Horse Sense (Dunbarton Mysteries Book 2)

by Valerie Tate

  “Marci has never been known for her great sensitivity!” Alex finished with a smug smile.

  Alicia snickered while unsuccessfully trying to get Harley to duplicate Brin’s easy, flowing half-pass. Alex made it look so easy. She couldn’t figure out what she was doing wrong. She watched with a mixture of admiration and awe (and, it must be admitted, with just a touch of envy) as Alex and Brin executed a brilliant Piaffe/Passage?Piaffe tour ending in a flawless halt.

  “I was going to say,” Chris continued, “that we could tell them we’re going home in a day or two and would like to see the horses before we go.”

  “Good thinking, honey!”

  Chris wished she didn’t always sound so surprised when she said that. “I’ll go call Marci and make an appointment for tomorrow. You two keep doing... whatever it is you’re doing.”

  Not surprisingly, (or perhaps, surprisingly, depending on one’s opinion of her) he reported that Marci had said she would be happy to show them her youngsters the following afternoon. They should use the driveway by the bungalow at the north end of the farm in case the area around the staff quarters was still crawling with police (her choice of words, not his).

  They made sure they were there 20 minutes before the appointed time, hoping to be able to take the mane samples before Marci arrived, but it wasn’t to be. When they pulled up by the barn, Janey met them at the door looking in much better spirits than the last time they saw her.

  “Hi, Janey! Do you you work here, too?” Alicia asked, disguising her disappointment.

  “Oh, yes. There aren’t always a lot or horses in the other barn so Brooke and I look after this one as well. You’re a bit early. Marci will be here shortly.”

  A few minutes later, a door in the bungalow opened and Marci rushed out followed by a dog the size of a small pony. The Great Dane saw the visitors and immediately began loping towards them with airborne strides and a bark that would rival the Last Trump.

  “Danny!” Danny didn’t seem to hear Marci so she tried again a little louder. “Here, Danny!” Still no response. Danny appeared to have a hearing problem. “Down, Danny!!” This as Danny leaped and planted his front paws squarely on Alicia’s sagging shoulders.

  Janey and Chris grabbed Danny by the collar and were dragging him off as Marci arrived.

  “He’s very friendly. Still just a puppy,” she explained breathlessly. “He seems to like you,” she added in a tone that implied there was no accounting for taste.

  Alicia ignored the tone. “He’s beautiful! I love the white coat with the black markings. It’s so distinctive. And he does seem very friendly.” Danny had turned his attention to Chris and Alex, trying to lick the newcomers as if to prove his good intentions.

  Taking Danny firmly by the collar, Marci led them into the barn. It was shed-row style, a long aisle of stalls with the inside wall attached to the arena. The stalls all had windows on the outside wall and half-doors on the aisle. The horses were standing with their heads out to get a look at the strangers and hopefully, if they were lucky, an apple or a carrot. They weren’t disappointed. Janey grabbed a handful of carrots from the 50 pound bag by the door and handed them out while Marci made the introductions, relating each horse’s name, age and pedigree as they walked down the long aisle. The fresh scents of hay and wood shavings vied with the pungent odour of recently dropped manure. While Janey stopped to pick out the offending offering, Marci continued down the aisle.

  Stopping in front of a chestnut mare, she said, “This is my husband’s horse. She’s a wonderful eventer but he’s too busy to compete with her right now so we’ve bred her to Woody.”

  In the stall at the far end, beside the door that led to the sand ring, was her stallion, Woodstock. Evidently, even Marci had a heart, Chris concluded, because it was apparent in every word and gesture that she loved that horse. He was a striking bright bay, his body almost the colour of a chestnut but with a black mane and tail. He had a distinctive diamond-shaped star in the middle of his forehead and four white socks.

  “Woody and I compete in Open Jumper. It isn’t always easy competing with a breeding stallion but he has such excellent temperament that he’s never been a problem,” she said proudly, patting the handsome head. “He has a fabulous jump. This is his best season so far. We’ve won almost every class we’ve entered. It’s so difficult when you are leading in points on the A Circuit. Everyone is always hoping you’ll have a rail down.”

  “Must be stressful,” Alex said dryly, congratulating herself on her self-control.

  The sarcasm went over Marci’s head. “Yes, it does add to the stress, but then I suppose you know something about that, though of course dressage doesn’t involve the physical risks that we encounter in Jumper. So much safer for you.” It was said earnestly, with a small, understanding smile and a malicious glint in her eyes.

  Alex almost bit through her tongue.

  Seeing the look on her friend’s face and fearing physical violence might ensue, Alicia rushed bravely into the breach. “And is he the father of all these youngsters?” she asked, feigning ignorance.

  “The sire,” Marci corrected. “Yes. They are all by him.”

  “They’re all beautiful!” Alicia said, truthfully. They were all beautiful but she thought it strange that none of them bore any resemblance to their handsome sire. “It must be wonderful to be able to create such lovely horses,” she added with some envy.

  For the first time since she’d met Marci, the mask dropped completely. “It was my dream from the time I was a young girl. “Breed the best to the best and hope for the best.” She quoted the old horseman’s adage. “I’ve been able to do that thanks to King Valley.”

  “It’s very impressive. I never expected such a high tech operation, but then I don’t know anything about breeding. Did you use artificial insemination for all of these foals?”

  “Yes. It’s common practice today, especially with competition stallions. Much safer all around and it helps keep his mind on business when he has to be around mares in competitions. It also means that mares can be bred even if he is away at a show.”

  “We’ve heard great things about Dr. Allardyce and your facility.”

  At the mention of her husband’s name, Marci’s eyes glowed. “Jon is the best in the business and together we’ve created a world class breeding centre. Our foals and our satisfied clients attest to that. We deal with semen from top stallions from all over the world. Mare owners can entrust their dreams for an outstanding foal to us.”

  “Fascinating!” Alicia said and she didn’t just mean the breeding operation.,

  While Alicia kept Marci busy with Woodstock and all there is to know about breeding with the competition stallion, Chris and Alex wandered back down the aisle. They had sandwich bags in their pockets that they hoped to use to hold the mane samples, but they couldn’t get rid of Janey who obviously loved talking about her four-legged charges.

  Chris was patting one of the foals, trying unobtrusively to snag a few mane hairs when the baby suddenly nipped his thumb.

  “Ow! He bit me!”

  “Did he break the skin?” Janey asked.

  Chris examined the afflicted digit. “No.”

  “Then you’ll be fine. It’s a long way from your heart!”

  Horse people really are different, he thought.

  When they had discussed all of the possible sale horses, Alicia told Marci she would think it over but since the oldest one was just three and not yet under saddle she felt she would probably look for something with a bit more training. Again, surprisingly, Marci said she thought that was sensible. Whatever some people’s opinions might be about her, Marci was obviously a good horse person who didn’t want her babies to end up in the wrong hands.

  After they’d thanked her for her time, Marci, Janey and Danny watched them drive past the house and turn onto the road leading to home.

  “Did either of you get anything?” Alicia asked.

  “No, Janey stuck to us l
ike glue,” Alex replied.”How about you?”

  “No joy here, either. Marci never took her eyes off me.”

  “So what do we do now?” Alex sounded downcast.

  Alicia had been thinking about that. “We go back. Tonight.”

  “What good will that do? They still won’t leave us alone.”

  “That’s why we’re not going to tell them we’re there!” she said, with a look that promised nefarious undertakings to come.

  Chris knew that look only too well.

  Chapter 12

  They had a difficult time persuading Chris to stay with the car that night. Besides the affront to his male ego, his instinctive need to protect Alicia over-rode other considerations. But then he remembered the Tae Kwon Do. Anyone who tried anything with Alicia would rue the day! And so when they pointed out that as a lawyer and an officer of the court it would look very bad if he was caught trespassing in the middle of the night, he agreed to stay in the car and to drive around a few concession roads if anyone seemed at all suspicious.

  “And besides, someone has to come and bail us out if we get caught!” his wife said, only half-joking, giving him a quick kiss as she was leaving.

  Alicia and Alex climbed the fence at the road and set off across the fields.

  “The moon’s pretty bright but I’ve brought a flashlight just in case,” Alex whispered. “We don’t need anyone breaking a leg trespassing in a farmer’s field on the way to breaking into a barn and stealing mane samples!”

  Alicia decided to ignore the sarcasm. “It’s too bad we don’t have night vision goggles.”

  “Well the next time we’re going to trespass on a farm in the middle of the night, I’ll be sure we have some!”

  Alicia stopped and turned to her friend. “Do you have a better idea of how we can get the samples? If so, I will happily turn around and leave this field and whatever is in it.”

  Alex had to admit that she didn’t. “It’s cows,” she added.

  “What do you mean, ‘It’s cows?’”

  “You said, ‘whatever is in it’. This is a cow field. I saw them when we were here before.”

  “Cows! Do you think they will come after us?” Alicia craned her head around vainly trying to see the dreaded beasts in the dark.

  “No, silly. Cows don’t come after people. They are very passive.”

  “What about bulls? They go after people.”

  “There won’t be any bulls. I thought you were a country girl!”

  “I’m a town girl. The town just happens to be in the country.”

  “You’re a farm girl now!”

  “Right now I’m just a house on a farm girl. What is all this soft stuff I keep stepping in?”

  “Probably cow patties.”

  “Cow patties!” Alicia stopped abruptly, lifting her feet to check the soles. “Manure?”

  “Yes, you should try to avoid them.”

  “I would, if I could see them! And I would be able to see them if...”

  “We had night vision goggles!”

  Both girls were laughing as they reached the fence.

  They’d decided they had to cross the cow field to avoid going past the house on their way to the barn. From their vantage by the fence, they could see the back door of the barn on the other side of the arena.

  “I just had a terrible thought!” Alicia said. “What if they have a security system?”

  Alex looked at the barn and arena. “I doubt it. Even many top training facilities don’t have security systems. Usually, just having the barn located so that someone driving in has to go past the house is enough.”

  “Well, we’re proving that’s not true!”

  “Yes, but we’re not trying to steal a horse. They might have motion-sensor lights but after a while people just ignore them. We tried them. They were always being set off by cats and raccoons and other small animals. It was annoying so we got rid of them. You were the one who wanted to do this. We’re just going to have to take our chances.”

  Climbing the fence in their Wellington boots caused quickly suppressed giggles. They crossed the sand ring, staying in the shadows as much as possible until they reached the barn door. Alex turned on the flashlight as they entered.

  “We need hair from a mare, her foal and the stallion. I brought mane pulls for each of us. You know how to use one, don’t you? Just take some hair, wrap it around the comb and then pull. It should come out easily. Then put it in a baggie as neatly as you can, keeping the hair all going in the same direction, and seal it. One sample per bag. I’ll take Woody. OK?”

  Alicia nodded and headed down the aisle to a stall with a mare and foal. It was as easy as Alex had said and she soon had both samples safely sealed in bags in her pockets.

  Alex had her sample and was sealing the bag when they heard a familiar sound.

  “Oh, no! It’s the Hound of the Baskervilles!!” Alicia whispered in a panic. The sound of barking was getting rapidly closer! “Run!”

  Alex switched off the flashlight and they ran as if the hounds of Hell were after them, out of the barn and across the sand ring, Danny panting at their heels. While definitely not a hound from Hell, he was a dog who could love you to death or at least embarrassment and potentially trespass charges.

  Alex reached the fence first and safely hopped over. Alicia, right behind her, made a leap for it, vaulted over and promptly fell, landing in some foul-smelling muck on the other side.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, but I don’t like to think about what I just fell in!”

  “Don’t think about that now. Just run!”

  They ran, squelching in their Wellies, stumbling over the rough, uneven surface of the pasture that was mined with cow patties. Danny had thankfully given up at the fence.

  When they reached the car, Chris started the engine.

  The girls were about to jump in when Alex grabbed Alicia’s arm.

  “Wait. You can’t get in like that. You stink!”

  Alicia sniffed and agreed with her friend’s assessment. “I can’t help it. It’s whatever gunk I fell in.”

  “That gunk is manure,” Alex said in a tone that said it should be self-evident.

  “Well, manure isn’t something I’ve spent a great deal of time with.”

  The slight emphasis on ‘I’ve’ caused Alex to bristle. “Get used to it,” she replied with a hint of vinegar. “Once the horses arrive you’ll have an ongoing relationship. Now take your clothes off. I’ve got a jacket in the back you can put on. We’ll put your clothes in the trunk.”

  “I’m not taking off my clothes on the side of the road! What if someone drove past?”

  “You’re not getting in my car smelling like that! Go around the other side of the car. No one would notice you there.” Seeing the mutinous look on her friend’s face, she cajoled, “Have a heart, Al! It’s a brand new car! Leather interior!”

  “Oh, all right,” Alicia grumbled. “The things I do for you.”

  Alicia went around the car and stripped down to her bra and panties.

  “Nice undies!” Alex noted.

  “Thanks! Victoria’s Secret!”

  Alicia pulled on the jacket while Alex threw her offending garments in the trunk.

  “You didn’t get those in Dunbarton.”

  “Shopping trip to Toronto. They were a present for Chris,” Alicia added, grinning broadly.

  “But they looked better on Ali so I gave them back to her!” Chris retorted. “Now let’s get out of here.”

  The girls hopped into the car and Chris drove off.

  “Oo! Cold seats!”

  Chapter 13

  Early the next morning, Chris took the mane samples and drove for an hour to the vet clinic in Uxbridge where his sister, Connie, worked. She had a friend from college who was working at a lab where DNA testing was done. Connie was going to take the samples to the lab personally, and her friend had agreed to run them immediately. They should have the results in a day or t
wo.

  He spent the rest of the day making farm visits with his sister, always amazed at the work she did, and then returned to Avalon in the early evening. He found Alicia, Alex and Julie on the patio drinking wine and having a bitch session. Alicia and Alex were telling her mom about the visit to Marci’s barn.

  “And then she said, ‘It’s so difficult when you are leading in points on the A Circuit. Everyone is always hoping you’ll have a rail down.” Alex mimicked Marci’s voice and mannerisms.

  Her mom nodded knowingly. “She’s one of those women who complain about something they have knowing their friend would kill for it. Like, ‘My hair is so thick and curly I can’t do anything with it!’ when her friend has fine, straight hair. Or the converse, ‘It doesn’t matter if I get rained on, with my straight hair.’ when even the hint of humidity turns her friend’s hair into a frizz-ball.”

  Alicia laughed. “I know someone like that! ‘Oh, I’m so thin. I really wish I could put on a few pounds. I eat and eat but it never does any good! I just can’t gain weight!’ when her friend is always trying to lose a few.”

  “I’ve got another one. ‘My eyelashes are so long they get caught in my eyebrows!’”

  “My feet are so small I can’t find any shoes that fit!”

  “My thighs are so thin my skinny jeans just hang off me!”

  Turning on his heal, Chris quietly left the room, feeling very thankful he’d been born with the Y chromosome.

  He called and made an appointment at King Valley Breeding for the following morning. Dean’s supposed computer confession provided the perfect opportunity for them to question the hows and whys of the substitution of the straw.

  When they arrived at the office, Chris and Alex joined Jon, Marci and Claire but Alicia had noticed Janey mucking out a stall as they walked through the barn and she begged off saying she would like to have another look around to get ideas for their barn renovation.

  Appearing to be seriously studying the finer points of the barn, Alicia made her way towards the groom.