She shows me leaves again. “What are the leaves?” Then a picture emerges of a syringe of Banamine. “I know. It helped you.” She sneezes, then she shows me a jar of bute.
“No, sweetie. We didn’t give you any bute. You don’t need any.”
Now there’s Serena’s face. And then, for the first time, I hear Serena’s voice. They did this.
“They? Who? What, Harmony?”
They did this. They did this.
My cell phone chimes with a new e-mail message. I take it from my pocket and see that the sender is [email protected]. The message in the subject line reads Information you might want.
Curious as any cat, I suck back a deep breath of air. Oh my God!
You’ve received this ANONYMOUSLY. The file is in your tack trunk.
The file? My tack trunk?
It has to be from Emily. But can information from her be trusted? What if this is just a stupid trick?
I call Riley and get his voice mail. “Hey, Ri, I think I might have some info on what happened to Dr. Miller. If you get this soon, I’m down in the tack room. I’ll explain later.”
Now, the big question: Do I look in the trunk?
I close Harmony’s stall and make my way to the tack room. The barn aisle is dimly lit at this time of night, and I don’t want to alert anyone to my presence by turning on the overhead lights. Once inside the tack room, I open my trunk.
Yep. Underneath my helmet bag is the file.
It is labeled Haute Couture/Gallagher. I close my trunk, sit on it, and begin reading.
I scan through a ten-page document that starts from when Dr. Miller was called out by Lydia to examine her horse. The report states that at that time, it appeared the horse was suffering from a minor colic. She was oiled, but not given any Banamine because she had a preexisting kidney condition. Lydia was given specific care instructions.
Dr. Miller saw the horse twice more that week before moving her to her hospital. Lydia requested that the horse be moved and treated at the equine hospital. The file noted that her parents were traveling overseas at the time on a cruise and could not be reached, but that her brother Daniel requested that the horse not be moved. But Kayla and Holden intervened and had the horse moved. Serena had taken excellent case notes.
How come Daniel had authority over the horses? And why he didn’t want the mare taken to Serena’s hospital? He didn’t even give permission to treat the horse, although Holden, Kayla, and Lydia did.
The horse was treated at the hospital, and Serena wrote down a specific protocol. She took blood samples that were sent to a lab locally, as well as to a lab in Colorado.
Next page starts with this: “Cause of death: acute renal failure.”
But what had caused Haute Couture’s kidneys to fail?
When the horse was sent to Fairmont with Lydia, blood had been drawn. That was the protocol, according to Riley. Before new horses came onto the campus, they were first sent to Dr. Miller, who performed an extensive physical, including blood work.
The file states that when the mare came to the academy with Lydia, her blood work indicated that she had kidney sensitivity, but Dr. Miller put her on a protocol to manage the issue.
Wait, what’s this? The file states that there was a “substantial” amount of bute and Banamine in Haute’s system at the time of death. See, horses’ kidneys are very efficient, but if someone doses a horse predisposed to kidney issues with a bute/Banamine combination over a period of time, the kidneys can get fried. And bute and Banamine are drugs any horse owner can easily get. There is a stock of both kept on hand at Fairmont—though it is kept under lock and key.
My gut is saying that someone poisoned Lydia’s horse. Maybe even Lydia herself? Maybe her brother, Daniel? Or Christian Albright? Holden? And Emily must believe that someone intentionally murdered the mare, or she wouldn’t have left the file for me, right?
Could Lydia have done something this heinous? If so, why? Did Serena Miller figure it all out, and was she killed because of that?
There is something way bigger here. Yes, you can go to jail for killing an animal. But if you murder a person over it, you’d risk going to prison for the rest of your life.
What kind of person would be willing to take that risk? Have I—have we—all been walking around with a killer among us?
I think of all of the cop shows I’ve watched over the years, and some of the thrillers I’ve read. Love and money causes people to murder. So do secrets. And revenge.
But I couldn’t help thinking that all of this led back to Haute Couture—a horse worth a lot of money. The Banamine/bute would not have caused many vets to think much about it. Many of them would have thought that the horse was colicking when she was really going into renal failure. With what looks like colic, blood isn’t always taken, but a certain protocol is followed, and that typically includes dosing with Banamine to relieve the initial discomfort. Maybe it was the bute that came into question—why the combination?—but a savvy owner would know how to handle it. The thing was that Serena had been caring for this horse for the two years that Lydia was at Fairmont. She knew about the animal’s kidney problems. Same with Lydia.
No necropsy had been ordered because it was accepted that this horse had died from a preexisting condition.
But, from what is in this file, it is clear that Serena had her doubts. Had she drawn blood at the time she euthanized the horse, suspicious that something else had occurred? Had something, or someone, tipped her off? Or was she just being extra cautious? Serena could have also taken hair from the horse’s mane or tail and had those sent into a lab.
Someone had poisoned Lydia’s horse. Serena figured it out and knew who it was. She likely planned to do a few things. Things I would have done. First, I would have called the USEA, USET, and the company that had insured the horse, because if I had to put a motive on it, it was all about money.
Money and greed and murder. I lean back against the wall of the tack room, wondering just how much Haute Couture was insured for, and who owned the insurance policy. It couldn’t be anyone under eighteen—like Lydia. And her parents, they had to have oodles of cash. But what if Daniel…
CHAPTER forty-four
I go back into Harmony’s stall. When I place my hands on either side of her neck, she nuzzles me. “Hi, you. I am getting closer. There are answers here.” I hold up the file to her.
Harmony shifts her weight from the back right to the left, then pricks her ears forward.
“What is it?” My hand slides down her face, and she moves away. I am feeling fear from her, and then she shows me the baseball cap again. “I know. I know whoever did this, he had the cap on. Maybe the jacket. Was it Holden?” I can’t—or just don’t want to—believe that Holden did this.
Harmony snorts. She is agitated. No, it’s more than that. She is afraid.
As I am setting the file back in the trunk, Harmony lets out a shrill whinny.
I whirl around to see what the problem is and am stopped short. Standing in the doorway is Newman Becker—wearing a baseball cap and a Fairmont jacket. “Newman?”
He is pulling a gun from his jacket pocket. “Sorry, kid, but you should have minded your own business.” He glances from side to side. “I’ll take that file. My truck is right behind the barn. You’re going to come with me. And you are going to do it quietly.”
Cannot move. Cannot think.
“C’mon, Vivienne, I am not joking here.”
“Wh-what if I w-won’t go with you?”
“Well then, here is the deal, Vivienne: if you don’t go with me, I’ll have to do something really awful, and I’ll be able to make your little boyfriend Riley take the blame. You won’t believe the stories I can come up with. It won’t be too hard to make it sound like Riley had a major jealousy issue over how great a rider you are.”
“What are you talking about?” I stammer.
“I wired Harmony’s stall with explosives, and if you don’t do what I tell you, all
I have to do is push a button.” He takes out some kind of remote from his jacket. “Harmony, Sebastian, and maybe even a few others will never make it out alive.”
“N-no one will believe you.”
“Oh, I think they will. And I am completely willing to take that chance. Now, you, me, and Emily are going to take a ride in my truck.”
“Oh my God. Emily.”
“Oh, yes, I’ve taken care of her. So if you want to make sure these horses live and Riley continues his cushy life, then you will come with me, nice and quietly.”
Dizzy-swirly-colors-in-the-brain are happening. What has he done with Emily? How did he find out where I was? I can hear Harmony pawing the ground in her stall.
Newman shoves the gun in my side, and we walk out of the tack room together. I am trying not to pee my pants, and Harmony is whinnying in distress.
He unlocks the truck and shoves me in the passenger seat. I see Emily on the floor of the backseat, bound and gagged. Her eyes are red-rimmed and wild with fear.
What can I do? Can I help her? Is he going to do that to me, too?
Newman turns the key in the ignition, and we begin pulling out slowly.
“What do you plan to do?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer at first. “You sure are a curious young woman. I’ve been watching you and Emily. Overheard your little chat the other day in the tack room. I started thinking that I needed to take care of this issue. I hoped Emily was smarter than to clue you in. I was wrong.”
“Can I just ask you why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you kill Lydia Gallagher’s horse, and then murder Dr. Miller? And how did you even figure out I was onto the truth?”
“It wasn’t just me. Why do you think?”
“For the insurance money?”
“She was insured for half a million. But I figured she had some issues that would keep her from ever being the very best, so in a way I actually did her a service.”
“But you’re a famous guy. And it’s not like you’re poor.”
“Ah, you want a better reason. Yeah, well, let’s just say I could see problems down the road for this horse. Let’s just say that Lydia’s big brother was once a student of mine, and that Daniel Gallagher knew I’ve had some recent financial issues. So I told him about the mare, he told me what she was insured for, and we made a deal. If I got rid of the horse, he’d give me half of the insurance money, plus I’d help Lydia find a new horse and would make a commission from the sale. Win-win-win. See, poor little rich girl’s mom and dad have no real interest in her or her horses. Daniel, on the other hand, likes to run things, and he knows when it is a good idea to scratch the back of someone who has helped him in the past.
“As for how I found out about you being a little snoop? You shouldn’t have upset Lydia by asking questions about her dead horse. She tells Daniel everything. He gave me a call, let me know that you might cause us a problem. I spotted Emily leaving the tack room the other night, and saw you follow her out. That gave me reason to keep an eye on her. I actually set you up with that text from Emily’s phone about the file. She gave it up to me. Not like she had a choice. And, before you ask, Lydia has no idea. None. She’d never be able to handle something like this. Not yet, anyway.”
“But why kill Dr. Miller?”
He held up a hand, and I could see the shiny metal of the gun from the moonlight coming in the window.
“Okay, that wasn’t supposed to happen that way. Serena called me and said she suspected I had doped the horse over time in order to get the commission on the new horse. She hadn’t put the insurance thing together yet, but I didn’t want to take the chance. I went to talk with her that night. She was in her barn, on the ladder, and she told me she planned to report me to Kayla, Holden, the USEA, FEI, USET, and anyone else she thought needed to know. And I got a little angry. But all I did was give that damn ladder a little shake. How was I supposed to know she’d come down like that and hit her head?”
“You could have called for help!”
He clucks his tongue and shakes his head. “She was basically dead when she hit the ground, kid. Just a piece of bad luck for her. But it was a way out of the whole thing for me—until you came along. And now it’s my turn to ask: How in the hell did you get a whiff of this stuff?”
“Let’s just say I had some inside information.”
“From Emily?”
“No. An entirely different source.”
“Dammit. You have talent. I never in a million years would have thought that either one of you would put me in this position.”
We are pulling out of the long drive that leads up to Fairmont, which means we will soon be turning out onto Highway 101.
Just as he makes the turn out onto the highway, something catches my eye in the back of the truck. Wait a minute. Not something.
It’s someone.
RILEY
CHAPTER forty-five
Riley was working out when Vivvie left him the message about going to the tack room.
By the time he made it down to the barn, Newman was next to her, walking out the back way. The gun shocked him to his core. He didn’t know what to do. His heart was racing. He had to help. But how?
As Newman forced her into the truck, Riley climbed into the back.
Now they are exiting the drive, nearing the entrance to the highway. Riley is lying flat on the bed of the truck, not moving. He sends a text to Kayla Fairmont. In big trouble. Stop Newman’s truck. Has Vivienne and Emily. Has a gun! Heading south 101.
A minute later his phone vibrates. It’s Kayla, but how can he dare answer? He sends another text. Am in the bed of the truck. Help!
Now what should he do?
Then he hears them. Sirens.
They are growing closer.
And Newman begins driving faster.
As the truck rounds a corner on the Pacific Coast Highway, Riley is hurtled against the side of the truck, hard.
He knows the beach is to the right of them and that they are heading into Malibu. Though there are sinister twists all along this stretch of the highway, Newman keeps up the speed.
Rounding a bend, truck spinning out of control, plunging off the side of the highway.
And Riley is thrown from the bed.
CHAPTER forty-six
I am with Dean. We are on a trail ride through the Cascades. The scent of the tall pine trees is clean and divine. The sky above is a cloudless blue, and rays from the sun beat down gently on our backs. A hawk flies overhead as we cross a flowing stream. All is perfect. All is quiet. All is serene.
And then—
Sounds of alarms screeching through my ears. I see so many faces. Faces I don’t recognize.
“Pressure is dropping, Doctor!”
Doctor?
More shouting and beeps, and then I am back in the Cascades with Dean. We reach the edge of a forest and it opens up into a meadow.
A horse is coming toward us. Harmony.
We ride up to her, and in his way Dean tells me to go and ride her. I get off his back and climb onto hers.
Harmony takes me out past the meadow and down to a field—a cross-country course is set up, and we are cantering and jumping the obstacles, clearing them easily.
I wake up to the sound of my own harsh breathing.
It hurts so much to breathe. But my mother’s face is looking down at me.
“Mom?”
“Shhh. Shnoopy. Shhh.”
“Mom?”
“It’s okay, sweetie, you are okay.”
I am in a hospital. The last thing I remember is the truck flying over the side of the highway. Oh God, Emily. And Riley. “My friends?”
Mom takes my hand. “They are a little beaten up, just like you are. You actually got the worst of it.”
“When did you get here?” I whisper. “How long have I been here?”
“You were unconscious for a little while, Viv. And they had to put some pins in your ankle. But it’s a m
iracle that you are all really okay. I got here about an hour ago.”
“Pins?”
She nods.
“When can I ride again?”
She kind of laughs and cries at the same time. “That’s my girl.”
“No, I mean it, Mom. When can I ride again?”
“Doctor says probably at least two months.”
“Mom, can I stay at Fairmont? Can I stay with Harmony?”
“I’ll have to think about that.”
“Please, Mom?”
“Okay, Viv. Yes. You can.”
“Becker? What happened to Newman Becker?”
“He’s in jail.”
“Good.”
A wave of fatigue begins to take over. “What time is it, Mom?”
“About three in the morning, Shnoopy. Go back to sleep.”
I do just that.
When I wake the next day, I am really sore. But my mom is still here. Flowers fill the room.
Kayla and Holden, and Martina and her parents, come to see me.
Holden tells us that Newman told the police the same story he had told me, and that Daniel Gallagher is now also in jail. Kayla says that Lydia is devastated and feels horrible about what has happened to Emily, Riley, and me.
That night my mom and I are watching TV when she stands up and says, “Hey, Viv, I think I’m going to go down to the cafeteria and grab a bite. You okay?”
“Yes, Mom. I am. Go eat.” We have just learned that they are letting me out of this place tomorrow.
About five minutes after Mom leaves, Riley, Martina, and Emily show up. “Hey!”
I get hugs from Riley and Martina. Emily manages a smile. I’ll take a smile, for now. “No Homecoming for you three?”
“We can have our own dance party,” Martina says.
Riley kisses my cheek. “We have a surprise for you,” he says.
Martina holds up her iPod, and a few seconds later Taylor Swift singing “I’m Only Me When I Am with You” queues up. As I’m laughing, Emily says, “But you can’t have Homecoming without a guy in a tux.”
“What?” I say.
Silent Harmony: A Vivienne Taylor Horse Lover's Mystery (Fairmont Riding Academy Book 1) Page 17
