"I'm an old man. What do you expect?"
"I'm not sure what I expected. But for now, I think I've had more than I can take."
"Thanks for stopping by. Anytime you want to come on over to my mansion in Bel-Air, give a ring. We all have a swell time there."
Michaela didn't even acknowledge the comment and left the perverted old fart behind.
TWENTY-EIGHT
MICHAELA CALLED THE BOWEN RANCH AND GOT a recording. She decided to drive over there. Someone should be around. Hopefully, the trailer would be ready to go; she could load Geyser and meet Hudson for that quick dinner without any more bizarre turn of events. She didn't know if she could handle anything else for the day.
It was half past four when she pulled into the ranch. Climbing out, she heard hooves from the practice track. She noticed a bay coming around the backside, tail in the air, looking like a fierce machine. It seemed late in the day to be running.
She stood against the rail watching as the horse opened up into full stride. What a spectacular animal. Quite an athlete. The rider knew how to handle him, and Michaela wondered who it was. It didn't appear to be Josh. She jumped when she heard a voice behind her. "Hey!"
She turned to see Josh, hands on hips, staring at her. "Oh, hi. So, it's not you up on the horse."
"No. It's Olivia."
"Oh!" Michaela was a bit shocked by this revelation. She wondered if Josh was aware that Olivia had been using drugs.
"I know what you're thinking."
"I'm not thinking anything," Michaela said.
"Really? So, you aren't wondering why she's riding with the knowledge that her mom would freak out?"
"Okay, maybe."
Josh faced her. "Olivia needs help. I know it, Audrey knew it, and her mother is in denial about it."
"I don't know what you mean." Maybe he was aware of the drugs. She was waiting to see if he'd spell it out for her.
He ignored her reply. "My way of helping Olivia is by seeing that she gets to do what she wants with her life, and that's riding."
"Okay."
"Okay," he repeated.
What was it with Josh? Why was he acting so pissy toward her, like he had a bone to pick? Maybe he did that with anyone connected to Olivia. Not that hers was a huge connection, but the trainer appeared awfully protective over the young woman, always prepared to come to her defense. "Hey, can I ask you something?" At this point Michaela had lost her inhibitions about asking questions. She done it with the slick, asshole entertainment manager, Smith the asshole—sort of—and Callahan the dirty old man, so it certainly couldn't hurt to talk to the horse trainer. They at least had something in common.
"What about?" His tone had a definite edge to it.
"Bob Pratt. You knew him, right? He came here to vet last Monday, Hugh said, and that you helped with the horses. What do you think of him taking off and the police saying he's their prime suspect in his sister's murder?"
He shrugged. "Not sure what I can tell you. I don't know Bob all that well. Yeah, I helped him out last week with the horses. That's not unusual. We might have had an occasional drink in the past. It's the horse business. You know, birds of a feather and all. He's a good vet. I like him. He doesn't drink anymore, and I'm not a big drinker so yeah, we'd grab a Coke once in a blue moon and shoot the shit."
"What do you think about his disappearance?"
"I don't know what to think. Didn't know him well; I already told you that."
"Obviously you knew him well enough to grab a Coke and 'shoot the shit,' as you put it."
"Come on. I'm a guy, so is Bob. We don't do deep-therapy types of discussions like you women do."
Michaela took a step back to blow off his pissy attitude. "Did Bob ever talk to you about his sister?"
"Not a lot. I know he thought a lot of her, but he was busy with his new job at Eq Tech and with his new girlfriend."
"Girlfriend?" She wondered if this was the same woman that Joe had gotten a bead on.
"I didn't stutter."
"I'm sorry." Michaela decided to placate the man. Maybe being sweet would get him to open up. She had a feeling that Josh Torrey was hiding something about Bob, maybe Audrey, too. Or, if he wasn't hiding anything, the information he might have, which he didn't know he had, could lead her down a path that could help her figure out who had murdered her friend and why. "I wasn't aware that Bob had a girlfriend." Michaela thought it best to hold her cards close. The less that anyone knew she was putting her nose into places that she probably should not be, the better off she figured she was. "Audrey and I had a lot of those womanly talks, you know, about relationships, that sort of thing, and she mentioned Bob quite a bit. This is the first I've heard anything about him having a girlfriend." She was getting good at this whitewashing tactic Smith suggested.
"I don't know. I think she was a girlfriend. I know they worked together at Eq Tech. She was one of the chemists there. At least I know they hung out. I met her one night when he made a vet call at the ranch. Pretty lady. Nice, too. Bob seemed into her and vice versa."
"You don't know what to make of him just not showing up for work, or that no one can find him?"
"No, I don't. I know what the papers are reporting and that everyone is thinking he fell off the wagon and had something to do with his sister's murder. But I don't believe any of that shit. Bob might have had problems in the past, but from what I know of him, he's solid and was headed in the right direction. He also mentioned to me that he was going to go see his girlfriend for the weekend, that she wasn't feeling too well. I don't know, maybe he took off early to be with her."
"He would've been in touch with someone, contacted somebody, if that was the case. Don't you think?"
"Yeah. I'd think so." Josh raked his hand through his hair.
"Then maybe it's foul play."
"Maybe it is."
"Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt Bob or Audrey?"
"No."
"What about his girlfriend? Do you remember her name?"
"Carla, something." He snapped his fingers. "No. Cara. I didn't catch her last name."
"She still working for Eq Tech?" It looked to be that the woman Joe had discovered and the one Josh was referring to were one and the same.
"I don't know. When I met her, she mentioned something about the commute and how she hated it; even took the train pretty often, she said."
"Where was she commuting from?"
"Down near San Diego, if I remember right. Maybe Del Mar? I honestly don't know. I really don't know what to tell you, but it sucks. The whole thing does. Wish I had some insight. But I don't, and I hate to cut this short, but I've got work to do."
"I understand."
Michaela needed to call Joe and give him this information, see what he could find out before they hooked up. Maybe this Cara had heard from Bob. She watched as Olivia dismounted. When the girl spotted Michaela, she turned away. Maybe she'd figured out that her drugs had been found. Michaela approached her, but Olivia abruptly turned to Josh. "I've got to go. Sorry."
Michaela thought about confronting her but changed her mind. She would be talking to Olivia or her dad about discovering the cocaine, but not now. There were still some parts of this puzzle in regard to little Miss Olivia that she wanted to put together.
Josh looked baffled as Olivia ran off. He turned back to Michaela, leading the horse in her direction. "Look, I'm sorry about Audrey and I don't know what to think about Bob. It's a shame, that's what it is. A damn shame."
Michaela nodded. "Is Hugh around?"
"No. He's not. I don't know what happened up at the house a little while ago, but there was some shouting going on and then Bridgette took off with Hugh speeding down the drive behind her."
Looked like the cat was out of the bag.
"Hey, aren't you here to pick up Geyser? Juan told me about your trailer." Josh pointed at it in the distance.
"Yeah, is he around? I've got to get on the road."
"
You're not going anywhere with the trailer."
"What?"
He frowned. "Sorry. Juan told me that he had to get some more parts to fix it, and what he needed he wasn't able to find at the hardware store in Malibu."
"When did he say it would be ready?"
"He didn't. He's gone for the day. I'm sure he'll have it taken care of in the next few days."
"Few days. Damn. It's not like I live down the road, you know."
"Tell you what, I'll find out for you, and once it's fixed, I'll get someone to transport the horse out there for you."
Now he was being Mr. Nice Guy. What was it with these people that Audrey hung out with? They were cold one minute, warm the next.
She gave Josh her number and looked at her watch, Happy hour with Hudson was fast approaching, and if she didn't head out now, she'd be late.
TWENTY-NINE
HUDSON DRAKE TURNED OUT TO BE AS DELIGHTFUL as Michaela remembered. She also discovered that they had a lot in common.
"Grew up on a ranch, too," he said. "My dad taught me how to ride. I don't ride like I used to, what with work. It ties me up quite a bit," he said, the candlelight bouncing off the sparkle in his blue eyes.
They'd started with a glass of wine and appetizers during happy hour and their conversation carried them through dinner. Michaela decided against any more wine, knowing she had more than a two-hour drive home. But his company made her feel giddy, almost as if she'd drank more than she really had. He looked as handsome as he had the other day, only toned down now in a gray V-neck sweater and jeans. She'd thought about telling him about her ridiculous day, but decided against it. His conversation was far more upbeat. She had mentioned the horse trailer fiasco and he'd laughed heartily, then apologized.
"I'm not laughing at your expense. Okay, maybe I am. That stinks. What did you do all day? Why did you have to cancel lunch?"
"I had to take care of some business." She'd leave it at that. "And, no offense taken. Come to think of it, it is kind of funny. Stupid rats. I'll have to set some traps."
He didn't make any moves on her, which was nice. No flirtation, just nice conversation. She felt oddly at ease with him. Jude made her kind of nervous, left those butterfly feelings in her stomach. Now she was just plain angry and irritated with him. Ethan…well, he was another story. He was her best friend and that was all, and she wanted nothing but the best for him. Their relationship was comfortable, almost too much so for friends at times. She knew it had to bother Summer that they were as intimate as they were, what with all they'd shared growing up over the years. Those childhood ties could never be broken, and Michaela comforted herself with that thought quite often.
Hudson was interesting and fun. "How are you doing? After everything that's happened?" he asked.
"It hasn't really sunk in; I can't believe that my friend was murdered. But I'm keeping busy. That's all I know to do. Damn!"
"What?"
"I forgot to call the Humane Society. I wanted to talk to them about taking in some of Audrey's horses."
"That's nice of you."
"She would have done it for me. She was like that. A really kind, good-hearted woman. I hope they find who did this to her."
"Me, too." He picked up her hand and squeezed it. "I have a guy working on finding Bob."
"You do? So, you called in the private investigator that you were talking about?"
"I did, but so far, he's got nothing."
"Nothing at all?" Hmm, maybe Joe's cousins were better at this than any private eye.
"No, nothing. You better get on the road if you're going to make it home at a halfway decent hour. It's already past eight."
"You're right."
"By the way, you did get my roses, didn't you?" he asked.
"Oh, my gosh, I'm sorry, I meant to thank you. Yes. They were beautiful. I loved them. Um, but about that…"
"Oh no, you are not going to back out on me now."
She sighed. "It's just the timing and all the driving I've been doing and I really need to get back into the swing of things."
"Do it next week. We'll have a great time, forget your worries for a night. I won't take no for an answer. Besides, all the 'in' crowd will be there." He rolled his eyes. "The Bowens, Fredrick Callahan, who owns Pleasures magazine and several winner's circle horses, and just about anyone who is a player in the racing arena."
She might have had enough of all of them, but she thought about Jude and how angry she was with him and she agreed that she would see Hudson on Saturday.
He walked her to her truck, gave her a peck on the cheek, and held the door open for her. "I had a nice time this evening and I'm looking forward to Saturday night."
"Me, too. But, I have a question: What do I wear?"
"Dress to the nines. This thing is quite an event."
"The nines, huh?" He nodded. She knew she'd have to raid Camden's closet to find something. When she looked in her rearview mirror, she saw Hudson waving. She smiled and headed home.
THIRTY
THE NEXT DAY MICHAELA PLAYED PHONE TAG with Joe, who hadn't been able to make it by between the hardware store, one kid's doctor's appointment, another one's soccer game, and some other event. She did leave him the message about this Cara person who had worked at Eq Tech with Bob Pratt. She wanted to know if he'd been able to find out anything more on that front.
She'd also placed a call to the vet who had seen Rocky over the weekend. It was already Tuesday and she didn't understand why it was so difficult to get any answers. Granted he appeared to be fine, but she was still concerned and wanted to know what his labs reported. She would have to track Ethan down; the last she'd heard, he was still in San Diego with Halliday. She was planning on stopping by his and Summer's house that evening. She needed to tell them she was not going to attend Friday night's baby shower. As for Jude, Michaela planned to leave him a message through the receptionist at the station, because she didn't want to talk to him yet. The last thing she wanted to do was show up sans half of a couple at a couples' baby shower. Not that she and Jude were a couple anyway. Sheesh! Who ever heard of a couples baby shower? That had to be Summer's idea. Sure they were in vogue now, but come on, as if the men really enjoyed sitting around with a group of women oohing and aahing over baby clothes and toys. That was a scene she wanted to miss. She already had a gift for the baby—a bath set and a teddy bear. Generic, but useful.
Since neither the other vet nor Ethan had called, Michaela decided to speak to Dwayne about Rocky. It was feeding time and Dwayne was mixing the grains and supplements for the horses. Camden hung at his heels, which was kind of annoying, because it wasn't as if Camden knew a damn thing about horses. However, being around Dwayne, maybe she thought that she'd gained a master's of equine through osmosis.
"Maybe he needs to be turned out more. You know, he is a stud and they need to roam, feel like they're in charge of their brood," Camden said, winking at Dwayne. "Didn't the vet say that Rocky's testosterone levels were high? Maybe he just needs to get out and about more. Burn off some steam."
"From what I understand, this is a medical situation and not so much about lifestyle," Michaela shot back as she walked up. Her friend looked genuinely hurt, which made her feel bad. Camden was trying, and the bottom line was that she'd been her friend for years. So why was she feeling so irritated by her? Did it really have to do with Camden trying to express her limited knowledge about horses? Or, did it have more to do with the fact that Camden seemed to have found true love, and Michaela…Well, she was still struggling with the idea of whether or not such a concept even existed.
"Michaela is right, Cammy girl, Rocky not too worried about running with mares right now. He be a happy boy, but this thing he got going on has something to do with his insides."
Camden nodded. "You know what, why don't you two talk about it while I go and make some dinner?"
Dinner? Now that was a first indeed. Michaela might have expected Camden to say she would be going to make margar
itas. But dinner? Michaela had been the cook over the last couple of years. Sure, Camden might have popped in a Lean Cuisine once in a blue moon, but dinner? That sounded fishy. She eyed Dwayne as Camden walked away. "Dinner?"
He shrugged and grinned. "She's taking cooking classes. She not so bad, you know. A little bland, but she be trying."
"You two are really in love, aren't you?"
He nodded. "She want your approval. She want you to be happy. She worry about you so much."
Michaela nodded, feeling the back of her throat swell with emotion. "I am happy. I'm just shocked. Surprised, you know. I already told her that I'm happy for the both of you."
"I know."
Michaela took a deep breath and asked, "So what do you think could be going on with Rocky?"
He shook his head and scratched the toe of one of his boots into the dirt. "I thinking about it a lot, and I don't know. Really don't. I seen lots of problems in horses over the years, but not like this. I been taking his vital signs and writing them down because the vet asked me to, and I see nothing crazy. I think we be worrying 'bout a onetime thing, until last night and again this morning." He walked into the office, brought out a sheet of paper with Rocky's vitals, and handed it to Michaela.
She didn't like the sound of that. "Why didn't you say anything if you thought there was a problem?"
"I wasn't so sure at first and didn't want to scare you. You been going through a lot, and I think I better be real sure before we go and get worried again, plus he didn't have no more spells like the other day."
"Dwayne! This is my horse. My kid. You can't keep anything from me. I don't care if it'll cause me worry. I love this animal. Dammit, don't try and protect me."
"Thought I was doing right."
"No. You weren't." She looked at the sheet where Dwayne had recorded Rocky's vitals, blood rushing through her, angry with her assistant. From the records Rocky's heart rate and blood pressure looked like they elevated at about eight in the morning and eight at night. "This looks like it happens about two hours after feeding," Michaela said, tucking away her anger.
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