“I’m game,” I said. “But I should call Sue and Moni first and make sure a meteorite hasn’t flattened them.”
“Call now.” Josie pushed the empty plates to one side and pulled her coffee closer. “Pen and I will check the route.”
I walked outside and called Jayboro.
“Jayboro Outstation: real outback, right here. Moni speaking.”
She sounded totally professional, but there was warmth in her voice as well.
“Real outback, right here?” The tagline—one that I had never used—was perfect.
“Felix! Where are you? Sue came up with that line.”
“I’m in central Victoria. Town called Benalla. And I love the line. I hope she’ll let me use it.”
“She will. It’s better than the first one she came up with: ‘Come to Jayboro. If you can find it, it’s free.’ So what’s in Benalla?”
“Chestnut horses.”
“Oh?”
“Who aren’t Fiery Lights. But there’s another look-alike an hour away who might be. We’re travelling with the woman from the trail-riding forum—Pen. She’d been suspicious of her Flame as well. We’ll fill you in when we get back.” I took a deep breath. “How’s Jayboro?”
“No worries. Everything is fine here. There’s a couple from Perth in the campground and a mother and daughter in one of the cabins. Sue and I took a short beginner’s trail ride yesterday. Sue rode Patch and nearly got bucked off. I rode Budgie because it meant I wouldn’t have far to fall. Take your time. We’re good until Monday, and we might be able to stay until Wednesday if necessary.”
“That could be good, if you really don’t mind.”
Warmth permeated her voice, even down the phone. “Felix, we love it here. It’s no trouble. Really.”
“Thank you. How’s Tess doing? Are she and Ripper getting along okay?”
“Oh, Felix.” Amused exasperation coloured Moni’s voice. “That dog is such a cutie-pants. I just want to cuddle her and give her love. When we arrived, Tess barked and barked and barked from the veranda. Then she decided we were here to stay, and she must have felt that she should go. So she took off and dug herself a wallow along one side of the barn. Sue tempted her out and she hung around, all wary. We didn’t want to drag her home and tie her up, but of course she couldn’t stay out all night. I know she’s lived rough, but that was in town. We were worried that if she wouldn’t come into the house, the wild dogs and dingoes would get her.”
“What about Ripper?”
“He was chilled. He’s quite mature and sensible these days, and he trotted off and made friends with her, but she still wouldn’t follow him back to the house. We figured that Tess must have thought the house was Ripper’s now, not hers. So before dusk, Sue made a big show of putting Rip into the four-wheel drive, and then she was able to tempt Tess inside and feed her.”
My heart melted for my dog, still so unsure of her place that another dog was able to usurp it without trying.
“But it’s okay now. More than okay. We shut the two dogs in the house overnight together. Where does Tess normally sleep?”
“She has the run of the house, but she normally sleeps at the foot of my bed.”
“That’s okay, then. That’s where Ripper usually sleeps—now that we’ve finally got him to stay on the floor—and so Tess came in to see where Ripper was, and the two of them snuggled up together on the rug at the foot of the bed. I’ll send you a photo.”
“Thank you for being so kind to Tess. I hope Ripper was okay.”
“Rip was fine. He rolls with it. But you’re in trouble now with Sue.” The smile in Moni’s voice told me it wasn’t anything to worry about.
“Oh? Why?”
“Because I want to go to the animal refuge in the Isa and bring home a dog. A dog like Tess who needs another chance in life. Rip would like a friend. And I would love another dog. So would Sue, actually. She just wants to make sure Mrs T’s okay with it.”
The cheery update reassured me. Jayboro was home, and home was definitely where my heart was. But it would still be there in a few days. In the meantime, I would enjoy the moment.
“Thanks again, and my love to both of you.”
“Bring back a bottle of decent Yarra Valley pinot noir, and Sue will love you forever.”
“She already does, but I’ll remember that.”
“Oh, and Mrs T made you a cake. It’s sticky pear and ginger. She made us promise not to eat it, but if you’re not home by Wednesday, all bets are off.”
“I’ll be back. That’s the incentive I need.”
“Sue will be sorry she missed you. She’s cleaning the amenities block. So far, she’s evicted a bad tempered goanna and a baby magpie. If she hadn’t intervened, one might have been breakfast for the other.”
I said goodbye, and with the image of Sue and a goanna having a standoff, I hung up and went back inside the coffee shop. Josie and Pen had their heads together, looking at Pen’s phone. They looked up as I sat.
“Beechworth. That’s where we’re going.” Josie pointed to a dot on the screen. “It’s to the east of here, on the edge of another wine region. It’s historic and rather pretty. I picked grapes at one of the wineries there a few years ago.”
Pen pointed to a green area on the map just to the south of the town. “This is where someone reckons Fiery Lights is hidden. She’s in an agistment yard, but I found them on the net—they exist, and they’re advertising space for horses, so we’ll have a reason to go in.”
I drove for a bit, now that we were on the country roads, and Josie occupied her time by singing along to the radio and keeping up a running commentary on the towns we passed through. It seemed she’d spent quite a bit of time here over the years, as she had a funny story about most of them.
Pen was quiet, and I wondered what her story was. She was probably thinking she was stuck in a car with two crazy women from the internet.
There was an accident about twenty minutes from Beechworth, and traffic came to a standstill. An ambulance screamed past on the hard shoulder. I turned the engine off and laid my head back on the rest.
Josie got out of the car and walked up the road, as if she had too much energy crackling inside her to stay in the car any longer. I fiddled with the radio to find a traffic report.
Pen sat forwards and rested her arms on the seats in front.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking this,” she said, “but are you and Josie a couple?”
Were we? A week ago, I would have said we were heading that way. Then I would have said we most definitely weren’t. Now I was back to maybe again.
Pen must have taken my silence as unwillingness to answer, as she said, “It doesn’t matter. I was only passing the time.”
“No, it’s not that.” I turned sideways in the seat so I could see her face. “I was just wondering how to answer you. See, we were heading that way, but then this whole thing about Flame came up, and I backed off. Trust and honesty are important to me, and well, suddenly it seemed we had neither.”
“And now?”
“I don’t know, Pen. Maybe. I’d like to think so. But there’s still the fact that I’ve spent my whole life in a remote part of the outback, and Josie, well, she’s never lived anywhere for more than a few months at a time.”
“That’s not a reason to avoid a relationship. My last boyfriend was from Vietnam. Oh, the issues that initially kept us apart, including his family, including mine. Including Australian immigration and lack of money. But we got through that because we wanted to be together.”
I wanted to ask if they were still together. Her house had the look of a single person living there, but it seemed nosy to mention that.
“He died two years ago. He was hit by a drunk driver. But I wouldn’t have swapped our years together for anything, even though I wondered at the time if it was even worth trying to start something.”
“I’m sorry.”
Pen gave a half smile. “Thanks. I’m getting there
. She looked at her watch. “If this traffic doesn’t clear, we won’t get to the yard before dark.”
I took the change of subject. “What would you be doing tonight if you weren’t here?”
“Not much. I have my books and the TV and a frozen dinner for one. I usually ride on Sundays. Casey and her yard saved my sanity after Hien passed. That’s my motivation for this tour of country Victoria.”
The car door opened, and Josie jumped back in. “The police are letting people past in one lane. We’ll be moving soon.”
“Story of your life?” I teased, and she grinned back.
“Maybe it was.”
I noticed the past tense, and I was willing to bet that Pen did as well.
CHAPTER 21
It was nearly dusk when we pulled into a quiet lane, lined with the green leaves and grey bark of gum trees. Josie, who was driving again, pulled up in front of a five-bar gate that led to a gravel driveway. The sign read Ghost Gum Stables.
She rested her elbows on the wheel and leant forwards to peer out the windscreen. “This is posh. This is the sort of place I would expect someone to put a valuable horse, not that last place—too run-down.”
Pen got out and opened the gate for Josie to pass through. Pen latched it behind us, and we drove slowly along the drive, tyres crunching on the gravel.
The yard was beautiful. There wasn’t a stray piece of hay, not a weed, not a piece of manure. The loosebox doors were painted blue, and there was even a weather vane on top of what looked like the tack shed. The entire yard looked like it belonged in the English countryside.
There didn’t seem to be anyone about. Without discussion, we split up. Pen headed to the looseboxes to check the occupants, Josie headed left, and I headed right to where I could see some horses grazing behind post and rails. I got closer and could see they were fine horses. Breeding showed in their clean lines, and money showed in their thin coats, which were covered with monogrammed rugs. One was a chestnut, but the rug hung too low for me to see if it was a mare.
There didn’t seem to be anyone about, so I ducked under the fence and walked over. It was a gelding, so without wasting time, I headed back.
A quiet whistle sounded. I looked over, and when Josie waved at me, I changed direction and headed towards her. She pointed to the paddock, where a light bobbed—someone walking over to see who we were and carrying a torch, I guessed.
“Here,” Josie hissed as I came over. “Look at this one.”
Another Flame. The mare was friendly, nudging Josie in the ribs. A thin white stripe ran down her chestnut face, and even in the dim light, I could see the white socks on her hind legs.
I fumbled in my bag for the reader, wishing I’d had the foresight to pull it out of its case and turn it on before getting out of the car.
“Hurry. They’re getting closer.” Josie stood next to me, as if by shrinking together in the shadows we could avoid being seen.
“Hello.” Pen’s voice came loud in the dusk. I glanced back and saw her wave to the bobbing torch. “Sorry to make you come across the paddock.”
The torch changed direction slightly to head towards Pen.
“He hasn’t seen us.” Josie grabbed the edge of my bag and held it open so that I could more easily retrieve the chip reader.
I dropped the case but ignored it and moved over to the chestnut. She lipped at the end of my plait with her soft nose, then switched to nuzzle the beads in Josie’s hair.
She had a chip. Of course she would. A horse as fine as this was obviously going to be chipped. I stored the reading and nodded at Josie. She picked up the case I’d dropped and dumped it in my bag. Then we walked back to where Pen was talking to a small, wiry man. From his build and stance, I guessed he was a jockey or an ex-jockey.
“Josie, Felix, meet David.” Pen turned to us. “I was apologising that we were so late, but he knew about the accident that held us up.”
“That’s okay, ladies,” David said, his voice soft. “I’m not sure what I can show you in this light, but I can tell you about the yard. We don’t do many straightforward agistments, though. We’re mainly in the business of training eventers, and most of the horses that come to us are being brought on for three-day events. Maybe you’ve heard of Shenanigans, the Olympic gold medallist?”
I hadn’t, but I nodded anyway.
“That mare was trained here. Jessica, her rider, came here for pre-Olympic preparation.”
Considering we were three rather scruffy-looking women with a small hire car, he was treating Pen’s request for information about agistment with the utmost seriousness.
“Two of our horses used to be on the Australian show jumping team, but most of them are youngsters.”
“Are those the horses out in the paddock there?” I indicated the paddock I’d just left.
“No, those are racehorses spelling—that is, having some time off before preparation starts again.”
“They’re beautiful. What are their names?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. If you’re looking for racing tips, I’m not the person to ask.” David indicated his leg. “I’m not a fan of racehorses after one nearly put me in a wheelchair, so I don’t have much to do with them.”
I let the subject drop. It seemed too pointed to continue asking about them.
“Tell me about your horse,” David said to Pen. “We’ve got a couple of spots in the yard at the moment, but Craig, the owner, is hoping to find a promising young horse he can work with.”
“My horse, uh, Milo, isn’t in that league at all. I mainly do amateur events, some dressage competitions, one-day events, that sort of thing. But Milo is important to me, and I want the best place I can find for him. I’m not sure if you would take a horse like that.”
“I’m not sure either,” David said with candour. “But with a name like Milo, I think we’d take a second look. Are you able to come back tomorrow? Then I can show you around properly.”
Josie was slightly behind David, and she shook her head. It was a brief movement, but Pen caught it.
“To be honest, I think we might be wasting your time. I love my horse, but I think he would be outclassed here.” Pen held out a hand.
David shook her hand. “It’s no problem, really. Have you just moved to Beechworth? I can send you a couple of recommendations for yards, if you want.” He fished out a business card from his shirt pocket and handed it to Pen.
“Thanks. I’ll email you tomorrow, if that’s okay?”
“No problem. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”
He watched as we piled back into the hire car and drove off. We didn’t speak until we were back on the road, heading for Beechworth. It was full-dark now, but there was plenty of traffic.
“Well?” demanded Pen. “You must have found something.”
“A chestnut mare, white stripe, two white socks. Thoroughbred. Looks eerily like the horse Felix has and the horse in your yard. Has a microchip.” Josie accelerated towards the distant lights of Beechworth. “I think this calls for a celebratory glass of wine.”
We found a pub in a back street that had rooms on the first floor. They were old-style pub rooms, each with a narrow double bed and a ceiling fan. The bathroom was down the corridor, and there was no TV.
“Perfect!” Josie bounced on the bed. “My favourite sort of place to stay. Reminds me of Worrindi. My room in the pub there is similar.”
We had three rooms in a row with doors that opened onto the wide veranda. From there, we could see up and down the street. Rather than eat in the pub, we walked into town to see what there was and picked a pasta place that occupied a stone building. Inside were several small rooms that made up the restaurant area. It was quiet, and we had a room to ourselves. The database was awkward to look up on the small screen of a mobile phone, but this time, we didn’t have any choice. Using Pen’s phone, which was faster and flasher than Josie’s or mine, I logged in to the microchip database and looked up the chips I’d scanned earlie
r. The first one, the mare from the rundown place where we’d been escorted off as trespassers, was, as I’d thought, an ex-racehorse, nine years old. Not Fiery Lights.
The second was the mare we’d just left.
The chip was again registered to Fiery Lights.
I was silent as I twirled tagliatelle on my fork. Two horses I could explain. Three made no sense. I couldn’t think of any reason why someone would go to the trouble of finding three nearly identical horses and implanting microchips with the same information in all of them.
Pen voiced what we were probably all thinking.
“We have to go to the police. This isn’t just a caper for us anymore. It has to be criminal, even if we can’t figure out what or why.”
Josie and I nodded.
“I hope that Casey isn’t involved. I’m sure she’s not, but I suppose I better not mention it to her. Perverting the course of justice and all that. What about you two?”
I looked at Josie, and she looked at me. I reached across the table and grasped her hand. “Neither of us has done anything wrong, but that, of course, will have to be proven. But we’ll face it together.” Josie’s hand squeezed mine so tightly my fingers went white. “But I would like to be back home when we call the police. I don’t think a day or two will make a difference, but it’s my home, my business, my horses, they will investigate. It’s not fair to expect Sue and Moni to deal with that.”
“Fair enough.” Pen speared a piece of gnocchi. “When will you get back?”
“Assuming we can get back to Tullamarine in time for a flight tomorrow, it would still be the next day. I doubt we’ll be able to drive home from Townsville without an overnight stop. That means it will be sometime Monday.”
“How about we call our respective police around four on Monday? If you’re not back by then, you can email me.”
“That’s reasonable to me. Josie?”
“Yeah. We have to.” Her gaze moved from our linked hands back to my face. “I’m sorry, Felix. I’ve dragged you into something you really shouldn’t be involved in. I shouldn’t have listened to Barney in the first place. I shouldn’t have agreed to take Flame. And I shouldn’t have brought her to Jayboro.” Her mouth twisted wryly. “It’s your fault, of course. If you hadn’t been so gorgeous, so obviously lesbian, so attractive, and so nice, I would have taken her somewhere else. Flame was my excuse to see you.”
Fenced-In Felix Page 19
