Balancing Act: Kovak & Quaid Horse Mystery Series (Kovak & Quaid Horse Mysteries Book 2)

by Toni Leland

  Kim brightened. “Good idea. You meet her downtown and, while you’re doing that, I’ll go snoop around her barn. Somebody has to know something.”

  Quaid finished his beer. “You think the half-brother might be involved? Do we know for sure that he’s in California?”

  “I’ve thought about that, but every time I think about California, I start thinking about the theft ring. It makes me so darn mad that we weren’t able to nail all of them.”

  Quaid grinned. “It ain’t over yet.”

  Chapter 25

  Dixie called Kim early the next morning.

  “Hey, doll, how you guys making out up there?”

  “Chasing shadows. Nothing makes sense yet, but we’re still interviewing. How have you been?”

  “Pretty good. Saskie hurt his paw yesterday, so we spent some time with the vet. He’ll be fine in a couple of days. Speaking of which...any idea when you’ll be home?”

  “I guess once we’ve talked to all the possible suspects and narrowed down the field, it will be up to Natalie to contact the authorities and get them involved. I’m not exactly sure how this private investigator stuff works.”

  “You’re lucky to have such a great partner. How’s that going, by the way? You tell him about the horse you bought for him?”

  “Yeah. He was pretty good about it, but I may end up owning Commander after all. Quaid has a lot going on right now. We’ll see.”

  “Listen, we’re going to be attending an all-county training session next week. It’s in Sunbury, so I’ll be commuting. I can feed Miss Kitty in the mornings, but be sure to let me know when you get back.”

  “I will. Sounds like an interesting event. Is it for the dog handlers?”

  “No, all divisions will be there, but the K-9 units get to do some demonstrations to teach the rest of the force how to coordinate with us. Should be fun.”

  “Hey, before I forget – mark your calendar for next Sunday. I’d like to take you out to dinner for your birthday.”

  Dixie’s voice softened. “You’re the best. I’ll look forward to it. Bye, hon.”

  Kim sat for a few moments, enjoying the contentment that Dixie always instilled in her. Even during those awkward times last summer when Kim had been so worried about losing Dixie’s friendship. It had endured and even strengthened, but it could have ended so differently. Again, Kim wished for a special someone to come into Dixie’s life, someone who would be an appreciative receiver of the love and support that Dixie had to offer. Surely that would happen some day.

  Turning away from the personal thoughts, Kim opened her laptop case and pulled out the two security camera disks from Riverway Park, one marked “north view” and the other labeled “east view.” She slipped the north view disk into the slot. It took her a minute to figure out the location of that camera, but it appeared to be mounted on the eaves of the racing barn closest to Natalie’s, providing a view of the area between the two buildings and the sliding door at the front of Natalie’s barn. The disk was dated four weeks ago and spanned one week of surveillance. This could take all day, but if it provided some clue as to who had been in Natalie’s barn, the time would be worth it.

  The footage contained long periods of no activity, so Kim began scanning forward, stopping when people appeared in the frame. During the daytime on weekdays, the only activity seemed to be barn helpers, stall cleaners, or horse handlers in that area, all coming and going from the race barn. Only one or two figures entered Natalie’s barn, both arriving in a veterinarian type of truck. Natalie appeared in the footage occasionally, but nothing else that struck Kim as out of the ordinary. The night footage yielded nothing. She glanced at the other disk, realizing that she simply didn’t have the time to watch it. Besides, this was boring.

  She called Quaid. “What’s your plan for today?”

  “I called Natalie and she can meet me at the theater in an hour. Are you ready to head out to the track?”

  Kim ejected the disk and closed the laptop. “I sure am. Call me as soon as you leave her place.”

  Kim drove through the entrance to Riverway Park, slowing to read the sign that announced, “Racing Today.” She cruised past the clubhouse, along the road behind the race barns, then pulled around behind Natalie’s barn, keeping a lookout for the black Lexus. It was nowhere in sight. The air hummed with activity and more people were around than when she’d visited on a weekday. With luck, her presence would go unnoticed.

  Parking by the back entrance to Natalie’s barn, Kim glanced at the quarantine building across the road. Would she find any answers there? Maybe, but right now she wanted to see the sick horses firsthand – without interference or monitoring.

  She read the quarantine notice posted on the door. She wouldn’t touch a thing – she just wanted to have a look around. The barn door was partly open. She took a deep breath. Not only was this a contaminated area, she was trespassing and would be in deep trouble if Natalie found out. Kim slipped through the opening, then scanned the stalls. No inquisitive heads popped up, no curious or welcoming nickers. Sadness filled her heart. These poor animals. How could anyone do this on purpose? The thought brought her up short. She had no proof that someone had done it on purpose and, given the virulence of strangles, the disease could easily have been introduced accidentally. So, why was Natalie so adamant that it wasn’t? Was that key? Did she know something she wasn’t sharing?

  Kim walked slowly toward one of the stalls, a lump rising in her throat, her mind bracing for what she might see. The big chestnut horse, Farouk, dozed in a corner of his stall. Kim clucked softly. The horse raised his head and looked at her, then ambled forward.

  “Hey, buddy, how you feeling?”

  He stopped at the sound of her voice, then snorted. Thick yellow mucus drooled down his muzzle. The disease had progressed since she’d seen him last week, but he seemed more alert. Perhaps the antibiotics were working. She moved to the next stall, then the next. Each resident seemed less lethargic than before, but still obviously sick.

  She thought for a moment. It had been relatively easy for her to enter the barn unannounced and unseen. Too easy. If someone had, indeed, purposely come here to vandalize the horses, they would have met no resistance – especially if they knew the routine and when Natalie would be away. Who would have that knowledge? Barn workers, performers – husband?

  “Hey! What are you doing in here?”

  Kim whirled around to face a tall, lanky girl striding across the aisle, a frown knitting her eyebrows together above a paper mask.

  “Oh, gosh, you scared me. I’m supposed to meet the owner here. Are you her?”

  The girl stepped up close and shook her head. “No, I’m not. And she’s not here today, so how did you get in?”

  Kim stepped back. “Jeez, I just walked through the door. How do you think?”

  The girl stared at her for a moment, her pale blue eyes looking strange with no other features to set them off. “Nat’s not here and won’t be in at all today. You must be mistaken about your appointment.”

  “Huh, that’s weird, but you might be right. Do you know where I can find her? It’s important.”

  “All I know is she had a meeting in town early today, then she’ll probably go down to see her mare.”

  “Oh, she has other horses somewhere else?”

  “Just the one.”

  Kim thought for a minute. This girl would definitely tell Natalie about the unknown visitor to the barn, maybe even describe her, but Kim would worry about that later. Just how many questions could she ask before she set off this girl’s alarm system?

  Kim smiled her best. “Must be a pretty special mare to have her own barn.”

  The girl let out a sigh of long-suffering resignation. “She’s in foal, that’s all. Now, I need to–”

  “Listen, since I made the trip, do you mind if I look around? I’ve read so much about Miss Danseur and her dancing horses.”

  The eyebrows came together again. “No. We’re u
nder quarantine for infectious disease. I’ll catch hell for letting you in if Nat finds out.”

  “Oh, my...am I in any danger?”

  “No, it’s a horse thing. Now please, you have to leave.”

  Kim nodded and began to walk slowly toward the door. She glanced around the building again, scanning the stalls and snapping a mental photo. Then she stopped and pointed at a cross beam.

  “What’s that up there?”

  The girl looked up. “A fly spray distributor.”

  “Really? What a great idea. Where would I get one for my own barn?”

  “Great Lakes Pest Control. They’re on the Internet.”

  “Thanks a lot. I’ll check that out.”

  Kim again slipped through the open door, letting out a sharp breath. Could the fly spray delivery system be a tool for infecting all the horses at the same time? That might explain the consistent level of infection throughout the barn. A single drop of the bacteria would become evenly airborne and not one horse would be spared. The placement of the sample would take only minutes, compared to the time needed to deal with each individual horse.

  She climbed into her car and drove slowly away from the building, then noticed, for the first time, a large addition on the side. Small windows beneath the eaves lined the full length of the wall, and one small door punctuated the green siding. Kim parked, wondering why she hadn’t noticed the building on her first visit. Because Natalie escorted me out the front door of the premises, that’s why.

  Stepping out of the car, Kim glanced around. The addition was sheltered from the rest of the barns, the access door well hidden from any surveillance cameras. A moment later, using a tissue, she tried the handle, fully expecting it to be locked. The door swung open and she stepped into an arena. Turning slowly in a circle, she took in the features of the space: high windows for light and ventilation, banks of large fluorescent lights in the ceiling for night use, large fans to keep the air moving, and one door into the main barn. She whistled softly. This arena gave perfect access to the horses. It would be real easy to slip in and out undetected. Again – if someone knew the layout.

  She left the building, then glanced across the road at the quarantine facility. Maybe she’d find some answers there.

  The sign on the door read “Official Business Only.” She entered the building just as a large man with a beard came around the corner. He stopped, a perplexed look on his face.

  “May I help you?”

  The name “Dr. Forman” was embroidered on the pocket of his white lab coat.

  “I’m here to get some information about Natalie Danseur’s horses. I’m from the cleaning service she uses.”

  The vet blinked. “You mean her house?”

  “No, the theater building. I understand some of her horses have an infectious disease. I need to find out more so that we can use appropriate cleaning products to safeguard the public.”

  Forman shook his head. “People are safe. Equine distemper only affects horses.”

  “Wow, that’s a relief. I had visions of an epidemic.” She looked around. “So, are you the quarantine officer?”

  “No, I’m Ms. Danseur’s veterinarian. I’ve been caring for her animals since the outbreak. Unfortunately, a couple of them were in such distress that they had to be brought over here. The state actually wanted to shut her down completely, but since her barn is not attached and she has limited staff, I was able to convince them not to do that.”

  “I was over at the barn, but they wouldn’t let me in.”

  “That’s a good thing, because if you touched something, you could easily transfer the bacteria to other places. For instance, if you then decided to visit one of the race barns. What a disaster that would be.”

  But I didn’t, thought Kim. I know better.

  “So all of her horses are sick and won’t be better any time soon?”

  He nodded solemnly. “That’s right, except for one mare that’s in foal. As luck would have it, Natalie moved that horse just a week before the outbreak in the barn.” His eyes darkened. “Strangles is deadly for an unborn fetus.”

  “Gosh, this is just so awful. How in the world would all her horses get this disease? I mean, it seems really far out.”

  “Not at all. Strangles is so contagious that it would only take one tiny drop of saliva or mucus on a piece of tack or the back of a hand.”

  At that moment, the door opened and a woman entered. “Hi, Doc.”

  “Hi, yourself. What’s going on?”

  “I just came back from the Aurora site. Not good.” She shook her head. “They lost four mares and six yearlings.” She shuddered and looked away. “I had to supervise the cremation. Sometimes I hate this job.”

  Kim’s stomach churned with the images coursing through her head. Her mouth went dry, but she had to ask.

  “What happened?”

  “Huge outbreak of strangles. They didn’t know what it was, so the disease got away from them. Such a tragedy.”

  Chapter 26

  Natalie Danseur’s dark eyebrows came together.

  “Mr. Quaid, I’m paying you and your partner to get me proof that Knight’s Horse Theater is responsible for the disaster in my barn. I don’t appreciate the direction your questioning is headed.”

  Quaid didn’t smile. “No, our job is to find out who did this. The theater is on our list of suspects, but if you can’t give me background information that will help, then we can’t help you.”

  Her features relaxed a bit. “Well, I don’t see what my personal life has to do with it. This is strictly professional.”

  “Ah, but you’re wrong. The intricate workings of relationships are what send people into dire straits, often causing them to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do.”

  A flash of surprise widened her eyes, then she looked away. He could see that she was considering his comment, so he moved on with his line of questioning.

  “Tell me about any and all of your interactions with the folks at Knight’s. Did you have any arguments? How was your relationship with the owners?”

  Natalie’s tone hardened. “How do you think? Mark was furious that I left the company, so you can see why I would suspect him of trying to sabotage my efforts to compete with him.”

  “No, I can’t see that. It’s too far out, too risky for him and his business. Why would he jeopardize his career over a disgruntled employee?”

  Quaid saw a flash of anger pass through Natalie’s eyes at what she deemed a derogatory classification of her talent. He pressed on.

  “What else? Tell me about Sophia Barevsky.”

  Quaid expected a venomous reaction to the name, but surprisingly, Natalie merely shook her head.

  “She came to this country seeking a better life. I can’t blame her for that, although I didn’t appreciate being displaced by a newcomer. I was stunned by the way the Knights fell all over her, like she was the answer to their problems...but she did have a personal connection to some of the great performance horses in Eastern Europe.” Natalie fiddled with the folds of her scarf. “They even gave her a spot on the board of directors. I hardly think she had a motive to destroy me...she was too busy trying to seduce every man in sight.”

  Quaid’s radar came on. Was that the clue here? Had Natalie’s husband or her architect lover dallied with the gorgeous acrobat? Quaid’s neck warmed. She certainly was a tempting morsel – if you were in the right frame of mind, of course.

  He licked his lips before venturing into dangerous territory. “I understand you were married once. How did that end? Unfortunate as it might seem, could your ex-husband have anything to do with this?”

  Natalie stood up abruptly. “No, and I think I’ve wasted my time and money on you two. Tell your partner to send me a bill and I’ll write a check. We’re done here.”

  Quaid gazed at her for a long moment. “Whatever you’re not telling me will come back to bite you. Believe me.”

  Back on the street, he glanced up at the impressiv
e building. Natalie Danseur had the one piece of information that would solve this case. What could it be? And why wasn’t she sharing?

  Half an hour later, Quaid sat at a corner table in Starbucks and fired up his laptop. While he waited, he called Kim and left a message that he had finished at Natalie’s. He was beginning to feel like he was chasing his tail. Why was that? Natalie had told Kim she didn’t want the bad publicity of the epidemic in her barn, but was that a reason to not turn the matter over to the police? If she truly believed it was a malicious act, why wouldn’t she move heaven and earth to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice? Bad PR just didn’t seem like a good enough reason.

  A search for the Dream Horse Ballet turned up a few old newspaper articles about the project and the ideas that Danseur had for the future. As Quaid scrolled, the same old information surfaced over and over, but nothing new came up. With an imminent grand opening, there should be some advertising. The event should be listed on community calendars. There should be a web site. There was nothing. How did Ms. Danseur expect to be successful if she didn’t tell the world about the production?

  He sat back and stared at the screen. What would Sherlock Holmes make of all this? A clue lay somewhere in the mix of ordinary information about an extraordinary circumstance. Quaid looked at his watch, then shut down the laptop. Another visit to Knight’s Horse Theater was in order, and this time, he would stay until he could talk to Mark Knight.

  Kim waited nervously for Quaid to call. She’d moved her car away from Natalie’s barn, but needed to talk to him before she did anything else. Finally, his number appeared on her phone.

  “Hey, Kovak, I’m done at Danseur’s, but what a bust. I found out nothin’...how about you?”

  “A few things, which I’ll tell you later, but right now, can you look on the Internet for anything recent about a horse farm in Aurora?”

  “Hang on.”

  Key clicks came through the phone, then Quaid cleared his throat. “There’s one in the news. Something about sick horses. That it?”