by Ruby Loren
Riley returned a few seconds later, looking grim.
“There’s a chunk missing. Not that that definitely means…” He gave up. “Okay, I know I’m going too far to defend this horse. I’m sorry. It’s just when you’ve seen them born and known them their whole life…” He looked away and Hayley gave him a few moments to blink the moisture from his eyes. “I think it might have been Flare who attacked those horses but I still have no idea why. She’s barely rideable at the best of times, although her owner is an experienced horsewoman and has ridden her before, but it was always in the school…” He shook his head for the umpteenth time. "Why would Victoria do something like this?”
Hayley blinked.
“Could you describe Victoria to me?”
“Yeah, she’s nearly as tall as me, has dark blonde hair, a nose that turns up a little at the end, and has a posh accent like you wouldn’t believe, and that’s coming from me,” he said, finding a brief moment of humour. Hayley felt as though ice cold eels were slithering down her spine.
“I think I know the Victoria you’re talking about. She’s from Emeline Equestrian.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Getting Away With Murder
“You’re kidding. She said she was from up North,” Riley said, his eyes searching for some hint of the joke. Hayley shook her head slowly.
“I’m afraid I’m not and it’s not beyond the realm of imagination either. I’d love to say that it’s all a case of mistaken identity, but Victoria knows Taylor’s habits and I know they’re not exactly friendly. I think she might have wanted him out of the competition.” Hayley sighed sadly. “I wonder what happened between her and Madison to drive her to murder.” Riley choked noisily beside her.
“Murder?” He spluttered and Hayley nodded.
“I think she knew exactly what she was doing, taking a horse like Flare out knowing full well what would happen if another horse came along. Killing Madison and only knocking out Taylor will have been luck of the draw, but I think the intent to harm was definitely there in both cases. But before we go any further, we should make sure our facts are correct,” she said fairly. “Are you busy right now?”
Riley shook his head.“I guess we’re taking a trip to Emeline Equestrian,” he said, nervously running a hand through his dark blonde hair. “My father is going to go crazy if all this is really true,” he said, thinking aloud.
Hayley couldn’t come up with anything reassuring to say, so instead they walked back to her car and they drove the short distance back to the Riding School in silence.
“I think I know where she’ll be,” Hayley said getting out and walking in the direction she’d seen Mark heading in so many times. She’d noticed the ‘in’ crowd hung around the more exclusive wing of the stables.
Hayley had to admit, it didn’t disappoint. The stables were roomy and the wood panels shone with newness. Hayley wished she had a few moments spare to look around but she was on a mission.
“What are you doing up here?” A familiar voice said and Hayley grimaced as Mark walked towards them and then stopped. “Hey… I know you. You’re from that stud down the road. What do you think you’re doing bringing him here before the competition? He’s obviously here to spy.”
Hayley ground her teeth together and wished that everyone would just shut up about the stupid competition. It was probably the competition that had been the motivation behind the attacks on Madison and Taylor.
“He’s not here to spy. I need him to confirm the identity of a rider who owns a horse at his stables but we think also rides here,” she said, hoping the simple version would be enough to shut him up.
She was wrong.
“What?! That’s outrageous! You can’t have a rider taking two bites of the apple! The rules around here are you attend one Riding School… you make you choice. It’s like picking Oxford or Cambridge!” He trailed off as the outrage apparently became too much for speech. “How could this happen?”
Hayley was sorry to say she thought he’d probably be less incensed when she revealed the whole truth. “Have you seen Victoria around?” She asked Mark whose eyes immediately widened.
“Sure, she’s in the riding ring right now. It’s her lesson time. You don’t mean? I expected it from one of mixed-breed riders…” Hayley walked away before she could hear anymore of his condescending nonsense about money and horse breeding buying you class.
Riley and Hayley walked towards the riding school ring, with Riley drawing angry looks from anyone they passed by. “If everyone knows everyone around here, why didn’t you realise Victoria came from here?” She asked, suddenly worried she was wrong.
Riley winced and grimaced. “Yeah, well, my dad and I often sell horses at market to riders from here, so most of them know me from that. They know where I’m from. When we met Victoria at a horse sale like that, she told us she came from the north and that she was looking for a special case to work on… that was when we told her about Flare. I’ve been going to the local competitions for years, so I guess she must be new to the area.”
“Looks like she lied to you,” Hayley said.
They finally made it to the edge of the riding school ring where Victoria was doing a rising trot around the outside, her beautiful black horse champing at the bit with impatience. Rich noticed and told her to check him. Then he turned and saw Hayley and Riley and immediately walked over to them.
“What do you think you’re doing bringing him here? Get him out of here!” He hissed, glaring at Riley like he was the murderer in the vicinity.
“Riley, is that her?” Hayley asked, ignoring Rich’s comment. She looked across at Riley’s face, which was set in such a grim expression she knew that she’d been right. Victoria was the one who’d bought Flare and then used her to attack riders from Emeline Equestrian.
It was at that moment Victoria looked over and saw Riley watching her. Her mouth made a perfect ‘o’ and a second later she spun her horse around and cantered towards the fence separating the ring from the forest. It was clear she wasn’t going to stop.
“Does that look like a guilty person to you?” Hayley said drily, knowing she wouldn’t stand a chance of catching up to Victoria on foot. They’d just have to wait…
A blur of dappled grey shot by the ring into the forest, racing down the cross country track. Hayley just had time to recognise Chloe on the back of Hadrian as they tried to beat their best time. “Oh no!” She said, horrified as the two horses both disappeared into the forest, surely on a collision course. A second later there was a screaming neigh and they all ran towards the trees, fearing the worst.
Hayley’s heart was nearly jumping out of her chest by the time she spotted Hadrian standing by one of the hedge jumps. To her relief, Chloe was stood by him and looked fine.
The same couldn’t be said for Victoria. Her horse was standing on the opposite side of the clearing, sides heaving. The girth had come loose and the saddle hung sideways. Victoria herself was on the floor, clutching her arm.
“I think it’s broken, help me,” she said as they approached and Hayley was sorely tempted to leave her to it. But she wasn’t one of the Victorias of the world. She didn’t abandon people to their fate in the woods.
“I’m so sorry, you came out of nowhere,” Chloe was stammering. Hadrian stood behind her, still and silent but if Hayley hadn’t known better, she’d have thought he looked rather satisfied with himself.
***
“I can’t believe she did all of that, just because of this competition,” Chloe said after the ambulance had been and gone and the entire story had come out.
“I know! I mean I understand being competitive, but to kill to keep rivals from competing is completely psycho,” she said and Chloe, Taylor, Riley, Rich and a swell of other riding club members all nodded and made sounds of agreement.
“There’s one more thing I’d like to know… why would Victoria go after Madison and Hadrian?” She asked, feeling very sorry that she’d never met Hadrian’s or
iginal rider.
Chloe and Taylor exchanged a look but it was Taylor who spoke. “Well, Madison was a very good rider and together with Hadrian…” He took a deep breath. “They were the hot tip to win the whole competition. That’s why it’s so amazing that you’ve managed to get him back to his old self and in time for the competition too. I also think it might have had something to do with her being allocated a stall in the barn. She only moved here recently and that’s all the space Emeline had. I guess she wasn’t happy about it. All the stolen tack turned up too. She and Jen were both taking it. They even stole each other’s to avoid suspicion. Jen says that’s all she knew of it though,” Hayley could hear her unwillingness to believe that.
They all reflected for a moment.
“Hayley, I still can’t thank you enough for giving me the chance to ride Hadrian. Back when Madison was alive, everyone knew he was going to be one of those legendary horses.” Chloe sighed. “I wish he were mine but really I’m just glad I’ll get to ride him in the Inter-Stable Championship.” She and Hayley exchanged a smile.
“So that’s why Victoria did it. She wanted to get rid of the bookies’ favourite and she felt hard done by,” Hayley mused, feeling depressed that anyone would do such a thing or feel that they were better than anyone else. “The worst part of all this is, there won’t be any justice for her.” Everyone looked at her horror stricken, with the exception of Riley who was staring at the table, his eyes unseeing. He knew what was coming. “The only thing Victoria is really guilty of is knowingly riding a dangerous horse around other horses, but she could argue that their meetings were a mistake, despite the rule about not trespassing on other riding school’s land.” She shook her head. “There’s no way to prove it was murder. I’m not even sure she’ll be punished at all,” Hayley finished, feeling just as gloomy as the day she first met Hadrian and learned of the terrible state he was in.
“No, but I know who will be punished,” Riley said, sounding even more unhappy. Taylor reached over and patted the other man on the back but there was nothing more that could be said. Some things couldn’t be changed.
***
“Hey, are you okay?” Hayley said, gently knocking on the side of the barn she was about to walk into. Riley was sat in the middle of the sand in the Rippley Stud indoor school and Goldie was stood over him, nuzzling his hair every so often. Hayley walked over to him and sat down when he didn’t answer. “I’m really sorry about what happened to Flare,” she said, feeling as though it was her fault the horse had been put down.
“It was always going to happen one day. We should have known better than to ever sell her but even if we hadn’t - what kind of life did she really have? She was left in that stable on her own and never enjoyed anything. Looking back, I almost wish this day had come sooner, even though it breaks my heart,” he said, his voice cracking at the end.
Hayley gently patted his arm.
“I know,” she said, soothing him the same way she would a troubled horse.
“I can’t believe Victoria is going to get away with it,” he said, his sadness turning to anger. Hayley felt her jaw set as she thought about the injustice of it all. A horse had to be destroyed, but the rider who’d used an animal as a weapon got off scot-free.
“It’s not much comfort but at least she won’t be competing in the Inter-Stable Championship and will have to find a new stables. No one in the area will take her and we can only hope that her name and reputation spreads through the horse community and other riding schools also keep her out,” Hayley said, the words feeling lifeless in her mouth. What was being banned from a riding stable when you compared it to the lost lives of a horse and a girl?
“I just… wanted Flare to have a second chance,” Riley said, his words cutting Hayley to the bone. They were the words that she so often used herself to let people know why she always felt she had to try.
“You can’t save them all,” Hayley said, just as much to herself as Riley. Sometimes horses, and people, didn’t want to change their ways. You could try everything but in the end it was their choice and they didn’t always choose to take that second chance when it was offered.
“You’re still practicing for the competition, right?” She asked. It was just a few days away and despite everything that had happened and the loss of Flare, Hayley was hoping Riley would manage to bring his best. From what he’d said about the stud, she thought it was time they gained recognition for their horses and with the news of Flare getting out, it was even more important that Riley showed up on his lookalike horse and proved that there was nothing wrong with their breeding. She hoped Flare’s tragic story would be shared and people would come to understand the mare’s character and how she was abused - not by the Rippley Stud, but by a vengeful rider.
Hayley talked a little longer to Riley and then said goodbye, wishing she didn’t feel so sad. She’d been invited to the competition that Saturday, but her time at Emeline Equestrian was at an end and so were her days with Riley and the other friends she’d made during her time at the stables.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Third Day
“Lovely day for it,” Hayley heard someone who was walking in the opposite direction to her say. She mumbled an affirmative, having heard the exact same greeting ten times already. All around her was a sea of marquees, filled with pop up shops all selling tack and horse feed, or taking orders for hay ready for the winter. It was a horse lover’s paradise but Hayley found she was unable to enjoy it.
It was the final day of the three day event competition among the local riding schools and it was nail bitingly close. With no clear winner yet to emerge, there were quite a few contenders who might grab gold in the show jumping.
Hayley saw Rich leaning up against the arena fence. Steam was still rising from the ground in the early morning light and the competition had yet to begin for the day.
“Morning, what’s on your mind?” She said, leaning against the fence next to the handsome instructor. He gave her a look that implied she was supposed to know exactly what he was thinking about.
He cleared his throat. “Chloe’s doing well with Hadrian. It’s hard to believe they’re in sixth and that’s only because of a minor slip in the dressage.” He paused for a long moment, looking out at the jumps again. “And to think, I was all in favour of having him put down just a couple of weeks ago. Here he is, in with a chance of winning the whole thing.” Hayley smiled at him, her blue eyes kind.
“Don’t feel bad about it, feel good. You’ve seen something happen that will change your outlook on horses forever. Every once in a while, a horse will surprise you and even if it never happens again, keep thinking that it might. It will change everything,” she said, praying that didn’t sound condescending.
To her relief, Rich smiled back and nodded. “You know, some others from the stable are in the top ten too. Mark’s fifth and Taylor’s the biggest surprise of the lot in second,” Rich carried on and now Hayley had to hide her smile. She knew Rich thought it was a surprise because Taylor hadn’t been able to pay for any lessons, but even if he didn’t win, he’d just shown the entire riding school that passion and commitment to your dreams counted for a hell of a lot. “I just hope the jinx doesn't get them,” he said and Hayley frowned. Really? She couldn’t help thinking.
Rich noticed her incredulous look.
“What? Everyone knows that since Mr Emeline, Emeline Equestrian have never placed in the top three of the Inter-Stable Championship.”
“It’s nice that Riley and Goldie are in joint second,” she commented, abruptly changing the subject away from superstitious silliness. She pretended she hadn’t seen Rich’s frown. “I’m glad they’re doing well. It would be awful if Victoria had managed to ruin their stud’s reputation,” she added very pointedly and now Rich looked sheepish.
“I’ll see you around the arena later,” Rich said, giving her a last smile and then walking off towards the food tent. Hayley watched him go and felt a little better abo
ut the riding instructor. Opinions were slow to change but these past few weeks had definitely shaken his long held views. She only hoped that it would be the same for some other riding school members, and as for that jinx… She shook her head and smiled. She had a feeling that this competition might throw that out of the window.
“There’s just time to see Hadrian,” she said aloud to herself and then walked off in the direction of the horse trailers. Mr and Mrs Hamel-Tory had allowed Chloe to use Madison’s old horse box too, as Hadrian was used to it. The couple had been unable to make the first two days of the competition but they were coming to see the show jumping and Hayley sensed Chloe would be in need of some calming words.
Only, someone had got there before her.
Hayley saw Taylor and Chloe through the sea of horse boxes. They were sat on the ramp leading up to Hadrian’s horse box and Hadrian himself was tied to the side of the trailer, waiting to be groomed and polished in time for his round, later that morning. Hayley stayed hidden and watched as Taylor slipped an arm around Chloe’s shoulders and she turned towards him, their faces close. Hayley turned away and smiled, deciding her visit could wait until later.
“Hey!” A voice said and Hayley looked round and found herself face to face with Riley Rippley. He raised a hand in greeting, his mouth quirking up. “Come and see Goldie! We’ve got one of the first slots today, so he’s looking his best. She smiled back and followed him, pleased that he wasn’t letting the events of the past week deter him. If anything, she thought he looked even more determined.
“He looks brilliant,” she told him when they arrived outside the horse box and Goldie whinnied hello. His flaxen mane was plaited and his gold-chestnut coat shone in the morning sunshine.
“I’d better mount up and get going. I just wanted to see you before I went. For luck, or something,” Riley said with a sideways grin.
