by Toni Leland
“Ohio! Oh my, so are we. What a coincidence. Do you have a business card?”
Kim handed one over, completely baffled by his manner. Could she have lost her knack for recognizing someone who wasn’t on the up and up?
He read it and smiled. “Thanks. We’ll ring you up next week.”
“Are you showing here? I’ve seen you at almost every class.”
The words were out before she’d had time to think.
A shadow passed over his face, then he nodded. “Yes, but mostly we’re watching horses we bred. And they are doing well.” He bobbed his head and took a step back. “We’ll talk to you soon.”
Kim was back in the center of the arena before she realized she hadn’t gotten his name.
Chapter 25
Quaid stared at the list. Fortune wasn’t as unusual a name as he’d originally thought. Even refining the list to include only men’s first names, the pages listed over 150 people spread all across the country. One in particular—a Reginald Fortune, age 49—lived in fourteen states, but the two Ohio addresses made him a good beginning prospect. Just for the heck of it, Quaid also entered “Reggie” in the search field. Another thirty men of the same age popped up and, interestingly, two more addresses in Ohio, although not in the same towns as the “Reginald”.
Quaid sat back and thought for a moment. How to narrow the search to a reasonable number? Kovak had said the brother might be in banking or something similar. If Reginald Fortune was, indeed, the brother, then he wouldn’t be in banking—not with that many different addresses. Banks tended to keep people in place for extended periods of time, maybe a move to a nearby branch, but not all over the country. No, if the guy was involved in something about money, it was probably for mortgages or high interest personal loans. Or maybe one of those payroll advance places.
An idea began to grow in Quaid’s head. Teri Fortune was in deep financial trouble. How could that be if she had a family member who was in the money business? Maybe she never told the brother she was in trouble. Maybe she did and he refused to help her. That would be a big blow to someone, to be on the edge of disaster and have your own blood refuse to help. It would certainly push a vulnerable person over the edge. Enough to commit suicide?
Quaid exhaled slowly. But that’s not what happened, much as someone wanted it to seem that way. How could this fraud investigation have turned into such a complicated mess?
He picked up the phone and dialed the first name on the list.
~~
Kim scanned the stands for the man she’d spoken to earlier. Neither he nor the woman were anywhere to be seen. Kim pulled out the class schedule and marked off the one she’d just photographed. Only five more to go. Thinking about the bedded stalls she’d seen earlier, she wondered why Jasper would go to so much trouble just to cast attention away from the fact that he wasn’t actually on the grounds.
The final rounds for the jumpers had a smaller number of exhibitors. As the first horse entered the ring, Kim nodded her approval. The beautiful Thoroughbred she’d admired the day before was, in her opinion, the best prospect for champion. He was fluid and graceful, athletic and strong, and eager. His beautiful eyes and alert ears told the story. He loved his work.
Kim followed him over every jump, using her skill at capturing the animal at just the right moment. Then, as her brain registered a familiar face at the rail, she punched the shutter button at the wrong time. She refocused, trying to ignore the dark-eyed man watching the performance.
A thread of nerves moved through her gut. This horse was a prime target for the black market in valuable horses. She leafed quickly through her program, looking for the horse’s name and owner. They were stalled in the same barn as Jasper. How could she alert the owner to the danger without looking like a lunatic? The horse left the ring and Kim felt helpless. She had to stay where she was until the show was over. By that time, it could be too late.
The man at the rail had disappeared.
If Quaid were there, she could tell him of her suspicions and he could follow up. The announcer called a gate hold and Kim signaled the ring steward, pointing toward the building with the restrooms. She took off at a dead run, pulling her phone out of her pocket as she went. Quaid’s phone went straight to voice mail.
Kim skidded to a stop, then waited for the tone. “Quaid, you need to get over here as soon as possible. I think there’s another theft in the works.”
~~
Quaid crossed the tenth Reginald Fortune off the list. There had to be a better way to do this, but there wasn’t. This was what private investigators did. Investigate. Track. Wait. Watch.
He started to dial the next number, then noticed an alert for voice mail. A minute later, he charged out the door to the parking lot. With Kovak’s background, he wasn’t about to shrug off her concern. He sped down the highway on autopilot, his brain working on what she’d said. How would she know something was happening that related to the theft investigation? The only way would be if she had some information that he didn’t. Which meant she was working undercover and she’d been playing him all along.
Ten minutes later, he wheeled into the parking lot and took a deep breath. He’d already learned that handling Miz Kovak took some restraint, but one way or the other, he would find out exactly what she was up to.
She stood in the center of the arena and he walked to the side rail where he might catch her eye. She looked up, saw him, and nodded. A minute later, the horse in the ring left through the out-gate and there was a brief pause in the activities. She hurried over to the railing and handed him her program.
“Go to this barn, to the stalls I marked. This horse has won everything here and he’s had a lot of attention by a man that sets off my radar.”
Quaid looked at her, astonished. “You have to be kidding! You dragged me down here because you don’t like the way some guy looks?”
Kovak’s eyes narrowed and her jaw line hardened. “I don’t have time right now to explain the whole thing. You’ll have to trust me.”
The loudspeaker hummed, then the announcer came on. “The last class of the day is scratched. Exhibitors are asked to check out with...”
She cocked her head. “Are you with me or not?”
“Lead the way. This I gotta see.”
Minutes later, they entered the barn. Kovak checked the program for the stall numbers, then headed down an aisle. Her step quickened and Quaid hurried to keep up.
Her voice rang out. “Excuse me? Mister?”
A man standing in front of a stall turned toward her. “Oh, hello. Did you get pictures of Robidoux? Wasn’t that fabulous?”
He turned back to the stall and stroked the nose of a large dark horse chewing a mouthful of hay.
Kovak looked confused and Quaid suppressed a smile. She’d almost stepped in it.
“Yes, it was. You must be thrilled,” she said.
The man glanced at his watch. “Yes, we are, but you’ll have to excuse me right now. I’m meeting my wife and some prospective buyers.”
“What’s your name so I can mark the photos accordingly?”
“Bill Smith. I’ll be sure to look at those pictures when you put them up.”
He nodded to Quaid, then moved quickly down the aisle toward the door. When he was out of earshot, Quaid chuckled.
“That was close.”
Kovak didn’t smile. “This is not what it seems, no matter what you think.”
“What I think isn’t important. I want to know why you thought this was something other than an owner and his horse.”
“Because that man—”
“Hello!” said a voice behind them. “Are you interested in buying him?” A young man smiled broadly. “If you watched the show, you know he’s a contender for some national trophies.”
Kovak’s jaw dropped, but she recovered quickly. “You’re the one who rode him?”
“Yes, I trained him from a colt.” The man held out his business card. “David Craig.”
“Great, I’ll look forward to seeing them.”
The trainer slid open the stall door and stepped inside. Kovak turned on her heel and started down the aisle, her shoulders rigid and her stride determined. She wouldn’t be easy to talk to now.
Outside the barn, she stopped and turned to face him. “You still have trouble believing my gut feelings? The first guy is the one who’s been watching horses all weekend and now I’m convinced he’s up to something neither of us wants to think about.”
Quaid nodded. “It does seem a little strange that he acted like he owns the horse. And how does he know you?”
“He stopped me earlier, said he and his wife wanted photographs of their stallion. I almost bought into this last charade. If that trainer hadn’t come along, it would have worked.”
Quaid moved closer. “Is there something else you aren’t telling me?”
Kovak’s eyes flashed. “I’ve seen the guy before. At other horse shows.”
“That’s not so unusual...wait a minute! The faces blurred out of that Talisman photograph. That’s who it was, isn’t it? You knew all along he might have something to do with this case.”
“I couldn’t be sure, but now I’m convinced he’s a scout looking for horses to steal.”
“Based on just seeing him at a horse show?”
She met him eye to eye. “He’s shown up in the background of every major horse show photo I found in areas where horses were stolen. From Ohio to Washington, DC, to right here. It’s no coincidence.”
“And you were going to tell me this when?”
“About the same time you start sharing what you know.”
Quaid stared stonily at her for a moment, then nodded in the direction of the covered arena.
“Let’s find a place to talk.”
~~
Kim’s confidence had wavered briefly during the exchange with the mystery man, but she’d seen something in his eyes that contradicted his “happy horse owner” pretext. Quaid’s presence hadn’t helped much either. He was too eager to discount her theory, watch her crash and burn. But personality conflicts aside, they were the only people who might figure this thing out and, if for no other reason than saving future horses from theft, Kim wanted that.
They walked in silence toward the covered arena that was the jewel of Southern California equestrian facilities. Kim was momentarily stunned by the sheer size of the place. The arena was almost the length of a football field with tiered rows of seats surrounding the performance area. The soft brown earth floor was perfectly level and showed the faint striping left behind by the arena drag. The air was cool and still, and the strain of the day began to fade. She settled into one of the seats and Quaid sat down beside her.
There in the huge building, facing an empty and quiet arena, the atmosphere seemed to encourage honest conversation. Reminding herself that this wasn’t about gamesmanship, Kim took the lead.
“That dark-eyed man first caught my eye in some pictures I took in Kentucky. I was concentrating on my client’s security guards who seemed to appear in every photo, and I was wondering how I could crop them out. That’s when I noticed this guy and woman standing on the rail in many of the shots. They were there for the entire show, but I didn’t think too much about it at the time.”
Quaid nodded. “I was standing next to him yesterday.”
“When I checked on those Talisman photographs for you, I saw the couple again and it was so bizarre that my mind started working on an idea. And when I finally started trying to connect the various horse thefts to shows in particular regions, the couple appeared in almost every shot.”
She glanced at him. “And here they are again.”
Quaid’s brow furrowed. “Under the circumstances, why wouldn’t you tell me this? And why go the extra step and remove them from the photo you sent me?”
Kim felt a little foolish, but she didn’t let it show. “You just came on a little too bullish and it pissed me off.” She grinned. “Sorry. Once a cop, always a cop.”
“Yeah, about that...”
“Don’t even go there. My interest and concern here is to see that whoever is stealing these horses is caught and put out of commission.”
Quaid gazed at her a moment. “So this Bill Smith now has your business card and probably knows you’ve been snooping. Doesn’t that worry you?”
“Not even a little. In the big picture, this guy is a grunt. I want the bastard who’s making all the money.”
“Do you think Jasper is that person?”
“No, he’s involved somehow, but I think he’s actually more of a victim, maybe even a pawn.”
Quaid nodded. “I tend to agree with you. Here’s what I know so far.”
Kim listened closely as he described his talks with the horse hauler and the sheriff’s deputy in Delaware. His frustration with bureaucracy was deep.
He shook his head. “I have some pretty good contacts in the metro police departments, but damn, these small town forces keep things close.”
Kim grinned. “I hear you. It’s always been that way.” She stopped smiling. “So you don’t know anything further about Teri? What about the horses, who’s taking care of them?”
“Animal control. I suggested they contact the horse owners and have them picked up, since they aren’t material evidence. They gave me some song and dance about not finding a client list.”
Uh-oh.
His eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. “You know anything about that?”
“I have it. I used it to track down any possible friends or relatives. That’s how I learned about the brother.” Kim used that forward momentum to derail the subject. “You have any luck with that?”
Quaid didn’t answer right away and she could see that he was weighing out whether to light into her about stealing the client list or stay on track with the conversation. This was starting to feel like a contest again.
Finally, he told her what he’d found so far on possible matches for Teri’s brother. As he talked, Kim realized that if she and Quaid were going to get to the bottom of these mysteries, they’d simply have to work together.
~~
Quaid used every ounce of self-control to keep from steamrolling over Kovak. She’d been working on her own and finding out stuff he needed, information that could have saved him a lot of legwork and frustration. Why the hell was she so intent on solving this case herself? Sure, she had cop instincts, but if she was so crazy to do the job, why had she left it?
She sat quietly for a few moments, then cleared her throat. “Do you know if the coroner has finished with Teri yet?”
Quaid’s gut clenched. He did not want to go there. But she’d asked and he’d have to tell her sooner or later, but for sure before she found out from someone else.
“Yes, but the news isn’t good.” He hesitated, seeing the concern in her eyes. “Teri was dead before she was strung up.”
Chapter 26
Kim had struggled to keep from losing it when Quaid told her about Teri. Even now, two hours later, far from the show site, locked safely inside her motel room, she grappled with the grief that threatened to overwhelm her. True, she’d only known Teri as a client and casual friend for a couple of years, but being murdered made the relationship so much more painful. Was Teri’s death tied to the horse thefts? Or did the murder have nothing to do with the horses and everything to do with illicit sex?
Kim paced the room, shivering in the extreme AC. She’d had every intention of telling Quaid the name of Teri’s lover, but his news had paralyzed her to the point she’d forgotten all about it. Until now. Would it play any part in his investigation of Talisman? She didn’t think so. What she needed to do was give the information to the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department first thing in the morning.
But right now, she just wanted to get warm.
Her phone rang as she headed for the bed. “Dixie, you are just the person I want to talk to.”
Kim climbed into the bed and pulled the covers up close, snuggling down in the pillow and absorbing the comforting sound of Dixie’s voice. It didn’t matter that the conversation would soon turn serious. For now, all Kim wanted was to be connected to someone who cared.
“I’m cold and tired and wishing I hadn’t taken this job. But it’s over now and I can come home on Monday.”
“Why not tomorrow?”
“No flights available.”
“Go to the airport and sign up for standby. It’s worked for me several times.”
“I could try that, I guess. What have you been up to?”
“I have to move my mother into a place where she’ll have some supervision.”
“A nursing home?”
“No, thank God. It’s an assisted living facility. She’ll have her own room and bathroom, with access to the dining room and library and recreation room. Plus, the nursing staff is available twenty-four hours a day.”
“Is she sick?”
Dixie sighed. “Not physically, but her mind is going and she is becoming a danger to herself. With my job, I can’t have her here, so this is the best I can do.”
Dixie sounded so dejected that Kim wanted to reach through the phone and hold her. Hug her close the way Dixie had done for her only a few days ago. This was not the time to talk about Teri Fortune.
“I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
Dixie’s tone was soft. “No, this is something I have to do on my own. But thank you for caring. See you when you get home.”
Throwing the covers back, Kim sat up. Her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten anything since midday. She’d treat herself to a nice pasta dinner and call it an early night. With any luck, in the morning she’d go to Victory Farms, and still have time to check in for standby flights.
As she reached for the doorknob, her phone rang. It was Quaid.
“You’d better get back here to the show grounds. There are horses in Jasper’s stalls.”
