“Let me—” She stood and her eyes shot back to the procession behind Dan.
He pointed a finger at the woman as he passed by. “Don’t do anything.”
He entered Belker’s office, but it was vacant. The secretary scampered from behind her cubicle to the office.
“Where is he, Gail?” asked Biggs.
“Oh, Mr. Biggs,” she said, nodding as though in the presence of a deity. “He was in early this morning but then got a call that his aunt had passed away. He’s flying down to Sarasota to be with the family.”
Dan and Detective Manning eyed one another. Dan whispered, “Sure as hell, about the time he learned that the mare had been moved back onto the grounds.”
“What time did he leave?” Biggs asked Gail.
“You just missed him.” She scurried back to her desk. “I’ll bet I can get him on his cell phone.”
“No, don’t bother,” said Manning. “No need to disturb him.” He motioned for Biggs and Dan to enter the office, and a nod told the deputies to stand outside. He closed the door.
“He got a jump on us,” said Manning.
“Think he’s really leaving?” Dan said.
“He’s leaving. But you can be sure he ain’t going to Florida. I’m going to put an APB out for him.” He turned to Biggs. “You got a vehicle description for him?”
“Yes, detective, all full-time staff have assigned parking, so we’ve got what he reported to be driving at the time.”
Manning thought for a moment. “We’ll put a man outside his residence, but he’s probably cleared out of there already—or damn sure is in the process.” He turned to Dan. “You better watch your back.”
“Hell, he’s gonna be a thousand miles away from this place as fast as he can,” said Dan.
“Better hope you’re right,” said Manning. “You’re the only link we got to nailing this guy. Well, you and that kid. I’m gonna assign someone to keep an eye, and I’m going to put a man on the backside just to make sure he doesn’t slip back over there.”
“Whatever you need, sheriff,” Biggs said, shaking his head. “No idea. We had absolutely no idea. Right under our noses, too.”
Manning turned to Dan and continued. “I’m going to need you to come down for more questioning as we work to put a ribbon and bow on this for the DA.”
“I’ll give you a call this afternoon, Darrell.” Dan patted him on the shoulder as he moved past him. “Now I’ve got to visit a filly.”
He walked outside and was racked with a fit of coughing as the fresh air hit him. Despite the coughing, a bruised pelvis, assorted contusions, and a lump the size of New Hampshire on the back of his head, he felt perfect. Painful as it was, he enjoyed the walk to the backside. Dan had an undefeated filly heading into a graded stakes race on Saturday.
He had other business on the backside, too. If he could keep his courage up, he was going to try something he hadn’t done for a long, long time.
He was going to ask a girl on a date.
Chapter 50
dan took a long pull on his coffee. Saturday had arrived, stakes day. For the past three days he’d focused on client matters, along with healing his beaten body. He’d hoped that his redirected attention would cause the time up to race day to go faster. He was wrong.
A quiet dinner with Beth on Thursday night was a positive diversion. She was quick-witted and carefree in all the ways Vickie wasn’t. It wasn’t an official date—or at least he didn’t present it as one. But he definitely enjoyed spending time with her.
He’d rolled around in bed last night and didn’t get more than a couple of winks. The My Lassie Stakes was the ninth race on today’s card. He was one of the first patrons to walk through the turnstile when the track opened. He even had to wait for the first pot of coffee to be brewed.
“Nice suit, mister,” the long-haired teenager said as he handed Dan his change.
Dan never wore a suit coat and tie at the track. Even when he came from the office, he stripped the tie and coat and left them in the car. Dan had owned horses for four years and had enough starts that he couldn’t remember most of them. But this was different. This was the biggest race of his life. This was his Kentucky Derby. Abandoning his usual custom, he decided to dress for the occasion.
After five days of healing, he still had a purple bruise in the shape of a horseshoe on his upper thigh. He’d learned to walk without appearing to be too much of a sissy.
Lennie’s box was empty; heck, the whole grandstand was empty as Dan sat down and poured through the racing form, studying the entrants. There was nothing Dan could do. He wasn’t looking for another horse to bet, and all of his handicapping would make no difference to the outcome or to his rooting interest. Kyle, Jake, and Aly Dancer would either make or break it.
Arestie was back for this race, and rumor was she’d been working well. Dagens got the mount, which would be an improvement. Three shippers were in the field, two from New York and one from Kentucky. One of the New Yorkers, Shazzy Time, had run a 101 Beyer in her first out. The other two had also won their first outs. The Kentucky horse, Jillite, going wire to wire and the other New York horse, Built In, won with a burst down the lane against a good field at Saratoga.
The other entries came out of other maiden races at Fairfax Park, none as impressive as Aly Dancer and Arestie. The form had Aly Dancer at 4-1, with Shazzy Time and Jillite favored ahead of her, 2-1 and 5/2 respectively.
At one hour to the first post time he was still alone in the box, but people were starting to stream into the grandstand seats.
“I see they flew Barrilla in to ride Shazzy Time.” Dan turned and saw Lennie making his way toward the box. “Kyle’s going to have his hands full today.”
Oscar Barrilla was the second leading jockey in the country by purse money won. He was the leading jockey on the New York circuit. The connections to Shazzy Time weren’t taking any chances. They wanted the best. Barrilla wouldn’t have come down if he didn’t think he could win. He had to give up a day of mounts in New York at substantially higher purse structures to come ride at Fairfax Park.
Dan stood and let Lennie into his usual seat. “Unless Barrilla is going to pick up the horse and carry her across the line, it don’t matter to me. Horses still got to run their race.”
“I like your shot today, Danny boy.” Lennie was unpacking his pages of racing data from his backpack. “You didn’t get a clean shot last time, but she threw a huge late pace fig despite the trouble she was in. A clear path—and I figure she’s right with the girls they shipped in. I also think Arestie’s got more topside. She should be a good price today. Heck, you both will. By the time these knuckleheads empty their wallets, they’ll have Shazzy Time down to even money; you just watch.”
Magic Milt got to the track in time to hit the exacta in the first. No cash bonanza, but he was ahead and on a roll. “You know what they say, don’t you?” said Milt.
Lennie didn’t even flinch or look up. “You can’t win them all if you don’t win the first.”
“Yep, that’s what they say. I think I’m going to run the card today,” said Milt.
Lennie glanced over the glasses on his nose at the tote board. “I’ll alert security that you’ll need an armed escort to your car tonight.”
TP showed up after the third race. “Let’s get the big money today, Dan.”
“How’s Kyle doing today?” Dan asked.
“Ice water, Danny. Kid’s got ice water in his veins.” He pulled the day’s program from his back pocket and sat down. “Damn Barrilla flies in here and shakes up the place. Emelio lost three mounts. One he had a real shot on. Where’s the sense of loyalty these days? These trainers get all big-time on you when one of the leading jocks wanders in.”
“You’d do the same thing if you could put Barrilla up on one of your horses,” Lennie said.
“I know,” said TP. “Still pisses me off. Guy’s got a right to get pissed off every now and then.” He quickly turned to Dan. �
�We got a shot here, Dan-o. Kyle says she’s tearing a hole in the track every time they lead her over. He won’t get her in trouble like last time. If he does, I’ll kick his ass before you get a chance.”
“I just want a clean trip,” Dan said. “I don’t know if she’s like the horses they shipped in. She can take any of the locals, but today we find out how she stacks up.”
It seemed like time was standing still. The ninth race would never get here. Dan bounced his legs and tapped his form against the side railing.
Lennie looked over from his computer printouts. “You okay?”
“I think I’m going to burst right out of my skin.” Dan shot upright and started to slide out of the box. “I’m gonna walk around a little.”
“Danny, make sure you take the time to enjoy this. Hell of a lot of owners never get to this position, not with the real deal like your filly. This will be a day you’ll never forget.”
Chapter 51
dan wandered the grandstand, trying to take some deep breaths. There was a strong crowd today. Good for the track and good for folks on the backside. He called Uncle Van and chatted up the race. Van had seen Shazzy Time’s maiden win, and he was cautious. It was an impressive win. Today his money would ride on Aly Dancer. He wished Dan good luck.
Uncle Van and Frannie had retired and moved to Fort Lauderdale. Uncle Van made his way to Gulfstream Park on occasion—certainly more occasions than Frannie knew about. There was no way he’d miss the simulcast of today’s race. No way in the world.
Vickie called just as he’d hung up with Uncle Van. She didn’t understand the significance of the race, but she knew it was something that mattered to him. She said she’d read about it in the newspaper, which meant that someone told her about it because she never read the sports page. She just wanted to call and wish him good luck. It was the proper thing to do, and she always did the proper thing.
Dan slapped the phone shut and tucked it into his pocket. Two steps later it was ringing again.
“Dan, it’s Darrell Manning.”
“Detective, how are you?”
“Fine, fine. Hey, wanted to let you know—we got a hit on Belker’s phone this afternoon.”
“What are you, tracing his calls?”
“With the APB on him, we’ve got the bloodhounds out looking for ATM activity, phone calls, anything. Anyway, he’s still in the area. Placed a call about an hour ago.”
“Go pick him up.”
“Wish it were that easy. He’s on the move—wasn’t on the call long enough to triangulate an exact position, but from the cell tower hits, he’s in northern Virginia, not Florida. Or at least his phone is calling people from northern Virginia. Thought you’d want to know. Watch your back, Dan.”
“Hey, who did he call? Can you tell me that?”
Dan could hear paper rustling on the other end. He did a quick 360-degree look around, holding the phone to his ear. “Called a number registered to somebody named Ginny Perino.”
Some days Dan would travel to the backside before a race and make the walk over with his horses, but today he was too nervous and in some way fearing that his nerves might affect the horse. Time was standing still as he moved from one end of the grandstand to the other. He walked down to the paddock and watched the field for the sixth race head toward the racetrack.Up on the fence, like a gargoyle guarding the entry to the track, was AJ.
Dan slapped him on the leg with his form. “You okay?”
“Yep.”
“You guys got anything in today?”
He looked down at Dan. “Ran second in the first race and fourth in the third, but we’re done for the day.”
“You make it over to the test barn?” The test barn was where shippers were housed in the days leading up to the race. Dan knew he had been.
“Yep.”
“What do you think of those fillies?” Dan asked.
“I think your filly can beat them. They got talent, but they got no heart. That Jillite don’t like bein’ here.” He paused and watched the horses moving toward the track. “They been kid-gloved. Today they see a filly that can run. We’ll see how they measure.”
“I hope you’re right, AJ. You take care of yourself, all right?”
He nodded.
Dan walked about six feet, stopped, and spun around. “You s’pose it’d be okay with Latimer if you got your picture taken—you know, just in case we win?”
“We got nothin’ running against you. He won’t see no harm,” said AJ.
Dan pointed the form at him. “See you in the winner’s circle.” He got a smile out of him. Dan didn’t think it was possible. A few weeks ago he couldn’t even get him to look at him. Now he smiled. Dan tapped the racing form against his leg and walked away.
Lennie was right. Dan was lucky to be in this position, to have this horse, to have this shot. Dan smiled. Win or lose, this will be a day not soon forgotten. Winning would be better, though.
Kyle leaned back against his locker and rested. The strain and stress of race riding took a toll on even the best athletes. In thirty minutes he would ride in the biggest race of his life, on a filly with a big chance. He had his headphones on, and Lenny Kravitz cranked up on the I-Pod. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. As he’d done many times before, he tried to visualize the race.
He’d never ridden against Barrilla, and he desperately wanted to beat him, but he had to put that out of his mind and ride his race. Do the right thing for the horse. He had to win with her best run and not worry about the competition. As he nodded to the music, he felt a tap on the arm. Jim Dagens was standing above him. Kyle jumped slightly when he spotted Dagens. A crafty smile came across Dagens’ lips, and he extended his arm downward with a closed fist.Kyle tugged his headphones down and returned the fist bump to Dagens.
“I’m gonna win this thing,” Dagens said, “but I hope you beat Barrilla, too.”
“You’ll have to settle for second,” Kyle said, with a laugh. “But I’ll get you a picture of me in the winner’s circle for your photo album.” Dagens gave him a dismissive wave and walked off.
Since their scrum a few weeks prior, they had developed a mutual respect for one another. The race was shaping up as hometown against shippers. The hometown jocks always wanted to win, but if they couldn’t, they wanted another hometown guy to win. It was more about knowing the guys they raced against each day were as talented as the guys they watched on national TV. It was about local pride. It was about dignity. It was about protecting turf.
As soon as the eighth race was over, Dan headed toward the paddock. The paddock judge recognized him and looked a little stunned that someone was so early getting to the paddock. There was no one else there yet. He smiled, lifted the rope, and let him pass into the open air of the paddock. “Good luck today.”
“Thank you. It’s a great day.”
They’d drawn the four post for the race, so he waited near the entrance to that stall. Eventually a few other trainers and owners made their way into the paddock. They nodded as they walked past. Finally, Jake came over, and they shook hands. “What do you think?” Dan said.
“She’s got a ton of talent; we know that.” Jake took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.
“Just don’t know how much game those shippers got.”
The grooms were starting to lead the horses to the paddock. Small tags attached to the bridles matched up with the assigned posts.
Keith Kimbrough, Arestie’s trainer, stopped briefly and shook Jake’s hand. No words. None were needed. Romeo led Arestie past them toward the assigned stall. Dan gave him a look, but Romeo didn’t reciprocate.
A murmur shot through the crowd, and they turned to look. Beth was leading Aly Dancer into the paddock. Red roses were braided in the filly’s mane. “Good lord, what’s that?” Dan asked.
“She loves that horse, Dan. She’s so damn proud. Spent her own money on
the flowers.”
Sensing Dan’s unease, Jake continued, “Won’t hurt her at all. Hell, she’ll look great in the picture when were done.”
As Beth approached, Dan said, “She looks great, Beth.”
“She’s a champion,” Beth said. “She should look like one.”
Beth led her into the stall and circled her, facing out. She patted the horse on the nose and talked quietly to her as Jake cinched the girth and saddle on her.
Shazzy Time was in the one post. She was huge. The filly had to be nearly sixteen hands high as a two-year-old. Her coat shone in the sunlight. She looked like a champion, too, Dan said to himself.
Built In was in the five post and wasn’t happy. She reared and balked as they tried to get the saddle on. A groom struggled with the rope clipped to her bridle. She was having none of it.
Aly Dancer stood almost motionless as Beth scratched her behind the ears. She was acting more like a puppy dog than a race horse. That’s okay—save your energy for the race, Dan thought. The paddock judge came by and lifted Aly Dancer’s lip, comparing the tattoo to the list on his clipboard. “Good luck, Jake.”
A bell gonged, and the jockeys came down the walkway into the paddock. Barrilla was getting plenty of attention from the onlookers. He twirled his whip like he was bored to death even to be present. Kyle was adorned in the blue and white silks Dan had designed for his stable. He walked past Barrilla without looking at either him or his horse. He reached the area by stall four, and they stood on the grassy area inside the large walking ring. The horses began circling on the walking ring in numerical order.
Jake put a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “Give her a confident ride. This filly’s ready to rock. Don’t get crazy if the one or five want to go fast, but don’t be afraid of them neither. If she breaks on top, she can win from there. Give her a smart ride. She’s got the ability.”
Bullet Work Page 20
