Deadfall

by Lyndon Stacey

  People who mind their own business live longer.

  FOUR

  LINC READ THE WORDS twice before their meaning really hit him, then it took his breath away.

  It was strange but in spite of what had happened to Abby, he hadn't really considered how dangerous it could be for him personally to tangle with whoever was behind the tack thefts. The truth was, of course, that the men who had raided the Vicarage that night must be well aware, from newspaper reports if nothing else, that Abby's condition was serious and should she not recover they would face a charge of manslaughter at the very least. It was not so surprising that they should be prepared to use threats of violence to discourage Linc from prying too closely.

  When the first shock had worn off, though, he was able to think more clearly. The very fact that the warning had come by way of the Post Office box number was proof enough that the sender had no idea of his identity. Rather than panic, he told himself, he should regard this in the light of a wake-up call and be more vigilant in future. All the same, there was nothing like receiving a death threat to alter one's outlook on life.

  Calling at the Vicarage for his early-morning ride the next day, Linc found the mood there had become even more sombre. Ruth was mucking out the stables in slightly tearful silence, and he learned that after a day of increased brain activity that had raised the hopes of doctors and family alike, Abby had apparently succumbed to an infection and taken a turn for the worse.

  'I was going to offer to groom for you at Talham tomorrow,' Ruth told him. 'But Josie's staying at the hospital with Mum and Dad so I'll have to stick around. Besides, I don't want to be away from home in case . . .' Her voice broke, and with a sob she said, 'We thought she was getting better. Why did this have to happen?'

  Linc gently took the broom out of her hands and pulled her into a hug. 'Hey, don't give up on her. You have to keep believing she'll be okay. She's a tough cookie, your sister.'

  Ruth sniffed into the front of his fleece. 'I know. But I wish I could be at the hospital with Mum. It's hard to be cheerful for Hannah and Toby when you know everything's going wrong.'

  'Would it help if I stayed here with the kids tomorrow to let you go with Josie?'

  Ruth pulled back, tears shining on her lashes. 'Oh, no! You must ride Hobo again, and Noddy – you didn't take him last week. You know Abby would want you to go. You'll never get to the Olympics if you keep missing competitions.'

  Linc smiled. His mother had been short-listed to ride in the Olympic team later in the year she'd had her fatal accident and it was his stated ambition to fulfil that dream on her behalf.

  'I don't think missing Talham would make much difference, one way or the other. It's hardly Badminton, is it?'

  'Nevertheless, you should go,' Ruth said firmly. 'We all want you to. Go and win, for Abby!'

  Talham Hunter Trials was a relatively new event but was already attracting riders from well outside its Wiltshire location. They were drawn by its growing reputation as being a well-built course that offered a good variety of challenging fences. It was only cross-country, rather than a one-day event, and included no dressage or showjumping in the day's competition, although a clear-round jumping ring was provided for those who wished to use it.

  Linc drove Noddy to the venue in the Hathaways' two-horse lorry and was met on the field by his sister-in-law Nikki, who had volunteered to be his groom for the day. Because of the potential hazards of the sport, it's sensible for riders competing in cross-country events to provide themselves with back-up drivers, or failing that, to notify the secretary on arrival that they are attending alone.

  'Well, this is just like the old days, isn't it?' Nikki exclaimed as Linc jumped down from the cab and stretched the kinks of the journey out of his back and legs.

  During their brief relationship she had accompanied Linc and Noddy to several events, proving herself to be a competent groom. Now she was dressed in jeans and a thick fleece, with a cotton headscarf tying her blonde curls into a ponytail. Her china-doll face was, as always, perfectly made-up and with nail varnish, earrings and a bead choker, she managed to look both workmanlike and glamorous at the same time. Linc was struck by the comparison between her and Josie's 'off-duty' casualness.

  'Yeah, thanks for stepping in at the last moment like this.'

  'No problem at all!' she assured him with a smile. 'I love doing it. And now of course Cris has decided that a few horsy action shots are just what he needs for this exhibition he's planning.'

  'So where is he?' Linc asked, looking round for his brother. A talented photographer, Crispin made quite a good living doing portrait work and supplying material for picture libraries but his dream was to have a full-scale exhibition in one of the well-known galleries.

  'Oh, he's gone off to scout for good vantage points. We probably won't see him again for ages.'

  Another lorry was easing into position beside them and the field was abuzz with horses and people. Leaving Noddy in Nikki's capable hands, Linc departed in search of Nina and Hobo, finding them at the other end of the lorry park, conveniently near the secretary's tent. After completing the formalities, they left the horse with his groom and set off to walk the cross-country course together, pacing out the combinations and discussing the best way to ride each fence.

  Returning some forty minutes later, Linc found Noddy tacked up and ready and being walked round with a blanket over his quarters. All he had to do was put on his body protector, number and crash cap, before mounting and riding away to warm up.

  'You're a star,' he told Nikki as he took the reins from her. 'Did you put the Vaseline on his mouth?' When he got excited Noddy tended to generate a fair amount of frothy saliva and on occasion the tender pink skin around his mouth became chapped and sore.

  'Yep. Done his lip gloss,' she joked. 'And his mascara.'

  'Poor fella! Don't tease him. Oh, and by the way, if you want Crispin, he was last seen over by Lovers Leap, looking for the most dramatic angle on the drop fence. A formidable female in tweed was trying to keep him at a safe distance but every time she turned her back he moved in a couple of feet.'

  'Sounds like him,' she agreed, laughing. 'I think I'll leave him to it and go hunt for bargains around the trade stands.'

  Noddy felt fresh and eager for the challenge when Linc rode him over to the start area. Nikki had returned by then and given him a final tidy up, greasing his legs and sponging his eyes and nostrils. Linc had taken his windproof jacket off to reveal a polo-necked sweater in dark jade green; the same colour his mother used to ride in.

  The starter counted him down, Nikki called encouragement, and then they were away and the rest of the world ceased to exist.

  Noddy settled into his usual, ground-eating gallop and took the first three relatively easy fences without a check. The fourth was actually a combination of three parts, requiring control and accuracy. Noddy steadied obediently and jumped through it neatly, flicking his long lop-ears back to receive Linc's spoken praise as they accelerated away on the other side. Linc settled down happily to ride the rest of the course.

  Ten minutes later, after a fast and faultless round, they flew the two tiers of strawbales that made up the last obstacle on the course and galloped up the run-in to the finish. Linc patted his horse delightedly. At moments like these he could really believe his Olympic dream might come true.

  Nina appeared as he led Noddy back to the lorry with Nikki.

  'Well done, Linc! That was a smashing round! Hobo'll be ready when you are. Listen, I don't know whether you're interested but a woman approached me a minute ago wanting to speak to you. Apparently she's got a horse here, entered in the bigger class, but her rider's let her down and she wondered if you'd be interested in an extra ride. Someone had told her that you'd ridden Hobo for me last week. It's entirely up to you what you do about it. I've never met the woman before and I've absolutely no idea what the horse is like. Her name is Dee Ellis.'

  Linc shrugged. 'I can talk to her, I guess. Where
is she now?'

  Nina gave him directions, and after he'd helped Nikki settle Noddy he searched the owner out, finding a petite, fiftyish, peroxide blonde disconsolately stroking a huge steel-grey gelding. She brightened visibly when Linc introduced himself and he learned that the horse, registered as Night Train but affectionately known as Steamer, had been bought for the woman's daughter to ride but she'd gone off to university and transferred her interest to boys instead.

  'Steamer came from Ireland,' Dee Ellis told him. 'He was doing quite well over there. Susie had such big plans for him but all of a sudden she seemed to lose interest. I couldn't bear to sell him, though. He's my baby. He's such a big pussycat.'

  While she was talking, Linc looked the horse over and liked what he saw. Steamer had hard, clean-boned legs, cool to the touch, powerful quarters, a deep chest and a bold, honest eye.

  'Tell you what,' he said. 'All being well, when I've ridden Hobo for Nina, I'll pop this lad round the clear-round course and if we get on okay, I'll ride him cross-country.'

  'That's great. I'll have him ready for you,' she promised. 'And I'll sort it out with the secretary. See you later.'

  The course at Talham was a little bigger than the one Hobo had jumped the previous week, but he set off undaunted, jumping boldly but carefully once more. There were two drop fences on the course. One was a straightforward leap down off a platform; the other – known as Lovers Leap – involved jumping up a step, taking one short stride, then launching out over a rail and ditch to land some six feet below. Nina had expressed doubts about both of these when Linc had walked the course with her, reinforcing his belief that such fences were her bugbear rather than Hobo's, and sure enough the horse took the first drop in his stride. Several more obstacles passed by uneventfully under his capable hooves, including a watersplash and a lane crossing of low hedges taken on the bounce, before horse and rider swung round a bend in the course and began the approach to Lovers Leap.

  Noddy had coped easily with the fence and Linc had no qualms about Hobo's ability but as the obstacle came into sight, so too did a steward, standing directly in their path and frantically waving a red flag. Disappointed, Linc recognised the signal for a stoppage, sat back in the saddle and slowly eased Hobo back to a trot and finally a walk.

  'Sorry, sir,' the steward called. 'We've got a faller up ahead. I'm afraid you may be held up for several minutes.'

  'Okay.' Linc nodded and held up his hand. Beneath him, Hobo sidled and tossed his head impatiently. Linc rode him in a circle, trying to get him settled so as not to use up too much energy while he waited. Being held up on a course was always a frustrating experience but could, depending upon the horse, have either a negative or a positive effect. If your mount is slightly lacking in fitness or finding the course hard work, then a rest part way round can prove beneficial. Other, more excitable animals are liable to work themselves up into a lather if forced to wait, and for any horse and rider, a prolonged stoppage is unfortunate, resulting in muscles cooling and a loss of impetus.

  Linc continued to circle, occasionally letting Hobo trot, while further up the course people were swarming round Lovers Leap like flies on a carcass. He couldn't see precisely what was happening but a little further off someone was leading a brown horse in slow circles, so he guessed it was the rider who was in trouble. Sure enough, after a few moments an ambulance could be seen approaching over the bumpy ground and soon, two fluorescent jackets joined the swarm.

  The steward's radio crackled and he spoke into it briefly.

  'Nasty incident,' he said, coming towards Linc. 'Young girl, only seventeen. Looks like back trouble. Be a while yet. Sorry.'

  'No problem.' Linc knew he wouldn't be the only one held up on the course. With competitors sent out every two or three minutes there would probably be at least two more stopped at various points behind him.

  It was in fact nearly fifteen minutes more before he was given the all clear, by which time Hobo had switched off completely. Linc rode him in three big circles, gradually increasing speed, and then sent him forward down the eighty metres or so to the next fence, wishing he didn't have to restart over the most daunting obstacle on the course.

  Hobo apparently had no such worries. He just seemed delighted to be moving again. Linc steadied him three strides out and he sprang lightly up on to the mound, put in the requisite short stride on top and leaped out over the rail to land with barely a check on the lower ground beyond the ditch. The watching crowd clapped appreciatively.

  'Good boy!' Linc patted Hobo's neck as he galloped on. Halfway up the following stretch they passed the riderless brown horse being led back and Linc mentally crossed himself. Within moments he'd put the incident out of his mind, lost to the rhythm of Hobo's bobbing head and pounding hooves. It looked like being another faultless round until they suffered a communication breakdown over Linc's intended route through the last combination and almost hit a tree. The mix up left Hobo unbalanced and unable to attempt the final rail, and circling to take it again meant they finished with twenty penalties.

  Nina, waiting at the end of the course, brushed his apologies aside.

  'No, don't worry, Linc. I'm just glad you're both all right! We heard over the Tannoy that someone had fallen but it was ages before we could find out who. When you didn't come back, we weren't sure whether you'd fallen or whether there was someone else ahead of you.'

  'It was the girl in front of me,' Linc told her, dismounting and running his stirrups up. 'Quite nasty, according to the steward. But Hobo wasn't fazed by the wait. He was brilliant!'

  Noddy and Hobo's class was a big one, so after relinquishing Nina's horse to the groom Linc had plenty of time to return to his own lorry for some lunch. He went by way of the trade stands, looking to buy a new pair of riding gloves as his were fast becoming more hole than glove. He was pleased to find Sandy Wilkes's stand, and went in under the canopy to see him. Sandy himself was taking advantage of a quiet moment to drink a cup of soup but stood up with every appearance of pleasure when he saw Linc, apparently not bearing a grudge for Monday night's events.

  'Hi, mate,' he said. 'How are you doing today?'

  'Thanks. Not bad at all. But I could do with a new pair of gloves.' He held his hands up to illustrate his point.

  'You certainly could,' Sandy agreed. 'Though I'm not sure I should serve you after the other night. Those nosy policemen kept me up till two o'clock in the morning and left one hell of a mess for me to clear up!'

  'Ouch! Sorry about that.'

  'Nah, it wasn't your fault.' Sandy reached down a tray full of a variety of gloves. 'Have a look through that lot. By the way, I put your advert up.' He had been out when Linc had called and put the postcard through the door with an explanatory note. 'So, have you had any luck with it so far?'

  Linc shook his head. 'Not a lot. I've spoken to a few other people, though, and got a couple of things to check up on.'

  'You have?'

  'Mmm. Nothing to tell yet, though.' Linc didn't mention the warning message. He had passed it on to Rockley, in spite of the inevitable 'I told you so', in the hope that something might be gleaned forensically but the DI had held out little hope.

  When Linc returned to the horsebox, Noddy was tied up outside, warmly rugged up and munching on a net of hay, whilst Nikki was happily chatting to the owners of a neighbouring lorry. She broke off as Linc walked up, and came to meet him.

  'That was bad luck,' she commiserated. 'Getting held up like that must have affected him.'

  'Actually, he was very good about it. The run-out was my fault.'

  'At first, we weren't sure who'd fallen. Then I remembered that Cris was somewhere out there and I called him on his mobile. He said you were okay. The girl didn't look too good though. Apparently the horse rolled on her.'

  Linc took over guard duty at the lorry while Nikki went to buy a hot dog and see if she could locate Crispin. In this she failed, and by the time she returned and Linc set off in search of Dee Ellis and Stea
mer, word had begun to filter round the venue that the girl who'd been taken to hospital had in fact died on the way. The atmosphere became sombre as the shock set in and people huddled in groups, talking in hushed voices. One or two who had known her well scratched from the competition and went home early, and for Linc it took the edge off the news, presently, that Noddy had come second in his class.