HORSES AND HEROIN (Romantic Mystery)

by Bev Pettersen

  Her eyes met his in a silent question, and he managed a reassuring smile but damn, the dog was badly hurt. It looked like some bastard had used a club.

  Scott turned to Garrett, keeping his voice low. “Who hurt him? Was it Miguel?”

  Garrett shook his head and glanced meaningfully over his shoulder.

  “We’re going to talk about this,” Scott said, pressing his bare foot on the accelerator, hoping there was no traffic.

  The narrow road was twisted but empty. He flinched every time they hit a bump although Rex remained scarily silent. They only passed one slow-moving van before the road lightened with a sprinkle of houses and finally the streetlamps of a town.

  “Turn right after the car dealer,” Garrett said. “Four blocks.”

  They pulled up to the front door of the clinic. A short lady in a green gown rushed to the car. Her mouth tightened as she appraised the damage. “Bring him inside. Follow me.”

  They walked through an empty waiting room carrying a dull-eyed Rex, he and Garrett at either end with Megan stroking the dog’s head.

  “Do whatever you need to patch him up, Doc,” Garrett said.

  “I’ll try. Sign those forms.” The vet motioned to an assistant who led Garrett toward a desk.

  Scott turned with a sense of relief, and guided Megan from the clinic and out to the car. He’d known Garrett to make ruthless decisions but lucky for Rex, not tonight. Garrett clearly cared for his dog.

  “Do you think he’ll be okay?” Megan’s teeth chattered. He closed the passenger door and joined her in the car.

  “I think Garrett is committed to doing everything he can,” he said cautiously. “If money can fix him, Rex will be okay.”

  He blasted up the heat, leaned over and gave her a grateful kiss. “You were a big help, but I thought I told you to wait. How’s this going to work for us if you don’t listen to every little thing I say?”

  She forced a half smile, as though aware he was trying to cheer her up. However, she clutched his fingers, her voice trembling. “What kind of horrible person could do that?”

  “Don’t know.” He slid a hand beneath her damp hair and rubbed the base of her neck, trying to warm her up. “But I’ll find out.”

  “Good,” she said. Her grip on his fingers relaxed, and she lowered her head onto his chest while he massaged her neck. “You must be cold too. You don’t even have a shirt.” Her lips brushed against his bare skin. “What now?”

  “I’ll drive you home,” he said. “Help you hay the horses. Then come back for Garrett.”

  She straightened far too soon, leaving a cold spot where her body had been. “You’re not going to wait? Shouldn’t you tell him we’re leaving?”

  “Garrett will figure it out. You need to get home.” He wheeled the car around the circular driveway and back onto the highway. “Besides, he might want to come with us. And I figure a man should stay with his dog.”

  Her smile was tremulous but it was better than the sadness that clouded her face.

  “Looks like a nice clinic.” She glanced back at the receding building, the hope in her voice transparent. “They can do a lot nowadays,” she added, as though reassuring herself.

  “I’ve seen worse.” He reached over and gave her hand a comforting squeeze. “Did you ever have a dog that broke a leg?”

  “Our Lab was hit by a car, broke some bones, but my father shot her. Said it was for the best. That was the last dog that my brother…that my mom and I had.”

  Something odd sounded in her voice and he shot her a quick look, but darkness cloaked her expression. “Your parents are divorced?” he asked.

  He felt her nod.

  “My mom remarried,” she said after a slight hesitation. “It’s just her and Steven now.”

  No doubt about it, her voice definitely sounded strained.

  Chirp. Garrett’s cell phone sounded, forgotten on the console. Scott checked the display. Unknown caller. Probably Garrett calling about his car since Scott’s own phone was back in the kitchen. He gave Megan an apologetic smile, regretting the interruption, and pressed the green button.

  “I’ll pick you up later, Garret,” he said quickly. “Megan has to feed.”

  But no one spoke.

  Silence stretched. The line went dead.

  Scott slowly replaced the phone. “Guess that wasn’t Garrett. Just a misdial.” But he instinctively checked the rearview mirror because his gut told him it hadn’t been a wrong number.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Megan hurried into the barn, praying Lydia wasn’t patrolling. Night hay was scheduled for nine, and already she was forty-five minutes late. It had taken extra time to stop at Scott’s villa to grab her clothes, but he’d noticed her shivering and insisted she couldn’t feed in a damp shirt and bare feet.

  Hopefully it was Ramon’s turn for barn check. He was taciturn but more forgiving than Lydia. Sometimes he didn’t check at all. However, it would be difficult for anyone to overlook a bunch of hungry horses.

  She skidded to a stop, so quickly Scott’s hand reached out to steady her. Something was wrong. It was way too quiet. Not a single horse whinnied or pawed. In fact, only Jake even bothered to stick his head over the door. He studied her with mild curiosity while contentedly chewing a mouthful of hay.

  “Guess someone already fed,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Swept the floor too.”

  She peered into Jake’s stall. As usual, he’d nosed his hay all around but it appeared there was at least one flake left and he wasn’t acting ravenous, which meant he’d been eating for a while.

  She shot Scott a relieved smile. “Yes. Someone definitely fed them.”

  “Good,” he said. “Where’s your room?”

  She gestured, then realized he was waiting to walk her upstairs. Rather unnecessary but kind of cool. His competence seemed to extend to everything he did.

  Maybe I should ask him to help find Joey?

  She pressed her mouth shut, knowing he was much too close to Garrett—there was no doubt who would command his loyalty. But someone at the school was a big fat liar. And now someone had viciously attacked Rex.

  Her shiver was slight but he immediately wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her to the stairs. “Get some sleep,” he said. “You’ve been yawning the entire drive back. And I apologize for the shitty night.”

  “The first part was great,” she said. “My aches are gone so the hot tub worked. It was just afterwards—” She gulped, didn’t want to relive the horror of Rex and his wrenching cries. “Guess it’s a good thing you were around,” she added. “Garrett seems to depend on you.”

  “It’s a good thing you were there too. Rex trusts you.” He raised his hand and dragged his knuckles along her cheek, such a casual, intimate gesture that she forgot she was exhausted and truly regretted the curfew.

  “Do you think he’ll be all right?” she asked, looking into Scott’s steady gray eyes. He wasn’t the type to lie.

  Scott nodded. “Garrett made the decision to save him. And he has the means to make it happen.”

  “But you pushed him into it. I heard him ask you to shoot Rex. It seemed rather cold, and why did he think you could kill—”

  Scott pressed his finger against her lips, his expression enigmatic. “It’s past curfew and you need your sleep.” He tugged her up the rest of the narrow steps and checked the darkened hall. Light spilled from room twenty-three. The other doorways were conspicuously dark.

  “Is that yours?” he asked. “Looks like your roommate is still awake.”

  “She might have company.” Megan gave two cautious knocks. Heard Tami’s muffled ‘come in’ and eased the door open.

  “Finally!” Tami called. “You’re late and Lydia was asking all kinds of questions.” Her eyes widened when she spotted Scott.

  “This is my roommate, Tami,” Megan said.

  “I love your class, sir.” Tami rushed across the room and pumped Scott’s hand. “And don’t worry about th
e horses. Miguel and I fed them.”

  “Miguel?” Scott spoke so sharply a touch of red stained Tami’s cheeks.

  “Yes,” she said. “It was his idea to help. We didn’t break curfew or anything,” she added in a rush.

  “What time did you feed?” Scott’s voice was casual but Megan could feel the intensity radiating from his body. Even Tami straightened, her expression unusually respectful.

  “Well, they’re supposed to be fed at nine,” Tami said, “but I could see that Megan wasn’t around. Lydia was checking the jock barn so Miguel and I decided to give them their night hay and just pretend Megan had been there. I thought you’d be happy.” Tami looked at Megan, hurt darkening her eyes, and she looked much younger than nineteen.

  “I am happy,” Megan said, edging between Tami and Scott. “Thanks for doing that.”

  “Yes. Thanks for helping. I appreciate it too.” Scott’s hand splayed possessively over Megan’s hip.

  Tami’s eyes widened and Megan guessed hers probably had too. She’d assumed he’d want to keep everything hidden. Of course, Tami was her roommate and it would be hard to hide anything from Tami. And Garrett had seen Megan come from Scott’s villa, barely dressed.

  “So Miguel was with you tonight?” Scott asked Tami, his voice much gentler now. “What time did he come by?”

  “After supper.” Tami smiled, happy again, and gave a little bounce. “We had coffee and watched TV in the jock barn. Probably why I can’t sleep now. They have six different kinds of coffee. I probably should have gone for the decaffeinated. Or maybe the tea.”

  Scott’s hand tightened around Megan’s hip and she felt his impatience. “How long were you and Miguel watching television?” she asked, trying to pull Tami back on track.

  “A couple hours. We walked back from the cafeteria together. Did you know Ramon gives them video to watch? They have way more homework than us.” Tami turned away and sat on her narrow bed, suddenly engrossed with her nails.

  So it couldn’t have been Miguel, not if he’d been with Tami. Megan’s breath escaped in a whoosh of relief. “Garrett’s dog was hurt tonight,” she said. “That’s why the questions—”

  Scott gave her hip a warning squeeze, and Megan stopped talking. However, Tami’s head shot up.

  “What are you talking about?” Tami asked. “Miguel wouldn’t hurt an animal. Wouldn’t hurt anything. Like I said, he was with me the entire night.” She crossed her arms, a mutinous set to her chin. “And we had a great time,” she added.

  Megan glanced back at Scott in apology but he gave her a reassuring smile. “Garrett and I will find the guy,” he said softly, “but let’s not talk about it around campus.” He brushed her mouth with a quick kiss. “Try not to worry about Rex. I’ll see you tomorrow.” The raw promise in his voice made her pulse kick.

  His gaze lifted over her head. “Good night, Tami,” he said politely, before turning and striding down the hall.

  Tami rose from the bed and peeked past the door, waiting until he disappeared in the stairwell. She turned to Megan with an excited squeal. “Score! I knew you were riding with him but didn’t know you’d hooked up. An instructor. That’s even better than a jockey.”

  She closed the door and followed Megan to the bathroom, still grinning. “Guess that means Peter’s wrong,” she said.

  Megan finished brushing her teeth. “What’s Peter wrong about?” she asked, yawning and walking toward her bed. It would be wonderful to get some sleep and not agonize over thoughts of Joey and Rex and shattered bones. There’d be time to talk to Tami tomorrow. Right now she was drained.

  “Peter saw Lydia draped over Scott in the cafeteria,” Tami said. “Later he saw her leaving Scott’s place.”

  “I saw her too.” Megan adjusted her pillow and slipped between the sheets. “They’re both instructors. Obviously they’re friends.”

  “Yeah,” Tami said quickly. “Peter always jumps to conclusions. He’s so desperate to get laid, he can’t think of anything but sex. Are you going to sleep now? I want to show you my new phone. It has every app in the world.”

  Megan pried her eyes open and glanced across the room. “You already have a nice phone,” she said. It was a mystery how Tami could function on so little sleep.

  “Not like this one. Miguel gave it to me. It’s loaded and service is prepaid. It’s brand new and way faster than my old one.”

  “That’s nice.” Megan found it strange that Miguel would give away a new phone but she was too tired to pursue the conversation. “I’ll look at it tomorrow,” she managed, unable to keep her eyes open any longer.

  Tami was still reciting all the available apps when Megan fell asleep.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “I like a good seat for this class,” Tami said, rushing past an ambling student and bolting to a single chair in the front row.

  Megan paused, surveying the room. She’d never seen so many students crammed in one spot—grooms, exercise riders, jockeys. Front seats were clearly in demand, unlike Lydia’s classes where everyone scrambled to sit at the back. Scott’s class didn’t start for another five minutes but if she didn’t hurry, she wasn’t going to find a seat.

  She edged along the back row, carefully balancing her coffee, and slid into the last vacant chair. “Good morning,” she said, glancing at the student on her right. Her smile froze when she recognized Eve.

  “No iPod today?” Eve asked, raking her with a contemptuous scowl.

  “As you know, Lydia took it,” Megan said.

  “Don’t worry. Maybe you can steal another.”

  “Maybe,” Megan snapped. “After all, the day is young.” She immediately regretted her words. Didn’t want to goad Eve, but the fiery girl had cost her Joey’s iPod and Megan harbored some resentment of her own. “I wasn’t trying to steal it,” she added quietly.

  “What did you say?” Eve stared at her with an odd expression.

  “I wasn’t trying to steal it.”

  “No, that expression,” Eve said. “About the day being young.” She tilted her head, her eyes widening as they studied Megan’s face. “I see it now. You have the same mouth. You’re Megan, his sister.”

  “Joey mentioned me?”

  “All the time. He showed me pictures too. You taught him to ride, taught him to rope. You helped him…with everything.” Eve leaned closer, her voice lowering. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Trying to find out what happened. If he was really back on crack. Heroin would be his second choice,” Megan added dryly.

  Eve’s head whipped back and forth. “He wasn’t. And he wouldn’t have dumped me like that. I don’t care what Ramon said.”

  “What exactly did he say?”

  “That Joey stayed for some girl in Mexico.” Eve’s voice rose. “But I know him. He wouldn’t have done that.”

  The room turned silent. Someone muttered ‘shush.’ Students twisted in their seats, shooting frowns in their direction. Megan looked up and met Scott’s enigmatic gaze.

  “Good morning,” he said, turning his head and addressing the class. “Today we’re going to talk about weight loss drugs—the pros and cons, and why it’s important to always exercise caution.”

  Megan stared blankly at his face, struggling to absorb Eve’s words. There had never been any mention of Joey taking off with a girl. Would he do that? Maybe. After all, their father had deserted his family. Walked out on a wife and two kids. Maybe it ran in the family.

  “Joey wouldn’t do that,” Eve repeated, her voice fierce.

  The stout lady in front of them turned around and scowled.

  “But why would Ramon say that?” Megan whispered. Scott’s eyes narrowed so she waited a moment, then covered her mouth and leaned closer to Eve. “The police report didn’t mention any girl in Mexico. They made it sound like heroin. Why—”

  “Because I was Joey’s girlfriend and didn’t believe Ramon.” Eve wrung her hands. “I knew Joey wasn’t doing drugs. Not anymore—”
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  Scott stopped talking. Heads swiveled, following his steely gaze. He definitely knew how to use silence. Every student in the room twisted, staring at them with open censure. He hadn’t said a word, didn’t have to—the classroom crackled with disapproval. Even Tami turned and rolled her eyes. Someone’s nervous cough punctuated the abrupt quiet.

  Megan pressed against the seat, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment.

  Eve jerked to her feet, her pen clattering on the floor. She brushed past Megan’s chair and rushed from the room.

  “If anyone else wants to leave,” Scott said, staring at Megan, “now’s the time.”

  She picked up her notes, her coffee and Eve’s deserted bag, rose and walked toward the exit, studiously avoiding the shocked expressions. Fifteen feet, but it felt like fifty. The back of her neck didn’t stop prickling until the door closed behind her.

  Eve swung around in the deserted hall, her face flushed with temper, carrying on as though the conversation had never stopped. “Ramon’s lying. He knew Joey wasn’t into drugs, but he didn’t want me to make trouble. Something’s up.”

  “You hung out with Joey a lot?”

  Eve nodded. “For the last ten weeks we were real tight. Honestly, he wasn’t using.” She glanced warily over her shoulder, but they seemed to be the only people in the hall. “I have no idea what’s going on. I have to ride with Ramon every morning and I hate him. He’s looking for a chance to kick me out. If they know you’re Joey’s sister—”

  “But they can’t know,” Megan whispered urgently, wishing Eve would lower her voice. “No one knows but you. And I intend to get close to Ramon. Find out the truth.”

  Eve smiled for the first time. It was weak and wobbly, but it was a smile. “You’re just like him,” she said. “He was always asking questions. Never let Lydia get away with her trite answers. I only wish he hadn’t helped Ramon so much. Once they found out he was a mechanic, he was always fixing school stuff. That new baler took a lot of his time.”