Horse Sense (Dunbarton Mysteries Book 2)

by Valerie Tate

  “Missing? How?”

  “We don’t know. I noticed the empty stall yesterday but Marci’s been showing horses to prospective buyers so we thought she’d sold him.” Alicia wandered over to the stall Janey had pointed to. The results of the DNA testing were posted on it as they were on all of the stalls. It said ‘Yearling – Sandro Hit’. “But today, when I talked to her, I mentioned it and she said she hadn’t sold anything so she was going to tell the detective about it. It’s just so awful, now this after everything else that’s happened!”

  The young girl started crying. Alicia put her arm around her shoulders. “It’s been terrible for all of you.”

  “And it’s not just that. My mom and dad have told me I have to quit! They said with two people dead, they don’t want me to be next.”

  “I can understand that. They love you and they’re worried about you.” She gave her a hug. “Perhaps Marci would let you just take some time off until things get sorted out.”

  “Do you think so?” Janey asked, sniffing hopefully.

  “She might. Why don’t you explain it to her and see what she says.” Alicia didn’t like to add, if there was still a King Valley Breeding to come back to.

  Jake stepped carefully out of his Lexus SUV. The rain had stopped but the driveway at King Valley was a minefield of sloppy mud. Gone were the jeans and sweatshirt, in their place, a grey silk, single-buttoned suit by Brioni. His normally unruly blonde hair was combed back in a sleek slick. All in all a picture more suited to the cover of GQ or Esquire than a muddy farmyard, which was exactly what he wanted. Marci had sounded both eager and suitably impressed by his credentials when he had contacted her expressing interest in buying the breeding business and he hoped to maintain that advantage with an intimidating display of ultra-chic (and ultra-expensive) male fashion. But it wasn’t Marci who was walking towards him from the barn, at least the leggy redhead didn’t fit the description provided by Alex and Alicia.

  “Mr. Hammond?” Claire asked in pleased surprise.

  “Call me Jake.” The accompanying smile was his most dazzling.

  “I’m Claire, the barn manager. Marci asked me to meet with you. Unfortunately, she was called to the police station to help with their inquiries into Jon’s death and won’t be able to be here this afternoon. She thought I could show you around and if you were still interested after seeing the operation, she could meet with you at another time.”

  “A pleasure! Where do we start?”

  “It’s quite an impressive operation,” he said later, over drinks on the patio. “I think it would be a good investment if they own the farm.”

  “You didn’t find out anything?” Alicia asked, now completely disappointed in the day’s results.

  “Only that the police were questioning Marci about her husband’s death. Claire gave me the grand tour but claimed to know nothing about the financial side of the business. Also, there were no DNA reports on any of the stalls.”

  “So it was a big waste of time,” Alex summed things up.

  “Not quite. I really am interested in buying the business.” Jake grinned and took a sip of his drink.

  “Even without Jon?”

  “Sure. We would hire a top reproductive specialist. There’s a really good one we could lure away from Guelph Veterinary Hospital. There isn’t another facility like it in the area. It would make a good investment if the price is right and if they own the land.

  “Claire seems really knowledgeable. I asked her how she liked working there and she said she loved it but that her dream was to have her own small breeding farm. Working at King Valley was giving her great experience. I said I’d be willing to keep her on as farm manager if she was interested. Gorgeous girl,” he added as an after-thought.

  Alex wondered if business was always going to be first and foremost with Jake but shook off that thought (The ‘gorgeous girl’ comment would be harder to forget.) to put forward an idea of her own. “Well, while you were all off detecting, I remembered something.” She looked expectantly at the others, waiting for their interest and getting it.

  “What did you remember?” her mother asked.

  “A story about someone firing off a shotgun at Jon!” Alex said, with the panache of a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat.

  Julie’s eyes lit up. “I remember that story, too.”

  “Now this sounds more promising,” Alicia remarked, settling back into the cushions.

  It was the type of story that makes headlines, but thankfully in this instance, no one had been killed. (‘Rather a case of surviving to die another day,’ Chris thought but didn’t say.) It had all of the elements – jealousy, rage and misconception.

  “My friend Marie Penner owns a farm not far from here. She has a boarding stable and also runs a therapeutic riding school. I’m doing a series of fund-raising clinics for her school. There are about 30 horses – 20 schoolies and 10 boarders - and Jon was the farm vet.

  “Marie’s ex-husband, Tom, was uber-jealous. It was the reason they got divorced. He thought any man that Marie so much at looked at was having an affair with her. And Jon was there – a lot.”

  “Were they having an affair?” Chris asked.

  “No. But with thirty horses there is always work for the vet. Anyway, one day Tom showed up at the farm when Jon was there and he’d brought a shotgun. He told Jon if he ever saw him at the farm again he’d kill him and then he fired off a shot over Jon’s head as a warning. He got 18 months for pointing a firearm and a $5000. fine.”

  “Wow, what a nutter! But if he’s in jail he can’t be the murderer,” Alicia pointed out.

  Alex produced the ace. “That’s just it. He was released on parole a couple of months ago.”

  “But what motive would Tom Penner have for killing Dean?” Chris asked.

  “None that I know of. But just suppose that he wanted to kill Jon. He blamed him for his time in jail, was still jealous. And then he hears about Dean’s murder so he thinks he can disguise his killing. The police will assume it’s the same person who committed both. No one will be looking for another motive. And it works. Everyone, including us, is looking for someone with motive and opportunity to commit both murders.”

  They had to admit it made sense.

  “It wouldn’t have had to be premeditated,” Chris said, thinking out loud. “He could have gone to have it out with Jon, gotten into a fight and killed him accidentally. Either way, the results would have been the same – everyone looking for someone with a motive for both murders.”

  “So what do we do?” Alicia asked.

  “We go see Marie.”

  Chapter 24

  “Don’t mention that man to me!” Marie Penner’s friendly, open face became tight and flinty on hearing her ex-husband’s name. “He’s been nothing but trouble.”

  They’d found Marie in the barn at Melody Acres where she was helping a child with Cerebral Palsy brush a tiny pony.

  Melody Acres had a charm about it that matched its whimsical name. A winding, tree-lined drive led past a white frame house to the rustic stables where contented-looking horses and ponies hung their heads out of rough-hewn plank stalls and watched their approach with interest. Several mounts were cross-tied in the aisle, each with an eager, bright-eyed student and thoughtful volunteer who supervised the loving attention being given to the four-legged physical therapists, for each of the students had an exceptionality that would be rendered nil once they were in the saddle. Anxious mothers fluttered in the background, bound by programme rules from offering assistance.

  “Sorry, Alex. It’s always good to see you. I’m just fed up with Tom. Now he’s petitioning to see the kids and I can’t tell you how much time it’s taking away from my work.” Marie stood up from picking out a small hoof, rubbing the small of her back, and then looked suspiciously at her visitors. “Why do you want to know about Tom?”

  Alex looked compassionately at her friend. It seemed so unfair that a woman who did so much good for child
ren whose lives were incredibly difficult, should have so many troubles herself. “It’s about Jon Allardyce,” she explained.

  “Jon? I heard about that. It’s so shocking. He was my vet ever since I bought this place. It’s almost like losing a member of the family.” She put the hoof pick into the child’s small hand and together they picked out the last hoof. “Very good, Sarah Louise!” The little girl beamed with pride. Marie turned back to Alex. “You know, a lot of people didn’t like Jon very much. They used him because he was a good vet but he could seem rather cool and aloof. But he did a lot of work for me pro bono to help the cause. And he was great with the kids. I always thought it was a shame that he and Marci didn’t have any.”

  Alex refrained from comment.

  “But what has that got to do with Tom?” Marie’s eyes widened as she realized the significance of their questions. “You don’t think Tom did that?”

  “We did wonder, considering his threats,” Alex admitted.

  Marie tossed the hoof pick into a bucket and picking up a small saddle and pad placed them carefully on the sleek brown pony. She helped the little girl attach and tighten the girth. “I can believe Tom to be capable of a lot of things, but murder?”

  “The police think there was a struggle of some kind and that Jon hit his head on a brass hook. We wondered if Tom could have gone to their barn, got in a fight with Jon and killed him, perhaps even by accident.”

  “Well, with his temper, that I could believe.” Marie had put on the bridle and was showing the child the correct way to hold the reins for leading. “Tom is staying with his parents and working at a garage in town, Leland’s Auto Shop. Please don’t tell him I told you. I don’t need any more trouble with that man than I already have.

  “See you in a couple of weeks, Alex. The next clinic is sold out. Nice to meet you all,” she added, over her shoulder, as she and the smiling child led the pony to the arena.

  The four friends piled back into Alex’s SUV. Alex turned and looked at the others. “Well, what now?”

  “We should just call Parker and tell him about our suspicions,” Chris said, without much enthusiasm.

  “Or, we could go to Leland’s and see what we can learn,” Jake suggested.

  In the end, they opted for Jake’s suggestion, returning to Avalon to trade the brand new SUV for the farm truck. The truck was due for an oil change so it gave them the perfect intro.

  Leland’s was on the road leading into town. There were two bays, each with two hoists, attached to a small, but tidy office. Alex parked the truck in front of a bay with an empty hoist and they walked in the open door. A sandy-haired man in greasy overalls looked up from the engine he was working on.

  “Hi, Tom,” Alex said in what she hoped was a surprised but friendly manner. “I didn’t know you worked here. It’s nice to see you again.”

  “Alex.” Tom nodded in a cursory fashion.

  “These are my friends, Alicia and Chris and my fiancé, Jake.”

  The mechanic nodded again but didn’t comment.

  “We were hoping you’d have time to do an oil change on the truck. I’m afraid it’s overdue.”

  “Never seen you here before.”

  “No, I usually take it to the dealership in Newmarket but I thought I’d save myself some time and bring it here.”

  Tom looked from Alex to the truck and said, “I guess I can fit you in if you don’t mind waiting a bit.”

  “That’s great, Tom, thanks. Have you worked here long?”

  “A couple of months, why?”

  “Just wondering. I’ve been doing some clinics for Marie but she hasn’t mentioned seeing you,” Alex said, hoping that would dispel any suspicions he had.

  Tom made a sound somewhere between a snort and a grunt and went back to working on the engine.

  There was an uncomfortable silence as Alex tried to think of a way to introduce the topic of Jon Allardyce. She looked pointedly at Alicia who understood the problem. “Is Marie your friend with the therapeutic riding school?”

  Alex said she was.

  “Wow, that’s a big operation.”

  “Thirty horses,” Alex said, playing along.

  “I can’t imagine looking after that many horses. All those stalls to be mucked, horses to be fed, lessons... And the expense. Imagine what her farrier and vet bills must be. Who is her vet?”

  Alex silently blessed her friend’s quick thinking. “It was Jon Allardyce but of course she will have to find someone new.” Alex turned to Tom. “I suppose you heard about Jon?”

  Another grunt.

  “It was four days ago. The police came and questioned me. Mom, Chris and Alicia were out and I was home alone. Fortunately, my working students could give me an alibi. Do you live alone, Tom?” she asked lamely, thinking she would leave the questioning to Alicia in future.

  Tom’s head shot up and he slammed his wrench down on the counter.

  “Are you asking me if I have an alibi? Accusing me of his death?” An ugly red suffused his face. Alarmed, Jake stepped forward and placed his arm around Alex, putting himself between her and the now enraged Tom. “He had it coming and I’m not sorry he’s dead. He caused me nothing but trouble. I can’t even see my kids because of him. But I didn’t do it. You,” he said, pointing from Jake to Chris. “Can’t you control your women? Get out, all of you, and don’t come back if you know what’s good for you.”

  They didn’t need to be told twice. Back at Avalon, while Julie poured them drinks to calm the nerves, Chris did what he had thought they should do in the first place, put in a call to Parker. A few minutes later he reported the results. Parker had known about Tom Penner all along. He had, in fact, worked on the original case. Penner had been home alone the night of the murder, but a neighbour had sworn his truck was in the driveway all night.

  “So we poked the hornet’s nest for nothing,” Chris summed up.

  Chapter 25

  Despite the bright sunshine that was pouring in the windows, the sombre mood was prevalent the following morning as they sat around the kitchen table having an early breakfast. Even Julie’s home-made pancakes couldn’t seem to lift their spirits.

  Jake had an idea he’d been turning over but before he could suggest it, the phone rang.

  “Avalon Farm, good morning,” Alex answered. “Yes, this is Alex Craig... Would you please repeat that,” she said, pushing the speaker button.

  “I said I know who started your barn fire.” The voice at the other end was muffled but clearly male.

  Five sets of sleepy eyes were suddenly alert.

  “Who is this?” Alex asked, seeing No Caller ID on the screen.

  “Never mind who this is. If you want to know who started the fire it’ll cost you.”

  “I’m interested.”

  “I want $10,000. You deliver that and I’ll tell you what I know.”

  “How do I know you know anything?”

  “That’s a risk you’ll have to take. If you want the information, get the money tomorrow and put it in a bag. On Concession 7 you’ll find a hollow tree stump by the road just north of the Patterson Farm driveway. Drive up, open the car window and drop the bag in, then drive off. Don’t get out of the car. Once I have the money I’ll leave the name of the firebug in your farm mailbox.” With that, the line went dead.

  Alex replaced the phone and looked at four stunned faces. “Well, what do you think?”

  Jake shook his head. “It’s probably a hoax.”

  It wasn’t what Alex had wanted to hear. “What if it isn’t? What if he knows who did it?”

  “How could he know?” Jake persisted.

  “How would he even know about the fire?” Chris asked.

  Alex shrugged, “Word of mouth, gossip. Who knows? This is a small community. Everybody knows everybody else’s business. I think I should do it.”

  “No, you won’t!” Julie’s voice was sharp, her words final. “We don’t know what kind of a lunatic we’re dealing with. It could
very well be the arsonist. You’re not going, even if it means forgetting the whole thing. I won’t let you put yourself in any more risk.”

  Alex was going to protest but, seeing the tears in her mother’s eyes, she relented.

  Chris also noticed the tears. “I’ll go,” he said.

  “And I’ll ride shotgun,” Jake added, giving Alex a hug. “And I mean that literally. If you don’t have one here, I’ll go out and buy one.” He flashed his thousand watt smile, eyes crinkling, dimples dimpling and the tension in the room melted.

  “But before we do anything, we’re calling Parker,” Chris said emphatically. “Whether this is really someone who knows something or just a hoax, we don’t want to lose him.”

  Parker arrived, grumbling, a half- hour later but Julie’s pancakes soon put a smile on his face. When he had finished the last syrupy morsel, he pushed his plate away and looked at Chris. “Okay, talk.”

  Chris didn’t think it wise to mention the shotgun, but filled him in on everything else and when he had finished the detective agreed that it was a lead worth pursuing. “But you do exactly as I say,” he said, looking fierce. “No ad-libbing. If anything looks hinky, you get out. Agreed?” They nodded.

  His plan was simple. He would put a GPS tracker in the bag and tuck a second one in a packet of bills in the hope that the extortionist would spot one and not look for a second. Parker and his men would be parked far enough from the drop point that they wouldn’t be seen. Chris and Jake would join them after making the drop and together they would wait for the tracker to show when the money was on the move. At that point, they would move in.