his ears. He tried to remind himself that Bryan was a trusting man, and not jaded by years of police work. But it was hard to keep calm. “Let’s you and me take a run over to Galen’s house right now. We’ll just stop in to see how he’s feeling.”

  “No! That’s absurd.”

  “Really? Your daughter is missing. I wouldn’t think any lead would be too crazy to follow up.”

  “Well, this one is. But okay, whatever. Just to shut you up, let’s go. I’ll close the place and send Mike home.” He locked the front door and turned the ‘Open’ sign
to ‘Closed’.

  Dix hated to piss him off, but he didn’t see Galen through the same rose-coloured glasses Bryan obviously did. It wasn’t even Galen that worried him as much as Howard, the son with the fetish for Sami from years ago. People didn’t always get over stuff like that. Sometimes, it festered.

  Bryan sent Mike home and turned off the kitchen lights. He locked the back door and they climbed into his car. “Galen lives close to here. This won’t take long. Maybe when we’re done we could go wait at Sami’s. I still don’t feel like going home.”

  “We’ll see.” Dix wasn’t as convinced that they’d be ‘done’ so soon.

  Galen and his wife lived in a rundown house in an older neighbourhood. There were no lights on at all. Dead plants in flowerboxes lined the walks. “Guess Rae hasn’t planted anything yet this season,” Bryan mused as they approached the front door.

  “Place looks pretty rundown.” Dix peered in a window.

  “Yeah, well, he doesn’t make a fortune.” He rang the bell and when no one answered, knocked loudly.

  “Strange. If he was so sick, shouldn’t he be home in bed? Or at least on the sofa watching TV?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Bryan pulled out his cell and dialled a number.

  Dix could hear it go to voicemail. “Do you have his wife’s number?”

  “Yes.” Bryan punched a few more buttons.

  “Put her on speaker, will you?”

  Bryan did. When a woman answered he said, “Rae? It’s Bryan. How are you?”

  “Hello, Bryan. I’m doing well. Mother is better, too. She should be released from the hospital in a few days. It’s been a long battle.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know she was in the hospital. Doesn’t she live in Atlanta?”

  “Yes. Good grief, I assumed Galen would have told you. I’ve been here for three weeks, now.”

  “Three weeks? Really.” Bryan glanced at Dix.

  Dix was doing mental math. The first murder had occurred about three weeks earlier.

  “Rae, Galen called in sick today. I stopped by the house to make sure he was all right, but he’s not here. Have you spoken with him?”