Page 77 of The Perfect Hosts
Bingo. Jamie makes a call to Greta and asks her once again to contact the US assistant attorney to arrange for another search warrant ASAP. Fifteen minutes later, Greta faxes him a copy of the signed warrant.
He makes another call. All he can do now is wait.
An hour passes, then two. Jamie grows antsy, wondering if by triggering the warrant he’s tipped his hand. But it can’t be helped. They have to do things by the book.
“Agent Saldano.”
Jamie looks up to see Ruby standing in the doorway. “Dix Drake is here. He wants to know when his brother’s remains will be released from the medical examiner’s office. They told him to call you.”
Wes’s brother. Jamie takes a deep breath. “Can you take him to one of the interview rooms?” he asks. “I’ll meet him in there.”
He stops in the restroom to splash cold water on his face in hopes of clearing the cobwebs from his head.
Carrying his laptop and a file folder, Jamie steps into the interview room and finds a large man sitting behind the table. He is hunched over the cup of coffee that Ruby has given him.
“Mr. Drake, I’m Agent Saldano, and I’m sorry about your loss,” Jamie says, pulling back a chair and taking a seat in front of Dix.
Dix looks at him, his face awash with grief. He looks like his brother, handsome but not as lean. He’s broad-shouldered and thick-necked and has the physique of a man who does manual labor but drinks a lot of beer. He gingerly shifts in his seat. Of course he must be in pain, Jamie thinks, remembering the man had to have his spleen removed because of the explosion.
“I just don’t understand,” Dix says helplessly. “The bomb and coming after Madeline like that. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“These things rarely do,” Jamie offers. “You didn’t know about the troubles Wes and Madeline had?”
“Not at all,” Dix says, shaking his head. “I mean, I knew Wes had a temper—he was my brother, I grew up with him—but he loved Madeline, and I can’t imagine him hurting her that way.” Tears fill Dix’s eyes, and he wipes them roughly away. “Did they really have to kill him?” he asks.
“All the evidence points that way,” Jamie says. “If they hadn’t stopped Wes, he would have killed Madeline and their baby.”
“God, the baby,” Dix says, as if just remembering his sister-in-law was pregnant. “Is the baby okay?”
“I don’t know,” Jamie says honestly. “I hope so.”
Dix clears his throat and runs a hand across his wide face. “So what do I do now? What are the next steps?”
“I just have a few follow-up questions for you about the explosion,” Jamie says.
“Certainly,” he says. “Whatever you need.”
“Since I’m questioning you, I need to read you your rights,” Jamie says.
“Why?” Dix asks, confused. “Wes did this. I didn’t have anything to do with what happened. I’m not under arrest, am I?”
“No, no,” Jamie says. “Nothing like that. It’s standard when we interview witnesses. It’s for your protection. If you’d rather have your attorney present...”
“That’s okay,” Dix says with the wave of his hand. “I want to help.”
Jamie reads Dix his rights and then slides the land deed he discovered earlier in front of him. “Tell me about this.”
Dix stares at the paper for a long moment before speaking. “I deeded my brother a chunk of land. That’s all.”
“But why?” Jamie asks. “I looked but couldn’t find any actual bill of sale. You just gave your brother the land? It’s worth—what?—three hundred thousand per acre?”
Dix shifts uncomfortably in his chair. “I’ve got plenty of land left from my father’s estate, and Wes wanted to expand the horse-brokering business. I was happy to help.”
“That’s very generous,” Jamie says.
“I loved my brother,” Dix says, his voice cracking. “Now, is there anything else? I really need to make arrangements for Wes’s funeral.”
“Just one more thing,” Jamie says, turning his laptop screen so Dix can see it. “Can you tell me what you were purchasing PVC piping, duct tape, and nails for?” Jamie presses Play and watches Dix’s face as he sees himself on the screen placing PVC piping and two rolls of duct tape on the counter.