by Otto Penzler
Eric felt one of those sudden spikes of anger at Mark that seemed to take him unawares these days. Why leave all your problems to me? Why couldn’t you see how much Jimmy still needs you? I don’t know anything about being a parent! I don’t know anything about horses!
Eric realized that he had pressed on the accelerator in his fury, and quickly let up on it, telling himself it would do no good to Jimmy if something happened to him. He drove in what Jimmy called his “granny gear” —at a nice, sedate pace. Granny gear or no, he’d muddle through somehow.
Jimmy hurried out to meet him, for once not bothering to feign aloofness. Eric realized that this boy, usually so solemn and quiet, was more animated than he had seen him at any time in the past two years. He was standing outside Eric’s car door before Eric had time to set the parking brake.
Tall for his age but thin, Jimmy had large dark eyes and black hair, and the sort of strong features that might or might not grow into handsomeness over the next few years—dark brows, long-but-not-too-long lashes, a nice straight nose, a determined chin. Eric could see something of each of Jimmy’s parents in that face.
“What happened?” Jimmy asked, the moment Eric stepped out of the car.
Eric smiled. “I fired him, just as you asked me to. Zuppa Inglese should arrive here any time now.”
To Eric’s surprise, Jimmy let out a loud whoop, punched his fist in the air, and gave his uncle a quick hug. “Oh, Uncle Eric—that is so awesome. Was he all, like, angry and everything?”
“Yes, he certainly was,” Eric said, remembering some of Shackel’s choicer insults.
Jimmy’s brows drew together in worry. “He didn’t try to hurt you or anything, did he?”
“No, no, nothing like that. I simply told him that this was the way it was going to be, and he really had no choice in the matter.” Feeling that he might be making himself sound too heroic, he added, “Ms. Freepoint didn’t allow him to give her any grief. In fact, Zuppa Inglese tried to bite him.”
Jimmy laughed. “Did Zuppa act up?”
“A little. Not with Ms. Freepoint, though.”
“He’s a little head shy sometimes—he doesn’t like people to make sudden moves near his face. Freaks him out a little. But if he likes you, he won’t mind. He probably likes Donna.”
“I guess he doesn’t like Shackel. In any case, he is no longer in Mr. Shackel’s clutches.”
“I’m glad. I’m so glad.” Within the next moment, though, he sounded anxious again. “Uncle Eric?”
“Yes?”
“Stay away from Shackel, okay?”
“I have no plans to go near him,” Eric said with feeling.
Jimmy grew quiet again.
A new thought occurred to Eric. “Has Shackel ever tried to harm you or scare you?”
“No… But I’ve seen him act mean to the people who work for him. He can get kind of crazy.”
“He was a little crazy today,” Eric admitted. “But I’m glad to hear he’s never bothered you.”
“He was only nice to me because he wanted Zuppa.” He frowned, and grew quiet again.
“Did you find things to do while you were waiting?” Eric asked.
“Huh?” he said, coming out of whatever thoughts were troubling him. “Oh, yeah. I love it here. Donna lets me help out. And I know the grooms and hotwalkers and everybody else. They’re all nice to me.” He paused, then added, “Mom told me that Donna pays her grooms better than other people do, and takes good care of the people who work for her.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Eric said, thinking of some of the conditions he had seen along the backstretch. “That means they’re probably loyal to her, too.”
“Yeah,” Jimmy said. “And, like, you know—the best people want to work for her.” After another silence, he pointed to a property across the road. “See that house over there?”
“Yes. The one with the ’for sale’ sign?”
“Exactly!”
“Oh…”
“Could you buy it?” he pleaded. “I mean, or could you buy it now and I could pay you later, you know, like… when I’m older?”
This was just the kind of ticklish situation he found himself in lately, Eric thought ruefully. “Have you actually been inside that house?”
“No. But it’s ten acres, so if you don’t like the house, you could build a different one, and you know, live next door to me.”
“Are you sure you’d want me for your neighbor?”
“No—what I mean is, I’d like it better if we lived in the same house, but not if you don’t like it.”
Eric smiled. “Thanks. I’d rather we lived in the same house, too.” Eric thought briefly of the beautiful seaside home he had sold in order to move into Mark’s home, all with the idea of not causing further disruption in the boy’s life. Now Jimmy wanted to move? “Are you unhappy in the house we’re in now?”
Jimmy looked away, then said, “Not exactly. It’s just… it’s hard.”
“The memories?”
He nodded. “It’s like… I don’t know… it’s just hard to be there.”
Eric had felt it himself He had put most of his possessions in storage, afraid to make too big an impact on Mark and
Carlotta’s home, or to risk further upset for Jimmy. He hadn’t been able to bear the thought of staying in their bedroom, and had instead taken over a large guestroom. He hadn’t been able to make himself sort through the vast majority of Mark’s personal belongings, either, and it was clear to him that Mark had not been able to do so with Carlotta’s.
“Well,” he said now, “we can move if we want to, but let’s get more information before we make a decision, all right?”
Jimmy looked up at him, studying his face, as if he wasn’t sure if Eric was humoring him or telling the truth. Apparently he decided on the latter, because he nodded agreement.
They heard the truck approaching. Jimmy had been very specific about the transport company and the style in which his horse was to travel, and he seemed relieved that Eric had followed his instructions.
As the truck came to a gentle stop, the horse made a sound that Eric could only think of as a trumpeting of his arrival. “Here I am, Zuppa!” Jimmy called, and the horse repeated his own call. Eric stood back and watched as the horse was unloaded. Jimmy had apparently forgotten his uncle’s existence. The big colt obviously recognized Jimmy, and made a series of soft, low sounds as he approached. Eric grew worried when the horse looked as if he might nip at the boy, but then saw that he was just nuzzling him.
Jimmy became a changed being. He was smiling and laughing, talking constantly to the horse, who looked for all the world to be hanging on his every word. As he led Zuppa to his new stall, telling him how much happier he was going to be, Eric could only watch in wonder.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” a voice said from behind him.
He turned to see Donna Freepoint standing nearby. “Yes. ”
“We need to talk, Mr. Halsted. Jimmy will keep busy for a while, and the folks who work here are fond of him—they’ll make sure he doesn’t come to any harm.”
He followed her into her office and she motioned toward a wooden chair. She began talking about the difference between Zuppa’s workout times and his race performances. She was talking about morning glories and dockers and airing, and he got nothing more out of this than the fact that she thought Zuppa was not racing as fast as he worked out. She went on to explain several possible reasons for this, and things she wanted to try for starters. Eric found himself watching her mouth move. A really nice mouth. He had just managed to re-focus his attention on the business at hand for about one minute when she paused and asked, “Have you understood a word I’ve said, Mr. Halsted?”
“Please call me Eric.”
She rolled her eyes, not all that differently from the way Jimmy rolled his. “All right, Eric, same question.”
“Yes, although there were parts I will admit I don’t really grasp as yet, being new to all this. Yo
u were just saying that you doubt blood tests would show anything, but you’d like to have some done just in case, and to have a different vet take over the care of Zuppa.”
“Yes.” She stayed silent, but a helpless look came over her face, as if she were struggling to come up with a way to explain rocket science to a four-year-old with a head injury.
“Do you have any objection to explaining this again in front of Jimmy?”
The look of frustration vanished. But she hesitated, then said, “Jimmy has had a lot to deal with lately. An awful lot. You sure you want to put this on his shoulders, too?”
“I don’t think anything having to do with that horse will be a burden to him.”
She smiled. “No.”
“How did you meet him?”
She laughed. “At the track, of course. He came up to me and told me that he had been watching the horses I trained and was trying to talk his mom and dad into moving their horses over to my barn. He must have been just shy of ten. I figured, ’cute kid,’ and thanked him, but as he kept talking, I thought, ’little genius,’ instead. He’s sharp, and he knows horses. More than most of the adults I meet—uh, no offense.”
“None taken.”
“I’m not saying that he doesn’t have more to learn. But what amazes me about Jimmy is how fast he learns. And he’s got the gift, that way of knowing horses—it goes beyond anything anyone can tell you about them, or anything that’s just in your head—but horses know who has it and who doesn’t. They can tell.” She suddenly blushed. “That probably sounds like a lot of nonsense to a science guy like you. It’s hard to explain.”
Eric thought of the way Zuppa had responded to Jimmy. Maybe someday someone would do a long and careful study that would reveal what signals or cues a horse reads from a person with the “gift.” But in the meantime, Eric was willing to call it that. “I’m not a behavioral scientist,” he said, “so your explanation is fine. I’m a glorified tinker, a guy who likes to fool around with mechanical things and make them work better.”
“Yeah, right.” She added with an even mix of skepticism and amazement, “Jimmy said you make robots.”
“Not as smart as the ones you’ve seen in movies. Anyway, I think I have an idea of what you mean about Jimmy’s way with horses. Some idea, anyway. So you found a kindred spirit that day?”
“Absolutely. Next thing I know, he’s bringing Carlotta around, and he’s got her convinced.” She paused. “I didn’t know your sister-in-law for all that long before she died, but we just hit it off from the start. We were friends—I liked her a lot.”
“So did I.”
“She thought highly of you. ’Mark’s smarter brother,’ she used to say. Told me how good you were to them.”
He was surprised to hear this, but shook his head. “Not so much, really. And Mark was smart. Just in a different way.”
She looked as if she would counter that but must have changed her mind, because she stayed silent.
“I don’t think he knew quite how to live without her,” Eric said, offering her the same excuse he offered himself. “He changed, after Carlotta died.”
She nodded. “Mark used to let Jimmy stay over here sometimes. Jimmy liked it, I think mostly because of the horses, but also because he just needed a change of scenery, if you know what I mean.”
“Yes. Yes, I think I do. And thanks for letting him do that.”
“He’s good company. He is bright and good hearted, and he’s had too much bad luck that he didn’t deserve. Although I’m not completely convinced that luck…”
“What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. Anyway, he just needs someone to stand by him, you know? I hope you—” She broke off, apparently realizing she was lecturing a client.
He smiled. “I agree. Don’t worry, I have no plans to abandon him.”
“Of course you don’t,” she said quickly. “I could tell that, and I’ll bet anything he can, too. Anyway—I’ll call the barn and get them to send liim over here.” She used the intercom on her phone to talk to one of her workers. The worker kept her on the line with some questions about another horse. While she talked to him, Eric stood and stretched.
He looked out the window, seeing the house across the way. How much of a risk would it really be to move out here, let Jimmy be close to someone who cared about him so much? Eric doubted the asking price would be outside his ability to meet it. He wouldn’t have to sell Mark’s place—keep that in case Jimmy decided he wanted it later on. He felt certain that Donna Freepoint viewed him as someone merely to be tolerated, but so what? Couldn’t he be an adult about it, for Jimmy’s sake?
“Sorry about that,” she said, coming out from behind her desk.
“The place across the road that’s for sale—know anything about it?”
She studied him for a moment, then said, “Sure. I grew up here, so I know most of my neighbors.” Her description of the house was straightforward: built about sixty years ago, modernized about two years ago by new owners, and kept in good repair. Owners were “perfectly nice folks” who had dreamed of country living and then couldn’t handle the isolation once they were out here. “They’ll take quite a bit less than they’re asking for it,” she said. “Thinking of moving?”
But Jimmy came in before he could answer. Eric was still amazed at the transformation being around the horse had made in the boy. He was chattering excitedly about how well Zuppa had settled in, telling Donna how happy he was that she was going to be training Zuppa. “Finally,” he said in the tone of someone who often has to wait for adults to come to their senses.
“You have your uncle to thank for that, so don’t forget it. And if you’re going to be advising Eric, you need to listen up, all right? I explained all this to him, but he wanted you in on the decisions.”
He looked at Eric with obvious gratitude.
“I don’t know manes from tails, remember?” Eric said.
Jimmy looked embarrassed. “I shouldn’t have said that. You’ll learn. This is just all new to you.”
Donna began again, and hearing the information a second time, Eric found he was taking more of it in. Jimmy stopped her every once in a while to explain things in greater depth to Eric or to ask her questions.
“So,” he said, “Shackel might have been doping him?”
“I have no proof of that, Jimmy, and it’s probably too late to find any trace of it at this point.”
“Nobody ever finds proof of anything he does,” Jimmy said bitterly. “My mom knew he was crooked, and I think my dad was… well, that doesn’t matter now.”
Eric wasn’t exactly sure what to make of this. He turned to Donna. “Did Carlotta mention this to you?”
“Carlotta didn’t like Shackel. Said the more she got to know him, the more he gave her the creeps. She wanted Mark to move the horses here. But he didn’t agree, and I have to say I totally understand why he didn’t. First, that’s not the kind of change anyone makes without a lot of thought. Second, not smart to make someone your trainer on the basis of a friendship. Third, I have a famous trainer for a father, but that hasn’t won me the trust of horsemen. As long as my dad was still around here to keep an eye on things, people figured he was the real reason the horses I trained won. Once he retired…” She shrugged.
“Carlotta always had good business sense,” Eric said. “So I doubt she would have made the decision on an emotional basis. Over the years, I noticed she could usually convince Mark to change his mind if she thought he was making a bad decision.”
“They got mad at each other about it,” Jimmy said.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Donna said. “But when it came to Shackel, your mom didn’t have more to go on than a gut feeling. She knew your dad would need more than that to end a long working relationship—and Shackel didn’t have a bad record with your dad’s horses. They were doing well. You know that, Jimmy.”
“I also know that sometimes people are wrong about other people. They get fooled.
Shackel fools people.” In a quieter voice, he added, “He fooled my dad.”
Eric said, “Maybe not, Jimmy. Maybe selling all his other horses was a way for your dad to have less to do with Shackel.”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. He was just… you know, giving up.”
Although Eric had thought this same thing, he found he didn’t want Jimmy to look at it this way. “Then why keep Zuppa Inglese?”
“Who knows?” he said. “He did all kinds of crazy stuff after Mom died.”
“Did he know you didn’t like Shackel?”
“Yeah. We used to fight about it, too, before Mom died.
After that—well, we tried not to fight about anything after she died.” He pressed his palms to his eyes, then took a deep breath.
“I think maybe he was moving away from Shackel, Jimmy,” Eric said. “Think about what he added to his will about Zuppa. He didn’t tell me to ’do what Shackel says.’ He trusted you, and you just told me he knew you didn’t like Shackel. We’re here at Copper Hills because he knew you’d have the strength to take Zuppa to the best trainer. I think he knew you’d bring him here.”
Jimmy looked up at him and said, “You think so? ”
“Sure.”
After a moment, Jimmy said, “Maybe people will finally catch on about Shackel.”
“If Zuppa Inglese suddenly starts winning races,” Donna said, “people are definitely going to have questions about him.”
Eric thought about this for a moment, then said, “Excuse me, but why would someone want a horse he was training to lose races?”
“With a juvenile—a two-year-old horse—probably betting odds,” she said. “But I don’t think it can ever really be worth it.”
Horses might not be Eric’s specialty, but probability and statistics were not foreign territory. “Oh, I see… so, he waits to place a bet when the odds are favorable, when he knows that whatever has been slowing Zuppa down is no longer in the horse’s system.”