by Eileen Brady
Ashley continued to stare out the window then said, “They both passed within a few weeks of each other, but sometimes I swear I see them walking around in the pasture together…chatting away.”
Chapter Seventeen
The storm Ashley predicted rolled in soon after we left, so we opted for an early dinner at the old and very expensive Patriot’s Revenge Inn, a converted historic roadhouse just outside of Rhinebeck. Its massive blazing fire quickly warmed us up, and the exposed brickwork and dark overhead wooden beams made the large space feel cozy and comforting. Best Inn awards and reviews filled an entire wall. Too bad we were underdressed and smelled like horse.
To his credit, when the very proper waiter came to take our drink order, his nostrils and eyebrows only went up for a second.
“We’ve been horsing around,” Jeremy told him with a straight face.
“Indubitably, sir,” he countered before leaving to get our drinks.
“That deserves a big tip,” I said with a laugh. We’d washed up as best we could at Ashley’s, but short of a shower and complete change of clothes, this was the best we could do.
Of course with his Rolex and designer clothes, even impregnated with horse as they were, Jeremy fit in better than I did. Target designed the clothes I wore.
My companion busied himself with his phone for a minute before passing it over to me. The text he sent read:
Groomed a horse today. Thought of you. XXXXX
I handed it back. “Your sister?”
“Yeah. Funny how listening to Ashley reminisce today and the smell of horses made so many memories come to life, like seeing my sister, Kim, dressed in her riding habit. The day we French-braided her horse’s tail with ribbons to match her own French braid. I’m glad I decided to stay with her and the kids for a while, before we join our parents for Christmas.” He put the phone away when our drinks arrived. Jeremy ordered a whiskey sour while I kept to a single glass of white wine.
We started talking about Christmas plans, and I let slip my predicament. I didn’t have to explain anything to him. He knew that my dad, the big-shot surgeon, had remarried only a few months after my mom died. And when I discovered the new bride worked with him in the OR and was pregnant, I lost it. At fifteen I didn’t handle that sort of thing very well. After months of out-and-out war between my dad and me, Gramps stepped in. By that time my father was overjoyed to get me off his hands.
Since then I hadn’t spoken to him, accepted any money from him, or met his new family. The day I graduated from vet school, Gramps threw a big party for me—rented out our favorite Italian restaurant in Brooklyn and invited the whole neighborhood. My father sent a card and a check.
I tore that check up into little pieces.
* * *
The smell of apple wood burning lent a faint smoky perfume to the air in the inn. Our dinner ranked up there among the best, a bit formal, but nice for a change. “Today has been a lot of fun,” Jeremy admitted to me. “Working outside made me miss my own fieldwork.”
His African dig had been abruptly canceled due to political unrest, his team now scattered around the world. Taking advantage of his unexpected free time, Jeremy enrolled in a few post-grad courses at the University of Pennsylvania, concentrating on the DNA recovery/genome aspects of modern anthropology. As much as he enjoyed his classes, I knew he missed being in the field.
“Do you think you might go back?” I asked him. We sat relaxed in front of the fire, both lingering over espresso. Jeremy held an after-dinner liqueur in his hand, a treat for his horse grooming, he joked. I agreed but insisted we trade driving duties.
He shifted in his chair. “It doesn’t look like we’ll be welcomed back. Unfortunately, it’s the emerging pattern we deal with. My entire profession is scrambling to adjust to DNA advances, site-mapping drones, random attacks, and kidnappings—and a general sense of distrust of science and scientists that is spreading in undeveloped countries. The new reality.”
The new reality—wild animals also had come face-to-face with the new reality, from highland gorillas to migrating monarch butterflies.
“You just met a fellow casualty of that reality, Ashley’s mustang, Lobo. He’s lucky to have a loving, safe home. We’ve got several states here in the USA with wild horses and different styles of management. Herd population is a huge issue. Control means anything from rounding up individuals for auctions to administering birth control. Horse advocates and veterinarians are also getting into the discussion, and it’s anyone’s guess if they can all agree to a realistic and humane answer.”
Jeremy took my hand. “Stuck with problems we can only chip away at.”
“If you chip away long enough…”
“Your arm gets tired.”
I squeezed his hand tight then let go. “Don’t spoil it.”
“Since you’re already a little worked up, let’s discuss another touchy topic—your father. Maybe it is time to let go,” Jeremy advised, his eyes sympathetic. Inside the expensive exterior was the same sweet guy I met the first day of my first class—the guy who always saved a seat in the lecture hall for me.
I stared at the fire, the orange flames licking the firebox. “That’s what Gramps says, too.”
“Gramps is a wise man. You know he’s right—you’re just too stubborn to admit it, Kate.”
Too stubborn to admit it.
That personality trait fit the mustang, too. Lobo knew he’d been captured, but he was too stubborn to admit it.
Both of us needed to change.
* * *
A familiar SUV waited for us in the animal hospital parking lot. As soon as I pulled into the driveway, Luke hopped out of his car.
Then he saw Jeremy in the passenger seat.
“Hey, Luke,” Jeremy said, very friendly after a whiskey sour and a Rémy Martin under his belt after days of no alcohol. “How’s our budding lawyer?”
“On the final stretch.” Luke glanced toward me then Jeremy, then back again. “Kate. Hope I’m not disturbing you two,” he said, awkwardly kissing my cheek.
The cheek kiss from an on-and-off boyfriend is bad news.
I, for one, didn’t feel like standing in the parking lot, wind blowing in my face, staring at each other. The motion detection light flicked on. “Guys, it’s cold out here. Let’s go inside.”
Locking the truck with the remote, I opened my apartment door to be greeted by Buddy, who gave a bark of joy at seeing Luke. Luke had earned undying love from my dog by surreptitiously feeding him people food under the table during almost every one of his visits.
The guys followed me in, chatting about antifreeze and snow tires.
Great. Cooped up with an ex-boyfriend and possibly a soon-to-be ex-boyfriend, while pretending everything was normal. “I’m making some tea,” I announced. “Anyone interested?”
“I’ll have a cup,” Jeremy chimed in, then added, “First Buddy and I are going for a quick walk.”
By now comfortable in his friend status, Jeremy diplomatically removed himself so Luke and I could talk. I hadn’t seen Luke in person for a while, and his calls and texts had dwindled in the last weeks. Ours had been an on-and-off relationship of sorts for quite a while. His high school girlfriend, Dina, kept jumping in and out of the picture, breaking up with him and then begging him to forgive her. Dina was another former high school cheerleader, like Cindy, but she was the kind who’d trip you in the middle of a cheer and laugh when you fell down.
She’d been living in Albany after breaking up for good with Luke. At least, that was the latest rumor. I wondered if things had changed.
“How’s school going?”
The kettle whistled, calling me into the kitchen.
He started to take his coat off, then hesitated. “Very good. I should be eligible to take the law boards next year.”
Muffler in hand, Luke remained in
the living room. I ignored his rather obvious indecision whether to stay or leave. “That’s great.” Placing a few decaf tea bags in my blue china pot, I poured the boiling water in. Steam rushed up and bathed my face.
“Kate,” he began, “we need to…”
The back door burst open, and a barking Buddy stormed into the room. Jeremy followed, his cheeks red from the cold.
“I’m ready for that hot tea…” His sentence petered off after catching a glimpse at the two of us.
“Tea’s ready. Take off your coat and come get it.” I opened the pantry searching for some cookies or biscuits to put out, but no such luck. Jeremy had eaten his way through everything.
Reaching up to hang his heavy coat on the hook, Jeremy winced. “Ouch,” he said then rubbed his shoulder and wrist. “Still a little sore. Guess I shouldn’t have groomed that second horse.”
His grimace caught Luke’s attention. “Something wrong?”
It finally occurred to me that Luke might not be up to date with the town gossip so didn’t know why his former rival was here.
“Jeremy is recovering from an assault.” Before I could complete my explanation, the patient took over.
He poured some tea while enthusiastically telling Luke all about the attempted robbery and hospitalization. “Kate was nice enough to take me in while I recovered,” he ended, giving me a hug. “But the best news is we made up after I was such a jerk.”
“Friends only now,” I reminded him. “No benefits. It works much better for us that way.”
“So, that’s why you’re here?” Luke asked, looking at me and then at Jeremy. “You haven’t gotten back together?”
“You got it.” Jeremy took another sip of tea as the color in his cheeks settled back to normal. “It’s been almost five days with no symptoms, thanks to a smooth recovery courtesy of Dr. Kate. Just got the okay from my doctor, so I’ll soon be off to spend the holidays with my family. What about you?”
“I’ll be here most of the break.” Luke reached down to pet Buddy, a bit reluctant to leave us. “Well, I hope you continue to recover quickly.” His brow furrowed. “I’m curious. Did this assault happen at the university campus?”
“No.”
Still puzzled, Luke asked, “Then where?”
“Here in your beautiful Hudson Valley, in the parking lot behind the Eden Glenn Inn near downtown Kingston—that’s where.”
Luke stared at me then made his decision. “On second thought, I think I will have a cup of tea.”
* * *
“So, let me see if I have this right,” Luke began, his long legs tucked underneath the kitchen table. “Two disgruntled clients of Kate’s have died, Jeremy’s been beaten up, and a stranger screamed at you in the supermarket. You also have a video on YouTube from the staff Christmas party in which you wish those same two clients would disappear—using your finger as a magic wand. All in the last twelve days?”
“The twelve days of Christmas with a slight rewrite.”
Silence was his reaction.
I thought that line was funny, but it didn’t get me a laugh. “At least the third person Pinky mentioned is alive and well.”
“Cheers,” added my slightly inebriated friend.
“When were you going to update me on this?” Luke didn’t disguise the annoyance in his voice.
Jeremy rose to my defense. “She’s been busy. You didn’t exactly announce your visit tonight either.”
“Touché.”
Building on the attack, I added, “We haven’t been in very close contact lately, in case you haven’t noticed.”
Our angry glares at each other made Jeremy snicker. He was known for having a warped sense of humor.
“Calm down, you two. Luke, the detectives from Kingston and the Oak Falls police agree—Kate’s clients were two accidental deaths, and as for me, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” With that Jeremy felt everything had been satisfactorily explained but added, “Bad idea to flash your cash in a strange bar while getting loaded.”
Luke thought for a moment then stated, “I don’t like coincidences. Kate, what about this person who yelled at you?”
Now it was my turn to explain. “Her name is Rye or Rae, I think, and she worked at Oak Falls Animal Hospital for a short time. Cindy had to cut back her hours and she quit. This happened my first week on the job. Somehow she’s gotten the idea I’m responsible.”
“Are you?”
Now I vented my frustration. “Absolutely not. I didn’t even know who she was. Mari had to tell me.”
“This Rae. Did she threaten you?”
That made me uncomfortable. “Ah, maybe a little threat.”
“You didn’t tell me that,” piped up Jeremy.
“I didn’t take it seriously. We were in the supermarket checkout line, for goodness’ sake.” As if that made any difference.
Luke persisted, concern in his voice. “What exactly did she say?”
With reluctance I thought back to that evening at the supermarket. I saw the woman’s face contorted with anger. “‘Everyone thinks you’re so nice,’” I recited. “‘But I know the truth.’” Then I remembered what she yelled at me as I was leaving. “You better watch your back, Kate Turner.”
“Holy moly,” Jeremy said.
Luke shook his head. “I second that.”
* * *
I had finally convinced the guys not to worry about a supermarket bagger’s crazy threat when someone knocked on the back door. Hard.
Buddy started barking.
“Who’s that?” Jeremy asked. “Another gentleman caller, perhaps? I suppose we can squeeze another in at the table.”
“I’m not expecting anyone.” My clock read 8:15. I had no idea who it might be. A client? Maybe Pinky?
When I opened the door, my stomach dropped.
* * *
The chief of police didn’t usually make house calls, especially this late in the evening. But since Cindy, my receptionist, was his wife’s sister, he made an exception.
Now all four of us sat at the crowded kitchen table. I didn’t know why Chief Garcia was here, because he and Luke started comparing notes as soon as they greeted each other. When they paused, I interrupted.
“Excuse me for asking, but I’m curious. What are you doing here? Is this a social call?”
The chief stopped, tapped his fingers on the table, and said, “A woman was murdered behind the supermarket off Route 10 sometime between midnight and noon today. Name was Lassitor, Raeleen Lassitor, but most people knew her by her nickname, Rae.”
I felt a thud in my chest.
“Her name was the last one on your wish list, Dr. Turner.”
“Rae?” Luke recognized the name and twisted his head toward me. His eyes darted over to mine, then as quickly settled back on the chief.
“Kate’s been with me the whole time,” Jeremy volunteered. “Dinner together last night at the diner. Went right home. Breakfast here. Then we went to see one of her clients. Got there around eleven, I think. You can check with Ashley, the mustang owner.” Unfortunately, Jeremy then burped, which undermined his credibility. Ignoring the eructation, he continued. “We then had an early dinner at somebody’s Revenge, near Rhinebeck. Go ahead. Check our phones and my credit card if you don’t believe me. Check the hospital cameras.” His tone turned belligerent, asking for a fight.
The chief poured another cup of tea for himself. “Oh, I believe you, but I’d still like to ask Dr. Turner a few questions.”
“Sure.” Stunned that the Raeleen Lassitor on the video was the Rae from the supermarket, I felt flushed, my face warm.
Luke got up and casually brought me a large glass of ice water.
“This must be about Raeleen’s tirade in the supermarket, because it’s the only recent interaction I’ve had with her.”
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“So,” he began, “you were on the supermarket checkout line…”
“With Mari.”
“With Mari. Then tell me in your own words what happened.”
As he took notes, I repeated the same story I’d told earlier, ending with Raeleen’s threat as I tried to escape out the door.
We all sat quietly while he scribbled away.
Too anxious to hold still any longer, I said, “You can check this out with Mari and the cashier. I’m sure they remember. It caused enough of a disturbance.”
“Kate,” Luke said gently, trying to ease my worries, “the chief isn’t a rookie at this.”
“Do you need my statement?” Jeremy tried again to deflect the tension building in the room.
Smoothly changing the subject, Chief Garcia suggested that since it was so late, Jeremy should go down to the station in the morning and be interviewed.
“Cool.” That made my friend sound way too excited, like he was going to appear on Law & Order or something.
“And let us know if you have any travel plans,” Chief Garcia added in a bland voice. “By the way,” he asked Jeremy, “I understand you were the victim of an assault last weekend?”
“Yes, I was. In Kingston, behind my hotel.”
Luke stared at me and subtly shook his head. The police had tied all these incidents together, just as he had done.
From the sudden tightness around the chief’s mouth, I was pretty sure that Luke’s slick shaking-his-head maneuver didn’t pass unnoticed by his former boss.
Chief Garcia leaned forward and looked at his notebook. “Dr. Jeremy Engels, I believe. I’ve changed my mind. Maybe you can tell me about your assault now…in your own words.” He purposefully excluded Luke and me.
* * *
“That was fun,” I said after Chief Garcia left. “What’s going on, Luke?”
From his expression I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. “I would take his visit tonight as a gentle warning.”