by Toni Leland
~ ~
Ed stepped out the front door of the county building and stopped to gaze at Kellie at the bottom of the steps. “I was just on my way out to your place. Come on up.”
She looked hesitant, then mounted the stairs and silently followed him down the hall.
He kept his tone neutral. “You want coffee?”
She shook her head and he turned away from her wonderful green eyes, hardening his heart and preparing himself for the confrontation. Why was this happening? After all the years and distance between them, a brutal act of cruelty had brought them together again, as though no time had passed. Yet the wound still festered.
“Kellie, you cannot meddle in an official investigation.”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “What investigation? I don't think you even believe these are anything other than freak injuries! It's been five days and you've done what? Sent some deputies to poke around the barn!”
“We've been working on it, but your actions could compromise our efforts to make an arrest.” He tried to soften his tone a little. “More important is that these vicious acts were done by someone without a conscience, and you might get hurt.”
Her expression relaxed a little. “Did your men find anything?”
“A syringe in one of the stalls-I don't know which one-but the lab can't identify the residue, only that it's organic. We'll send it up to OSU.”
She fished three photographs from her pocket. “I think you should see these. I don't know who took them, or where they came from, but they all just appeared at the barn over the last three days.” Her voice cracked. “I think someone's watching me.”
He took them from her, his chest thumping with the struggle to restrain his anger and alarm. “Why didn't you show me these before?”
“I-don't know. They didn't seem important until now.”
He slid the snapshots into an evidence bag. “I'll have them dusted for fingerprints, but I'd guess they'll come back clean. For now, let's concentrate on Tina Brown. I need to know everything you can remember about the girl. Don't worry about whether you think it's important or not-I'll decide what is and what isn't.”
Kellie laid a business card on his desk. “She was defensive when I showed up. We only talked for a few minutes, but she said she has nothing to hide, that she's been spending all her time with a new boyfriend.”
“Jesus! You went there?”
She recoiled at his outburst, and her confidence clearly faltered. “I'm only trying to help. You can't begin to imagine how I feel!”
He took a deep breath. “If you won't cooperate, I'll be forced to put you in protective custody.”
Her stunned expression confirmed that she understood he meant business.
He stapled the card to a file folder and set it aside. “Why did you fire her?”
“She was unreliable, always late. With so many horses, I need-”
“Okay, late. Anything else?”
“One of the ranch hands caught her in my office one night, going through the file cabinet.”
“Anything valuable in there?”
“No, just breeding records and pedigrees-Oh my God, that explains it! Only really good horses have been targeted.”
Ed wrote that down, then looked up. “You have some high ticket animals on the property. She might have been planning to steal one.”
Kellie snorted. “How would she do that? She's just a kid.”
“A kid with access to important information. She could easily have been the insider for a theft ring. Stealing horses is big business-you should know that. Goes way back in history around here. Whether the horses end up at the killers or on a truck headed to some other state, it's a lucrative operation. Firing your little stall cleaner might have cost her a big chunk of money.”
Kellie thought for a moment. “She wasn't very good with the horses. I had reservations about hiring her, but we were so short handed.” She shook her head. “But why would she be taking pictures of me?”
“To get inside your head, make you nervous. I think she's a good suspect. She knows your barn, your routine, she has access to syringes, and she has motive.”
The intercom hummed. “Oklahoma City on line one.”
Ed picked up the phone and listened while Kellie fidgeted in his peripheral vision. He jotted a note on his desk mat. “Thanks, I'll see you then.” He set the phone back in the base. “The polygrapher will be out to your place this afternoon. Let your staff know.”
Her eyes reflected disbelief. “Do you really think one of my people is responsible?”
“Probably not, but in order to be thorough, we have to find ways to sort through the suspects using a process of elimination...Make sure Frank is available too.”
Her skin paled. “Oh boy, thanks a lot.”
Ed studied the woman he'd always thought would be by his side. Strength and determination had replaced her youthful eagerness for life. Where was the gentle girl who'd loved him so much? Were the two of them still meant for each other? Had they ever been?
~ ~
Around midmorning, Travis shifted in the saddle and took a long slow breath to quell the nausea coiling around his insides. The sensation faded, then his stomach bucked. He gathered the reins and turned to his partner.
“I feel like shit...tell Dusty I'm goin' in.”
The ride back to the cabin was the longest mile he'd ever traveled. His eyes ached, each breath came with difficulty, and his guts threatened to explode. I ain't never gettin' that plowed on a work night again. He dismounted in front of his quarters, and loosely tied the horse. As he stepped through the door, his nausea returned with a vengeance. For ten minutes, he retched and gagged, then sank to the bathroom floor, tears streaming down his face, his nose dripping snot. Every muscle trembled from the violent episode.
Finally, he managed to get back on his feet and lurch into the bedroom. As he hit the bed, his cell phone rang. He fumbled it open and rolled over onto his back. Tina's shrill voice pierced his hammering headache.
~ ~
Kellie's conversation with Ed numbed her, making it impossible to put one thought in front of another as she drove home. She parked in front of the barn, then pulled down the visor mirror. Why had she applied lipstick before going to town? The bright gash of color accentuated her pale skin, making her look gaunt. She swiped her mouth with a tissue, and self-admonition pressed in. How could she dwell on the past while her present was crumbling?
At Dancer's stall door, she froze. Her beautiful copper penny stallion stood motionless, not even the tiniest movement of breathing. His coat glistened, almost reflective. His heavy mane and long tail were brushed and free of straw. She blinked, then focused on the objects braided into his mane. Sprigs of something dark green, leaves of wild olive, a small bone. Hyde has been here. She stared at the horse's grotesquely swollen front legs, and her chest caved in with despair.
“I promise I will get whoever did this to you,” she whispered.
Back in her office, she gazed at the paperwork scattered over the desk. Four of the eight outside mares were gone, and only two of them were checked in foal. She shook her head. The woman who'd picked up hers that morning had been adamant that she didn't care if two hadn't settled. She wanted them out of there before something happened to them. Kellie sank into her chair. What a nightmare. If they didn't catch whoever was responsible, her business was doomed. No one would ever take a chance with Rocking S again.
The answering machine blinked steadily and, with a heavy heart, Kellie pressed “play.” Two more owners wanted answers.
They'd have to wait.
She dialed Ferris Air Bus and listened to the charter pilot's instructions for preparing the horses to travel.
“How much for one of my employees to ride along?”
“It's included in the price. Just be sure that person has good control over the horses. You might want to sedate them a little before we load.”
Kellie made a note, thanked him, and hung up, then r
ose and hurried out of the office. Roy was in the feed room, and she handed him the details of the transport.
“Just before you load, give them all a shot of Ace to calm them.”
The dogs began barking and she stepped up to the small window. A plain white car rolled to a stop by the fence, and a thin man with a shiny bald pate climbed out. He wiped his forehead before donning a hat, then hiked up his trousers and retrieved two metal suitcases from the backseat. The lie detector tests. Why now?
The man smiled and stuck out his hand. “Miss Sutton? I'm from the Oklahoma City Police Department. Where can I set up?”
Kellie noted the dry warmth of his palm as they shook hands. Despite his less than attractive physical stature, he had amazing eyes. Intelligent-looking, dark blue, and fringed by long black eyelashes.
She nodded toward the barn. “You can use the office. I'll get everyone rounded up-you got here sooner than I expected.”
After removing a few things from Frank's desktop, she headed toward the stalls to find Roy.
“We have some more police business to take care of. Would you ask the staff to gather in the tack room, please?”
Roy's eyes narrowed. “More questions?”
Kellie hesitated. “Actually, they're going to administer lie detector tests.”
“Are you accusing one of us?”
“No, no, this is supposedly standard procedure in any criminal investigation. They want to rule out as many people as possible.”
Roy turned and stalked off toward the barn doors. “Damned kid, comin' back to town with all his medals, thinkin' he's better'n the rest of us.”
Though Kellie wanted to find and punish whoever had attacked her, she knew this situation would forever tarnish the confidence of her employees. That they would think she suspected them nearly broke her heart.
“Miss Sutton? I'm ready.”
Kellie moved toward the office door. “My manager's gone to tell everyone you're here.”
“We'll start with you, then.”
She stopped in mid-stride. “The hell, you say! Why would you test me? I'm the victim!”
The man's calm demeanor only added insult to injury. “We need to test everyone who has any connection with this barn. Anyone who refuses puts themselves into a position of being suspect.” He gestured toward a chair he'd placed beside the desk. “Please sit down and take a couple of deep breaths to calm down.”
This is ludicrous! Why would I attack my own horses? Horror stories whirled through her thoughts-insurance fraud by the owners of racehorses and high ticket show horses. She grudgingly acknowledged the rationale behind the process.
“I'll be asking you a series of questions after we hook you up, but first, I'll read the questions.”
She nodded, wondering why they'd let her know the questions ahead of time.
“These are in the order I'll ask them: Is your name Kellie Sutton? Is Paris the capital of France? Have you ever administered dangerous medications to any of your animals? Is a tangerine orange? Do you have any knowledge about the attacks on your horses? When questioned by the sheriff, did you answer any question falsely? Did you give something to your horses that harmed them?”
Kellie's nervous curiosity at the first two questions on the list changed abruptly to dismay when the man asked about medications. She listened to the remaining questions, telling herself she had nothing to worry about. She'd had nothing to do with the attacks, and the test would prove that.
“Okay, Miss Sutton, now I'll hook you up and ask the same questions. Just relax and breathe normally.”
Moving briskly and without speaking again, he slipped a blood pressure cuff over her right arm and secured it, then attached small sticky circles with wires to two fingers on her left hand. Finally, he wrapped rubber tubes around her torso and abdomen, then attached another electronic lead. The assortment of wires made her feel like she was sitting in an execution chair.
“Okay, just about ready.” He turned some dials and, on the far side of the machine, a printer hummed and a strip of graph paper began to move past the ink styluses. “Answer the questions only with yes or no, and look straight ahead.”
“Is your name Kellie Sutton?”
“Yes.”
“Is Paris the capital of France?”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever administered dangerous medications to any of your animals?”
“No.”
“Is a tangerine orange?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have any knowledge about the attacks on your horses?”
Kellie's heart thumped. “No.”
“When questioned by the sheriff, did you give false answers to any question?”
The deception about contacting Tina rolled through Kellie's mind, and she tried to remember if that had been during questioning. It all seemed so long ago.
“No.” She glanced sideways to see if he reacted to the reading on the machine, but his face was stony.
“Eyes straight ahead, please. Did you give something to your horses that harmed them?
“NO!” Tears burned her eyes and she struggled to keep from leaping out of the chair and slapping the crap out of him.
The printer hummed for a few seconds more, then he turned it off and closed the lid. “That went well.” He calmly began unhooking her.
“Does that mean I passed?”
“I don't read the tests.” He picked up a sheet of paper. “Would you ask Franklin Frazier to come in, please?”
“He's not here.”
“Then he'll need to make an appointment and come down to the offices.” The man made a note on the list. “I'm ready for whoever's next.”
Kellie's thoughts raced as she stepped into the aisle and walked toward the tack room, dreading the prospect of facing her employees and their judgments. But the closer she got, the more she calmed down and, within minutes, her confidence returned. She had vowed to do whatever it took to find Dancer's attacker, and it included this. A small price to pay.
After talking briefly with the staff, she headed for Dancer's stall. Hyde turned at the sound of her footsteps and, the moment she met his gaze, she knew. Jerking her eyes away from his, she looked down at Dancer's feet. The bandage had been removed, exposing a gaping wound that sent revulsion and disbelief surging through her head.
Hyde's tone was gentle. “Kellie, you need to look at this.”
He picked up Dancer's hoof and the horse grunted with pain.
“This hole in the flesh goes straight to the bone. The cartilage, tendons, muscles, and nerves are gone. The necrosis seems to have stopped, but the foot is destroyed.” Hyde gently placed the hoof back on the ground, then looked up at her with sad eyes. “There's nothing I can do. Even if the wound heals, he'll never be sound, and he'll always be in pain.”
Desperation raged through her. “What about the hyperbarics? The charter plane is standing by, and Roy will prepare Boots and the mare-”
“I believe it's too late. I'm really sorry.”
Her knees began to shake and her lungs stopped functioning. She shook her head, mouthing a protest, but no sound came out. Slumping against the stall wall, she fought the shroud of darkness threatening to engulf her.
Hyde slipped his arm around her waist, his face etched with sorrow.
“Come away. I'll get Roy to help me with Dancer.”
She tore herself out of his grasp and lurched against the stallion's body, sobs gurgling through her breath. Burying her face in his mane, she bawled, her words jerking through her spasmodic gasps.
“I'm-so-sorry-”
Dancer's smooth coat felt like satin beneath her fingers, a sensation she wanted to preserve forever. A soft deep nicker rumbled through his chest and her world crumbled.
An hour later, drained and numb, she crouched in the shavings in Boots's stall, watching him nose through the hayrack. His fair appetite and alert eye gave her hope that whatever he'd been given wasn't a strong enough dose to inflict critical da
mage. His legs were wrapped with bandages to the knee, and the protective pad on his good foot seemed to have done its job. Every so often, he'd turn to look at her with curious interest, then return to eating, and another wave of sobs would consume her.
Somewhere in the distance, a heavy growl broke the still air. She closed her eyes, struggling to block out the sounds of a backhoe digging Dancer's grave.
Chapter 8
Kellie entered the mare barn and absorbed the chorus of whinnies that echoed through the old building. She headed toward Belle's stall, feeling a bond of loss with the mare. At the door, she focused on the horse's beauty, building a baffle against the pain. The mare nickered eagerly, and Kellie smiled. Leo's Belle, one of the last granddaughters of the legendary Leo, was almost too pretty to be a Quarter Horse. Kellie had loved hearing her father's story about purchasing the yearling filly amid jocular speculation that an Arabian stallion had sneaked into the dam's stall. Though Leo's get were sought for their speed, Joshua Sutton had been more interested in Leo's reputation as one of the greatest broodmare sires in history, and Belle had joined the maternity wing when she matured. Wise breeding choices had positioned her to become one of the foundation mares for the Sutton herd.
Brushing the dark brown coat, Kellie's gaze followed the steady rhythmic motions, her mind centered on what she was doing, her subconscious barring any thoughts of Dancer. She smoothed a hand over Belle's back. The mare had maintained good tone through her recent pregnancy and, with Hyde's skilled care, had weathered the traumatic delivery of a stillborn colt. Kellie's eyes watered as she stroked the mare's neck, unable to imagine what it would be like to carry a baby for eleven months, only to lose it in the last hour of pregnancy.
A few minutes later, she settled into the saddle and turned the mare toward the field in front of the main barn. Belle spotted a band of two-year-olds and neighed loudly. Kellie relaxed the reins and the mare picked up a brisk trot. Foaling and breeding season had jammed Kellie's schedule over the past two months, robbing time from her riding, and she sorely missed the communion with horse and nature. Why had she let this part of her life take a back seat to everything else? Was success that important? Had her drive for success caused her current circumstances?