Flaxmead

by Brian Cain

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

  For Anna and Dylan the excitement was being with their pet Flaxmead. The race meetings were a bonus but the limelight caused social problems. Dylan's primary school friends had been supportive but since Flaxmead had been at Shangri La out of school contact was nearly non existent. His friends could not come to Shangri La and this was distancing both Anna and Dylan from close friends. Dylan found out who his friends really were and Anna with her first year in high school had her friends turn on her. The don't talk to Anna because she's famous lobby group, consisted of just about the entire school apart from close friends, Dylan and local family. They both stopped delivering news on the progress of Flaxmead as it incited aggression and isolation. They supported each other to and from school on the bus and Jessica and Lindy became closer than their school friends. Anna continued to prepare presentations on Flaxmead's wining ways on his mission for the Melbourne Cup but they were never presented to teacher or class. They fought through every day knowing hoping their pet would soon triumph.

  A further problem was pushy parents wanting to visit Flaxmead through their children's association with Anna and Dylan at school. When advances were fruitless by their siblings, pressure was applied to be more confronting resulting in a widening of the gap that already existed between Anna, Dylan and their school friends. Teachers at time thought they were hard done by unable to gain a visit to Flaxmead and eventually Anna and Dylan found themselves completely ostracized in the school community spending recesses and lunch times alone. Marie their mother noticed how they battled through the week and came out to their shells of a weekend. Wealth far beyond their wildest dreams also began to flow, their parents were bombarded with investment offers. Their home lives deteriorated ever since a lock had been put on the gate with the arrival of Flaxmead. It became a topic for discussion by their parents.

  In the kitchen of their humble colonial homestead in the cool of mid evening Marie and Bob thought things out. "Are they in their rooms," asked Bob.

  "Yes, their reading the write up in the Racing NSW magazine about Flaxmead," replied Marie.

  "We've become the local freak show,"

  "Don't knock it their reading ability has skyrocketed with all the press, they read everything. Schools a nightmare for them?"

  "Should we send them to the private school in Cessnock?"

  "And how long would that solace last, besides I don't think they'll give up especially Anna Bob."

  "We can't just keep not talking about it," he insisted.

  Marie let out a big sigh. "No, bring them down here and we better sort it out."

  Bob summoned the pair, they came to the kitchen in pyjamas looking blank and drawn wondering what was going on. Anna had been attending to her hair it was now down past her hips and shone in the kitchen light. "We know you don't like what's going on at school and want to know if you would like to go to private school in Cessnock?" asked their mother.

  Anna stamped her foot on the ground. "No!"

  Bob and Anna looked at each other with just little smiles. 'I thought that might be the case," said her mother. "So you want to stay where you are."

  "Yes, I have friends but they go off with the others. They don't want to end up like me alone so we talk on the bus," said Anna.

  "My friends are the same, if they talk to me the others beat them up," commented Dylan.

  "You don't have to put up with that Dylan, you can move," added his father.

  "No, they'll come back when Flaxmead wins the Melbourne Cup," replied Dylan. "I like my friends and I like where we live."

  "Me too," added Anna.

  There father hesitated he they had sorted out nothing. "You won't be able to see flaxy run until the Melbourne Cup, then only if he makes it."

  "It's not far away now," said Anna.

  "Who's gonna stop him," added Dylan.

  "If you get bitter about this we'll have to do something," added their father.

  Anna searched for an answer that would reassure her father. "I think there's a difference between determination and bitterness dad."

  Their father pulled them both close hugging them placing his head between both of theirs with his mouth by their ears. "I think you're right," he whispered. "We're always here if you need us."

  They hugged him back. "Can we go were reading about Flaxmead, that lady Lee Hayford uses a lot of long words. Could Celtic Storm beat Flaxmead?"

  "Well," their father had a good think. "I know that lady said that there's twenty horses in the Melbourne Cup and any one of them could win."

  "Is she right dad?" asked Anna.

  "What I think she means is for a horse to get to the Melbourne Cup it's already a champion. For a horse to win the Melbourne Cup it's the champion of champions."

  "That's Flaxy, he's the horse from the red car," said Dylan.

  "The red car?" questioned his father.

  "There was a beautiful red Mustang in here one day a while back now, Dylan saw the emblem on the grill said it looked like Flaxmead," said Marie. "It was the first time I saw Winston."

  "Winston, he's got a Bentley I've never seen him in a Mustang," said Bob.

  "It wasn't his, a horse salesman was driving it and I think they were lost," replied Marie.

  "How long ago was that?" asked Bob.

  "A while now, not long after the kids got Flaxmead."

  Bob looked puzzled. He rubbed his face with his right hand. "Sometimes I think Winston knows more about Flaxmead than I do," commented Bob.

  "Winston is a very confident man Bob, he seems to know something about everything. I thought that as well at first but its just Winston I think he turns anything he touches into gold," said Marie.

  Anna and Dylan walked towards their bedrooms. "This is boring mum were going back to bed to read," they ran up the hallway.

  Bob continued to think with a look of concentration. "There's more to this than meets the eye, Winston wants Flaxmead across the line at Flemington just as much as we do."

  "Yes thank goodness or wed have two children with long faces, Winston, Wilson and Bartholomew are like members of the family. Look at Graham top trainer in the country would you have ever thought that when we moved in here and first met. Shangri La and Loudbark are inseparable and we talk to GPC management at race meetings. Before Flaxmead Winston, Wilson and Bartholomew came along life was a comparatively boring. Here you are picking holes in Winston's goals and they're exactly the same as ours. I hope you never repeat what you've been saying Bob."

  Bob reached across the kitchen table and grabbed Marie's hand. "Sorry I think the thing with the kids has upset me, picking on Winston I should be ashamed of myself."

  "That's better, we should be proud of the kids attitudes."

  "Yes, absolutely, now we've brought it out in the open I feel much better. We better turn in long day blending tomorrow, I need a clear head."

  With the acquisition of Sanda Warrior the assassin went about things with vigour. He had revitalised his cocaine habit and was having delusions of grandeur. He envisaged a one two three in the Melbourne Cup but needed Flaxmead, Flushing Meadow and Celtic Storm sidelined. He and Creighton indulged in late night to early morning fiascos bringing Creighton under the assassins spell with Creighton beginning to wear a constant smile. Creighton's marriage was on the rocks and he was depressive and easily influenced. The assassin hatched a plan in his mind to back his dream but needed more information on the location of Flaxmead. His new minder Joel Renoir alias Rick O'Brien was reluctant to go back to the hunter valley on any further fact finding missions scared off by his first experience. Delores thought he could find out more from airborne reconnaissance and racked his brain for a contact that could be exploited. He had some last minute plans scheduled for cup day but wanted to see if he could find something that would not have to be left so late.

  Delores searched his list of contacts not associated with the racing industry that could pilot aircraft, he found an alarming fact. He had many contacts listed but
only two outside the horse racing industry. One was a long time friend, a car dealer but he was in Western Australia. The other was a prominent lawyer from Sydney. Once up on a serious drink driving charge the assassin used Anthony Stanton from leading law firm Stanton and Stanton, George street Sydney. Whilst the case progressed Delores found Anthony was keen on Porsche cars and had been looking for a particular model for some time an early 935. The 935 brought Porsche the World Constructors Championship in long-distance sports car racing in 1976 to begin a new dynasty of on-track success for Porsche with the “silhouette” sports car formula building limited road cars to near identical specs of the race version. The assassin just happened to know where one was albeit not for sale. Infatuated by the vehicle Anthony wanted a look, the assassin arranged a viewing grateful that Anthony had found a problem with the breath analyses test in his DUI case and the charges had to be dropped. The vehicle was hidden in a shed deep in the Grampian Mountains in Victoria and the assassin remembered the helicopter ride Anthony had taken him on piloting his own chopper and landing in the 935 owner's garden. With deep experience and calculated cunning the assassin levered the vehicle from the owner's hands getting him to sell it to Anthony. Anthony was ecstatic and left the assassin with option of calling him any time should he need help.

  By making enquires at Anthony's offices in Sydney by phone the assassin found he still owned the vehicle and it was parked in his beachside house garage at Hawks Nest near Newcastle. Delores requested contact and a short time later his mobile rang with a call from Anthony. The assassin laid it on and convinced Anthony he had a friend visiting from France, a horse buff mad on getting a glimpse of the horse Flaxmead while he was here on a short visit. The horse just happened to be in Anthony's back yard and he asked if Anthony could fly him round the valley to see if he could get a peek at the famous horse. The assassin pushed the time factor and two days later Anthony met Renoir at Rutherford airport where Anthony's father John Stanton kept his helicopter. After a brief introduction Renoir was clipping tree height above Greedy Piggy Creek and could see a black horse amongst the horses in Harpers property. Renoir asked Anthony if that was Flaxmead but Anthony said he was aware of the horse but had never seen it and didn't know. Renoir also noted the float parked outside Harpers stable complex bearing the insignia of the hunter valley thunderbolt. They returned along the broken back range tracking the cliff face to their right heading east, they passed over some of the most picturesque property in the world littered with wineries. Renoir commented it was an austere contrast to the dusty coal mines they had only minutes before been in view of. The flashed by Shangri La and Loudbark and Renoir noticed a black horse in an open paddock under the range by Shangri La. He asked Anthony to turn and run low over the area. A saddled black horse ran wild in the paddock darting through the trees and he noticed a female standing on a fence gate watching the horse, a bay horse was running in the same paddock. The horses were saddled and carrying some kind of pack, the black horse kicked high, frolicked and pranced around. It reared up and gave a scream heard above the engine of the chopper and headsets as they passed directly overhead. Renoir remembered the story of the Banshee.

  "Jess that horse has got a set of lungs on it, that's a scary noise. I didn't think horses could make sounds like that," commented Anthony.

  "Yeah." Renoir tried to look for signs but they went by too quick. "Is this Shangri La winery," asked Renoir by the headset intercom.

  "Yes, and now were over a winery called Loudbark, I'll turn run back over them and head home." The chopper banked and passed back over Shangri La directly in line with the stable complex. Renoir noticed the holding yards adjacent to the stabling facility. The horses were still running amuck in the far paddock together. "Is it common to have horses in wineries," asked Renoir.

  "There's horse's all over the place here, hard to see the difference between horse studs, horse trainers, wineries and coal mines. I don't know I'm far from being an expert. I saw a horse just about everywhere even the coal mines. Chances are you saw the horse you wanted to see but could have been a few places."

  "Yeah, that's exactly what I thought. I think I know which one it was. Well I've probably seen it and that's what I came for, thanks."

  "No worries well be back down in a few minutes." The chopper gained height and headed back to Rutherford airport. They parted company, Renoir had no contemplation he had been sitting next to one of Stanton's younger sons and Anthony had no idea he had been carrying the man responsible for his elder brothers death.

  Renoir took the information back to Delores at a cafe meeting at Circular Quay on Sydney harbour, he found the information on Shangri La interesting. The assassin returned to his abode and did some probing on the net through the RISA member's site finding something he wasn't aware of. Harper had a second stable complex registered, in the grounds of Shangri La winery. The cloak and dagger approach fostered by Flaxmead's team payed off, the assassin couldn't work out what was going on and took on board what Renoir said about Shangri La. Renoir made the comment getting into Fort Knox would be an easier task. He shelved any plans of going into the hunter after the horses and would develop plans for when they were in his neck of the woods. He turned his attention to Celtic Storm for now.