by Toni Leland
“Yes! One of my friends has a horse-crazy daughter about Ricky’s age. She has two horses at a barn not far from here and I think she owns a horse trailer. Want me to call her?”
“Absolutely. Jenna, I love you!”
~~
Clearly, all the exercise and excitement had drained Kim’s energy. A dull pain throbbed at the base of her skull as she settled onto the couch. Miss Kitty immediately settled into a furry ball in her lap. Kim let her thoughts return to the reunion with Bandit, images that tightened her throat and brought a sting to her eyelids. She and that beautiful animal had a bond forged through trauma and tragedy, and nothing could ever change their connection. A surge of excitement ran through her head at the prospect of spending time with Bandit, being on his back, returning to a part of her life forsaken by circumstances she’d never controlled. Bandit would be her healer and she would be his protector.
Mostly made possible by Garrett Quaid.
Kim reviewed his actions and their conversations, searching for any hint that she might have misinterpreted his intentions. Why would he do such a thing for her? They hadn’t gotten along all that well most of the time they’d known each other. True, they worked okay together when they weren’t playing games. But that was over and this was now. The man lived on the other side of the state. Other than helping her out because of their work connection, he was out of her life. The unsettling thought tightened her chest.
Shareen telephoned awhile later. “Kim? How are you? We haven’t talked in a long time.”
Kim glanced at her cast. “I’m just fine. How are you?”
“I’m good, God willing. Working hard to prepare for the nationals in October. Will you be there?”
“I don’t think so, Shareen. I have some other things going on and, of course, I want to save my money to come to Cairo in December.”
“Oh, yes! We are so excited about that. We will be leaving for home directly after the national show, and I’m having the guest house redecorated for you.”
“Oh my, that’s certainly not necessary, but thank you.”
Shareen’s tone changed. “You know, I wanted to tell you something we heard recently. One of our friends in Alexandria told Albert that some beautiful horses had been purchased by one of the Saudi sheiks, horses from America. One of them, especially, is a fabulous show jumper. I thought you might want to look into that to see if the horse is one of those you think was stolen.”
All the breath left Kim’s lungs. If Talisman had made his way to Saudi Arabia, then Quaid’s theory was correct. Her shoulders sagged. But they still had no way to prove any of it.
“That’s very interesting, Shareen. Thank you for telling me. I’ll see what I can find out.”
“Well, I must say goodbye. Albert wants to go for a trail ride and I’m holding things up. Stay well, my friend.”
“God willing, and same to you, Shareen.”
Kim laid the phone down and stared out the deck doors. Could Talisman be the horse Shareen had heard about? How could Kim find out? A soft throb moved through the scar on her thigh, followed by a sharp pain in her knee. Even if she could determine that the horse in question was indeed Talisman, at this point, there seemed no reason to pursue it. The insurance case was closed. Jasper had been paid. At least once, maybe twice. It was over. Kim simply didn’t have any more energy to expend on it.
She picked up the laptop, heaved a sigh, and turned it on. She still had hundreds of photographs to sort and file. When she was again mobile and able to work, she wanted to concentrate on new work, not fiddle with old stuff.
She gently moved Miss Kitty to the cushion beside her. “Sorry, baby, I need my lap now. You know, just for the heck of it, I think I’ll work on the oldest pictures first.”
She opened a photo folder dated October of the previous year. Four hundred picture thumbnails appeared on the screen and she began looking at each one. She’d taken pictures at four different major horse shows that month and most of the candid shots could probably be deleted. One by one, she opened the photographs to full size, inspected them, checked the meta data, wrote captions if needed, then saved them.
Two hours later, she opened the last folder in the November batch, photographs taken at the Washington National Horse Show. All the shots of Talisman came up first since Kim had worked on them recently. She looked through them again, feeling sad that the wonderful equine athlete had been a pawn in someone’s money game. More valuable than Bandit, but nonetheless, nothing more than a commodity in someone’s eyes.
Chapter 46
Quaid listened to Deputy Dexton’s clipped speech.
“This is just a courtesy call, since you provided us with some information that made a difference. We talked to Reginald Fortune and he has an alibi for the barn fire. He was on his way to Mexico. We have a copy of his flight plan and his passenger list. He was also willing to give us some details on Wade Warren. You were correct. Warren is actually a displaced Brit who’s wanted for several major crimes. We have him in custody and I’ll be calling Ms. Kovak to come identify him in a lineup. That’s all I have right now, but I thought you’d want to know.”
“I appreciate it, Deputy. I just wish I could tie Warren into my insurance case, but it’s closed now, so I’ll just have to always wonder.”
After saying goodbye, Quaid wandered around his house, thinking about all the connections and interconnections in the case. His gut told him that he had all the pieces, but his logic said they were useless at this point.
His phone rang and Kovak’s number appeared.
Her voice shook with excitement. “Quaid! Go to your email! You will never believe what I found!”
He started up his computer. “Must be pretty amazing to get you so revved up.”
She sounded smug. “You’ll see.”
His mail program took forever to load and then he scrolled through several messages before hers popped up.
He clicked on the attachment, then let out a sharp breath.
“Holy Moley!”
A photograph of Talisman sailing over a jump in a large public arena. Grandstand seats rising in the background. Two lone men sat with heads together, deep in conversation.
Wade Warren and Jasper Martin.
* * * * *
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About the Author
From the age of eight, Toni Leland nurtured an on-going love affair with horses. Every moment of every day was filled with fantasies of owning her very own horse, a dream that finally came true at the age of twelve. Her life has been graced by many of these beautiful creatures, so it only seemed natural that her careers would revolve around them, as well.
Graphic artist, advertising consultant to the equine industry, and publisher/producer of magazines, books, and videos about horses have consumed the past eighteen years of Toni's life.
The next step was obvious: equestrian fiction.
Visit her at
Romancing the Horse
http://www.tonileland.com
Other Kindle Books by Toni Leland
Unfinished Business (Kovak & Quaid Book 3)
Balancing Act (Kovak & Quaid Book 2)
Rescue Me
Winning Ways
Gambling With the Enemy
Hearts Over Fences
Deadly Heritage
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.