by Valerie Tate
She decided to try going in by the back door. “When I first met Alex at Guelph, there were a lot of guys who were interested in me because I was a Dunbar and my grandmother was wealthy. They thought I was an heiress.” She left the implication hanging in the air between them, hoping for the sake of her friendship with Alex that he wouldn’t take offence.
Jake grinned. He really had a million dollar smile. “Did Alex grill Chris before the two of you got married?”
“I don’t think so. Chris knew better than anyone just who was inheriting the Dunbar estate!”
“I heard all about that from Alex. The cat, right? How’s he doing?”
“Healthy, wealthy and still not very wise!” she quipped, noticing that he still hadn’t answered her implied question.
He hadn’t missed the implication. “I have an MBA from Harvard. When I’m not competing, I work for my dad managing the family businesses and our stock portfolio. It’s very lucrative so you don’t need to worry that I’m after Alex for her money.”
Wow, she thought, the Dressage Queen and the Harvard MBA Cowboy! A match made in horsey heaven!
They had decided to include Jake in their ‘Council of War’ after lunch. There wasn’t much choice in the matter. He was there and determined to protect Alex from suspicion and the prospect of sneaking around and secret meetings was too ridiculous to consider. It meant filling him in on everything that had happened and all of their theories, theories that had been blown to bits with Jon’s murder. It was murder or at least manslaughter they had learned that morning from Parker. The medical examiner had ruled it as such based on marks on the body that indicated Jon had struggled with someone just before his death.
Sitting in front of the whiteboard, they were re-evaluating all of their assumptions and conclusions.
“Who would want to kill Jon?” Alicia asked.
Alex shook her head in wonder at the question. “You mean besides all of the people he swindled?”
Alicia grinned. “Yes, besides them.”
“The real question is who would want to kill Jon and Dean?” Chris amended.
“I’m not forgetting about Dean. But killing Jon is like killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. Without him there is no King Valley Breeding. So who would think that he was more valuable dead than alive?” Alicia made a note to that effect on the white board.
“Well, with the scandal, perhaps he had become more of a liability than an asset.” It was the first time Jake had contributed to the brainstorming. “It would take a long time for his business to regroup, if it ever could. He isn’t worth much to the business if people don’t trust him. With the bad publicity of the fraud and charges pending, who would send a mare there?”
“Good thinking, honey!” Alex beamed at Jake like a mother at her precocious child.
Chris watched and wondered why they always sounded so surprised. “We’re assuming that the killer cared one way or another what happens to King Valley. Perhaps the person who killed Dean saw the perfect opportunity to pin the murder on Jon. Kill him so he can’t defend himself against the allegations and have the police stop looking for anyone else.”
“Perhaps Jon killed Dean and someone figured it out and killed him for revenge.”
“Well, the only one I can think of who would do that would be Chelsea and I can’t see her as a revenge killer.” Alicia crossed Chelsea off the list.
“You can cross Brooke off, while you’re at it. She may have had some motive for Dean’s death but killing Jon would just deprive her of her dream job.”
Brooke was crossed off.
“What about Claire,” Jake asked. “No one has mentioned her.”
“That’s because she has no motive for either killing and the same thing that applies to Brooke applies to her. Without Jon at King Valley, she’s out of a job.”
Claire was crossed off the list.
“What about the fraud victims? Anyone of them had a good motive for killing Jon.”
“For killing Jon, maybe, but why would they have killed Dean?”
No one had an answer for that so ‘fraud victims’ was crossed off, too, at which point Alicia threw herself onto the couch, metaphorically washing her hands of the whole thing.
“So it comes down to someone who wanted to kill Jon to remove a liability or to pin a murder on him?” Alex asked in disgust at their total lack of any real motive.
Alicia thought that if she had been a cartoon, a light bulb would have just gone on over her head. “It isn’t as bad as it seems,” she said. “It could be the same thing.” She stood up and went back to the board. “Do you remember what the police said about Dean’s body? It smelled like garlic.
“Yes, but he had eaten the spicy meat sandwiches for lunch. They said they all smelled like garlic,” Chris reminded her, not seeing the point.
“What better way to disguise the smell of the DMSO? Treat everyone to a lunch of cold meat sandwiches and salads!” she said triumphantly. “Who ordered the lunch? Who asked Janey to call Dean which meant he would come in contact with the phone? Who needed a scapegoat? And who would most want to rid herself of the business liability?”
“Marci,” Alex sighed with deep satisfaction.
“Yes, Marci. It always seems to come back to her, doesn’t it?” Alicia said, and then, remembering another wife and another time, added, “Wow, another murderous wife! We should call it Lady Macbeth syndrome!”
“Hold on. We can’t make that jump,” Chris said quickly, visions of defamation of character and libel litigation dancing in his head. “You’re forgetting that he was her husband.”
“‘Til death us do part’,” Alicia quoted in rebuttal.
“Chris is right,” Jake agreed. “She may have provided the lunch and that may or may not indicate she was responsible for Dean’s death, (She and Jon may have been in that together.) but we don’t have any evidence about the business.” Alex nodded dejectedly. “But we could have,” he went on.
“What do you have in mind, honey?”
“Nobody at King Valley knows me. I could make an appointment to talk to Marci. Say I heard about Jon’s death and wondered if she would be interested in selling me the business. Her reaction would tell us a lot about her and it would give me a way to find out what the business arrangements are there – Do they own the farm? If they do, that’s a lot of money. Do they have any partners or financial backers? Someone else who would have a motive. Does the business have any financial problems? Things like that. Also, are there any foals in the main barn?”
Alicia nodded. “At least one,” she said, remembering the evening they had searched the office.
“Well, they checked the DNA of all of the youngsters in Marci’s barn. Did they check the ones in the main barn? One of them could be the Danzig baby, hidden in plain sight.”
“Brilliant!” Alicia said admiringly. “And while you are checking that out, Chris and I will go back to her barn and retrieve the jacket that I left behind. We can check up on the DNA results and have a snoop around the crime scene.”
The next morning was a chilly, pouring-down rainy day, the kind that sometimes comes even in June. The horses had their rain sheets on and so did the humans. Since the forecast called for sunny and warm the next day, weather moans were kept to a minimum.
Talking/complaining about the weather is part of the Canadian psyche. It is the start of most conversations and a factor in all decision-making. That this isn’t the case in all countries is almost incomprehensible in the land of the red Maple Leaf.
Jake had returned early again that morning and was standing by the arena door watching Alex work on piaffe-passage tours, when Alicia arrived with Harley.
“Hi, Jake! Are you thinking of coming over to our side?”
Jake grimaced. “Don’t tell Alex, but I’d rather watch paint dry!”
“When are you meeting with Marci,” Alicia asked, laughing.
“This afternoon.”
“You’re not going dres
sed like that, surely,” she asked, indicating the sweatshirt and torn jeans.
“No. I’ve got a suit in the house.”
In their room later that morning, while she changed out of her riding clothes, Alicia told Chris, “I can’t see how it’s ever going to work out when neither of them can stand what the other does! It’s too bad because he’s a really great guy and... well... he’s...”
“Gorgeous?” Chris finished.
“Yes,” she admitted.
“But not as gorgeous as Hugh.”
She laughed. “I lied about that. He’s more gorgeous than Hugh! But not nearly as gorgeous as you!” she rhymed as she threw herself onto his chest. “No one’s as gorgeous as you!...Or as intelligent,” she added when she could, “or as brave...”
“Anything else?” he asked, looking down at her.
“I’m thinking! Don’t stop!”
So he didn’t.
Later she murmured, “Maybe there is something more important in a relationship than which equestrian discipline you prefer.”
Chapter 22
“FIRE!!!”
The dreaded word ricocheted around the farmyard. Staff and guests alike dropped everything to bolt for the source of the smoke that could be seen rising up behind the arena, the acrid fumes filling the morning air.
Rounding the corner of the arena, a few steps behind Alex, Chris and Alicia could see Peter, one of the farm managers, dragging a smouldering hay bale from the old Thoroughbred barn then run back into the barn to reappear a few seconds later with another.
“What happened?” Alex cried as they ran into the barn to help remove more blackened bales.
More help arrived, and the remaining burned bales were quickly dragged out of the wooden structure, Jake, Pippa, Leah and Rebecca the barn manager tossing bales out into the yard until they were sure that all remaining bales were untouched by the fire.
“What happened?” Alex repeated, gasping from exertion and reaction to the primal fear that fire engenders.
Collapsing against the wall, Peter, wiped his face with hands blackened by smoke. “I was driving over on the tractor to get a load of hay and shavings for the main barn when I saw smoke coming out of the door. By the time I got here the bales by the door were in flames. I got the hose and put the fire out and then started dragging out the burned bales. We’re lucky I was coming here. A few more minutes and the whole barn would’ve gone up. All that hay and the bags of shavings...” He shook his head at the thought of the disaster that had been averted.
Alex walked over and hugged the tall, grey-haired man who had been managing the farm for as long as she could remember. She knew Peter loved the place as much as she and her mother. “Thank you,” she said, feeling his wiry body trembling as reaction set in.
Even a townie like Chris could see the danger posed by the burning hay in the all-wood barn. Originally built with stalls down both sides, there were only a half a dozen stalls left. The rest of the barn was used to store hay and bags of wood shavings that were used for bedding, all highly combustible.
“Could this have started accidentally?” he asked. “I’ve heard that hay can spontaneously combust. Could it have been that?”
Peter shook his head, his weathered face grim. “You’re right, it is possible, but not in this case. New hay that is stacked before it is dry can heat up inside to the point it bursts into flame. But this is last year’s hay. We haven’t cut this year’s yet. So it’s not spontaneous combustion.
“This was started deliberately. No one on this farm smokes and I found a disposable lighter on the first bale by the door.” Seeing Chris’s sharp look, he hastened to add, “Don’t worry. I didn’t touch it. It’s there where I found it. I figured the police would want to see it that way.”
The police did. They weren’t too happy that Alex had had all of the hay removed from the barn but she didn’t care. The lighter and the first bale were taken for forensic analysis but no other evidence was found, largely because of the trampling of the area by the rescuers and the hay they had removed from the barn. Detective Parker arrived and offered to post an officer on the farm for security but Peter said he and Robbie would be taking shifts doing round-the-clock surveillance until the arsonist was caught. He didn’t think it was necessary to mention they would be carrying shotguns. With that decided, the officers left and everyone else went to the house and collapsed.
“This was another warning.” Chris pulled Alicia close in a protective embrace. “First, poisoning Daisy. Chasing Ali down was a timely bonus. Now he or she has upped the ante. Someone is worried and wants us out of the game.”
Jake followed Chris’s example. “Someone thinks you’re getting too close. I just wish we knew what you’ve done to shake him or her up.” He looked from Alex to Julie. “I’m moving in until this is over. You’re right. Whoever it is is worried and that makes him or her more dangerous. Any objections?”
No one had any.
Parker shook his head in frustration looking at Alex and Julie. “Extra man-power is a good idea but I would still like to post an officer on the farm.”
“I think Peter and Robbie can handle things,” Alex said although Julie appeared less certain. “If we change our minds we can let you know.
Parker wasn’t happy but had to be satisfied with that. He couldn’t stop himself from pointing out how lucky they had been that someone had noticed the smoke and got the fire out quickly.
“You don’t need to tell me that. I was at a barn fire once. Do you remember, mom?” Alex asked.
Julie shivered. “You don’t forget driving to the barn to pick up your daughter and seeing a wall of flame in the distance.”
‘Wall of flame’ had everyone’s attention.
“During the summer holidays, in the morning I used to drop Alex off at the barn where she was having lessons and she would help out,” she went on. “Then I would go back in the afternoon to watch her lesson.”
“You were a rug-rat?” Jake asked.
“Yup, that was me. No pay but plenty of great experience. You, too?”
He nodded, remembering those halcyon days fondly.
“Anyway,” Julie continued, “that day I was a little late because I had stopped at Tim Horton’s to pick up a snack for Alex. She was always starving after her lesson.
“The fire could be seen for miles. People came from all over to help or just to watch.”
“How did it happen?” Alicia asked, surprised that her friend had never mentioned it before.
Alex settled into the sofa cushions and thought back to a day whose details were still burned into her mind all these years later. “I was taking lessons at a small riding school. It was a lovely little place with an arena and an old bank barn. The couple who owned it were very conscientious about keeping it up. The stone foundation needed repair so they hired a stone mason to do the job. We were having a lesson in the outdoor ring when I noticed some white smoke rising above the barn but before I could say anything a huge fireball erupted and engulfed the whole barn in a matter of seconds. Thankfully, there were no horses inside but it was completely destroyed. Only the foundation was left standing.”
Alicia had a vivid image of the conflagration. “What started it?” she asked, thinking of her own small barn.
“The mason had found a hornets’ nest and thought it would be a good idea to blowtorch it. The barn was over a hundred years old with wooden walls, stalls and a loft filled with hay and shavings. It went up like a torch. The fire trucks came but all they could do was keep the fire from spreading to the house. It took hours to put it out. It’s a sight I’ll never forget,” she added unnecessarily.
Jake tightened his grip and kissed the crown of her head. “It’s not going to happen here, I promise.” Alex snuggled in while Julie looked on happily, thinking ‘it was an ill wind’... and perhaps there was hope for grandchildren after all.
“Thank goodness it was the old barn,” Alicia said, horrified at the thought of fire racing
through the main barn where there were always staff working and horses in to be ridden.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Alex said. “It seems like he or she didn’t want to jeopardize the horses.”
“Or maybe it was just easier. No one around. The arsonist could slip in and out without being spotted,” the detective countered, rising to leave. “Let me know if you change your mind about a protection detail,” he said, looking at Julie.
The letter in the box read: BACK OFF BEFORE YOU GET BURNED. Julie called Parker. He said a police car would start making regular patrols.
Chapter 23
The police had finished for the day at Marci’s barn by the time Chris and Alicia finally arrived, leaving it enveloped in yellow, crime scene tape. They couldn’t block the whole area off, however, because the horses still had to be fed, watered and turned out, so only the front of the barn where the body had been found was restricted. Unfortunately, Alicia’s hopes of being alone to snoop around were dashed. When they arrived, Janey was busy mucking out the stalls.
“Hi, Janey! How are things going?” Alicia asked, in a casual manner.
“Oh, hi. What are you guys going here?”
“We stopped by yesterday to find out if the DNA results were in and I left my jacket. We were shocked to hear about Dr. Allardyce! You’ve had a terrible time here, lately,” she added truthfully. The young girl was obviously upset.
“I can’t believe he’s dead! The police think it may have been an accident. They said he may have tripped over one of the pitch forks and fallen against the bridle holder.” Detective Parker had obviously kept the possibility of foul play to himself. “Poor Marci is beside herself! She locked herself in her room and wouldn’t come out until this morning. Ever since it came out about the police thinking Jon and Marci have been using other people’s frozen semen, he and Marci have been receiving threats and nasty phone calls and e-mails and now he’s dead. Maybe it wasn’t an accident after all. Anyway, the police have been all over this place. They just left. Marci had to go with them because they want to talk to her some more.” She went back to mucking the stall. “And now one of the horses is missing! Can any more go wrong?!”