by Ruby Loren
“She offered to give you a loan?” Shaun asked.
"No! She wanted to give me the money - that’s what a good friend she was! We were arguing because I was just so frustrated with myself and so embarrassed, I took it out on her.” She sighed, loudly enough for Hayley to hear. “I never even had a chance to apologise to her.”
“What are you doing here?” Hayley spun around and found the female police officer standing in the doorway.
"I was delivering breakfast for the next day," Hayley said, gesturing to the pile of fruit and pastries she’d just left on the kitchen table.
The police officer gave her a withering look, stepping closer. “I warned Chief Inspector Jenkins that leaving this case to Inspector Rouen was a bad idea. It’s too personal, especially when certain people can’t seem to keep their noses out of other peoples’ business.”
Hayley felt her cheeks grow hot as she drew herself up to her full height, staring down the other woman. "Is there something you’d like to tell me? I’m starting to think this may be more personal than business related.”
The other woman choked on a laugh and Hayley frowned. “I'm just here to make sure everything is done properly. Right now, you’re becoming a problem. This is a murder investigation, not a gymkhana mystery! Stay away from the Inspector,” she hissed before spinning on her heel and strutting out. Hayley was left standing in the kitchen with a strong urge to throw something against a wall.
“Sir, I’ve just heard that the groom-to-be has finally managed to make it here. He’s down at the stables with his horse,” she heard the evil police officer say.
“Does the man have some sort of aversion to modern transport?!” Shaun commented. "Very well, thank you for your time Ms Tolson."
Hayley walked back down to the stables, a minute after the Inspector and his shadow had left. She paused by the field where the mystery horse was grazing and called to him. The dark grey horse pricked up his ears and trotted over. She smiled and rubbed his nose. “I figure it's time we got you back to the stables. Hopefully there’s been some news while I've been busy,” she told him, pleased that at least someone seemed happy to see her.
Perhaps Hayley would have found it easier not to pry if it weren’t for the fact that Chris Ali, the husband to be, had a voice like a foghorn.
“Maybe we could go somewhere more quiet to talk,” the female police officer was saying as Hayley walked the grey horse back down the main strip. She shot a venomous look Hayley’s way, which Hayley responded to with a wide smile and a very relaxed grip on the mystery horse’s rein as they walked past. Right on cue he stretched out his head and snapped his teeth causing the police woman to jump back and attempt to push him away.
“Sorry, he’s usually so friendly,” Hayley said airily, making sure the horse didn't get in biting distance of anyone else. That would rather upset the illusion.
“No need to go anywhere else, I don't want to leave Jimmy here alone. He’s got quite the knack for getting into trouble and I don’t think anyone at a stable like this would thank me for it, if you catch my meaning," he said dropping a salacious wink.
“Yes, well, uh, we just have a few more questions further to our initial enquiries. It’s mostly fact checking,” Shaun said, rubbing the back of his neck the way he always did when he was stressed. The female police officer turned to face Hayley and folded her arms, sending her a clear ‘what are you still doing here?’ look. Hayley turned her back on her and parked the grey horse by his stable, disappearing for a few moments to fetch the grooming supplies. Ha! She thought.
“Yes, I know all of the girls through Kali, of course. They’re great! Kali and I actually met through Becky. I dated her briefly before we realised it wasn’t going to work out,” Chris was saying as Hayley reappeared with her combs and brushes. The female police officer rolled her eyes and turned back to the interview.
“Becky didn’t mind when you started seeing Kali?”
“Gosh, no! Kali even asked her permission and she agreed it was for the best. She just wanted to see her happy. I won’t lie, it was a bit of a rough time at first, but everything’s been great ever since.”
“Were you with Becky for long?” The other officer asked and Chris shrugged.
“It wasn’t even a year, I don’t think. We dated from Easter to Halloween. That was when we both decided it wasn’t working out.”
Hayley raised an eyebrow at the grey horse. I wonder if Becky feels the same way, she couldn't help thinking. If one of the bridesmaids was still holding a candle for her ex, perhaps spending so much time with the blushing bride-to-be had been too much salt in the wound for her to handle.
“Will you be staying here with your horse?” Shaun asked and Chris laughed.
“No! This stables is way too posh for the likes of me and Jimmy here. We’re used to roughing it. I'll be riding back across to the yard. Kali and I only live about twenty minutes down the road from here…” He trailed off into silence, realising his mistake. “Yes, I suppose I need some time to come to terms with all this.”
“Excuse me," Shaun said, his phone cutting through the solemn atmosphere with its jolly reggae tune.
“Yes, hello? Phone records… excellent!” He paused, listening to what was being said on the other end of the line. “That was clever of you to think of. I’ll go and speak to him immediately.”
“Sir?" The other police officer said when he’d hung up. Shaun glanced across to where Hayley was still grooming the horse.
“Thanks for your time, Mr Ali," he said to Chris, waiting until the man had mounted up and moved away. "That was officer Lane. He’s looked through the deceased’s phone records and she made a call to voicemail at 8:05 am on the morning she was murdered.”
“She was dead then,” the other police officer brilliantly observed.
“Yes she was, which means it was someone else who made that call. Officer Lane took fingerprints from the phone screen and there were fingerprints belonging to the victim and to Miles Onyx.”
Hayley tried not to gasp, her mind flying back to the overheard phone conversation. What had Miles done?
“I think we should have a word in private with Mr Onyx. Officer Lane says there were records of two voicemails being left, but the messages have since been deleted," Shaun said, as the pair started to walk towards the main house.
“Do you know who left the voicemails?” The other officer asked and Shaun nodded.
“Yes, the missed calls were from Jude Delgany - the future sister in law.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Winter Warmer
Hayley managed to keep her nose out of trouble for the rest of the day. She thought about seeking Miles out to ask him what had happened, but he was noticeably scarce, so she could guess his mood. She only hoped that everything she’d heard had a logical, non-murdery explanation, or she could be about to land in some very hot water indeed.
Miles wouldn’t kill anybody, he didn't even know the group! Hayley told herself over and over again. But the truth remained - his fingerprints were on a phone belonging to the victim and it sounded as though he’d deliberately concealed evidence in a murder investigation. Put simply, it didn’t look good.
Hayley was so deep in thought, she nearly walked past the stable belonging to the mystery horse. He whinnied hello and she walked over and discovered that his stable hadn’t been mucked out. She frowned and looked around for someone to ask, only to remember the mystery horse’s changeable behaviour.
“That’s what you get if you’re rude to people, no one will want to do you any favours,” she told the horse sternly, clipping on a leading rein and taking him out of his stable. Her eyes strayed down his shining coat and the way it was just inviting her to go for a ride.
“How about I clean out your stable and then we have a quick ride, hopefully without anyone spotting us,” she said to the horse, who seemed agreeable, despite not saying anything. “I like your attitude,” she said, walking off to get a wheelbarrow.
&
nbsp; Twenty minutes later, Hayley felt like she was flying.
She’d borrowed some tack and had tentatively ridden the mystery horse over to a field, which was only ever used when the riding school was in use. It was quiet and the house and stables didn't overlook it, so she figured no one would notice. The only thing was, if she fell off and was injured, no one was likely to find her for quite some time either.
At first, she’d decided that she was only going to walk the horse around and maybe try a bit of a trot. After all, she knew nothing about the animal other than the marks on his belly indicating that he had at least worn a saddle several times before.
His gait was perfection beneath her, and despite his impressive size, he was full of grace. She could tell immediately that her suspicions were correct. This wasn’t a horse that was built to hammer it out on a racetrack, this was a horse with some serious potential as a three day eventing competitor.
“Someone is surely very sorry to have lost you,” she said to the horse as she increased the pace to canter, feeling her confidence and excitement grow. He tossed his head and pulled in the direction of the log jumps that had been set across the field for practice. Hayley bit her lip for a moment before relenting.
“Fine, but you’d better keep your promise and stay quiet about all this,” she said, grinning as their pace increased until they were almost on top of the jump. Her heart soared as he leapt forwards, sailing clear and turning with the slightest of touches towards the next obstacle.
Hayley was so focused on working with the horse to clear the course she didn’t notice she was being watched.
“Well done, well done!” A laughing voice said and she jerked upright in the saddle. Beneath her, the horse spooked, scared by her reaction. Hayley waited until she’d calmed him down again before dismounting and leading the horse over to the fence, not wanting to risk him lunging for whoever the stranger leaning up against it was.
“Hello, can I help you?” She said cautiously.
The man had dark blonde hair that was swept back from his forehead in a fashionable cut. His face was clean shaven and while the first few smile lines were visible around his eyes, it was clear he was only in his early thirties.
“After what I’ve just seen you do, I think you already have helped me,” he said, extending a hand. “My name’s Oliver Townsby. I’m the owner of Waxwing, the horse you’ve been riding.”
A million questions exploded in Hayley’s mind as she remembered the rejected application and realised exactly who she was speaking to.
“This is your horse?” She said, deciding to get the simple facts sorted first.
“Yes, I’m afraid I’ve been a bit naughty…” He flashed her a very white grin. “You see, I did apply the usual way to stable him at the Onyx and Argent Stables but was very disappointed to receive a rejection from my old friend, Miles. I must admit, I’m a man who doesn’t give up easily, so I plotted and I planned. I had someone watch the stables and they saw you go out and followed you to the pizza place. Once they realised you were going to be returning to the stables that night alone, I gave the go ahead for Waxwing to be taken up to the lane outside the stables and released." He pulled an apologetic face. “I had no idea if it would work, but luckily he’s a bit of a noisy one and all it took for him to kick up a fuss was for the man I asked to take him up there to get too close. It’s lucky he managed to get away before being trampled, once Waxwing realised he was free.”
He tilted his head at the dark grey horse who stared back, his ears flattening against his skull. “You see, I’ve heard so much about the work you do with horses that I got it into my head that you were the only person left who could save Waxwing. He’s only a young horse, but I think he was broken in badly - before I bought him - and despite some truly remarkable breeding, he’s a bit of a nightmare. He looks like a dream, but no one can get close to him, let alone ride him. I’ve had stable staff restrain him before while we stick a rider on his back and sometimes he’ll let them stay on but if they try anything at all he doesn’t like, then they’re off and we're trying to stop the damn horse from trampling on them. He can be really spiteful like that,” Oliver said, looking sorry.
“You tricked me into taking your horse in,” Hayley summed up, not knowing how she felt about it.
Oliver tipped his head from side to side. “Well, yes, but look how well it has worked out! I was right all along. You are the right person for him. What I just saw you do was amazing and he hasn’t even been trained. It's clear he’s going to be a natural jumper, pretty good at dressage too, I’d say. How about you keep him here and I’ll pay you to ride him for me, hmm?”
Hayley opened her mouth and then shut it again. This was crazy! It was all out of the blue.
“Hang on a second, how did you even get in here and know where to look for the horse?”
Oliver nodded, probably understanding that the question wasn’t really important, she just needed some time to catch up. "I called Miles today and let him know I'd lost a horse.” He grinned, sheepishly. “Unfortunately, Miles isn't stupid and he also seemed to be in a particularly bad mood. He rather chewed my ear off, actually, but he went down to the stables for a look, found him missing and seeing as you’re the only one who’s been able to get close to him. Well, it didn’t take long to figure out where you were." He cleared his throat. “I’m afraid you might be rather in for it when we get back. Sorry for dropping you in trouble.”
Hayley wanted to tell him that it was the least of her worries right now, but sharing that information with a man who Miles didn’t like and who had used subterfuge to infiltrate their stables didn’t seem like a good idea.
“Anyway, we should probably get back and have that chat with ‘ol Miles. Waxwing hasn't destroyed the joint or seriously maimed anyone, so I don't see why he’d object to me stabling him here. It’s not as if I’m not literally throwing money at him either.” Oliver's eyes narrowed as he looked at Hayley and she tried to ignore the way his gaze strayed from her face. “You're a partner with Miles, aren’t you?”
“Business partner, yes,” she said, a little too hastily.
Oliver arched a dark brown eyebrow but made no further comment. “Surely that means you get a say as to whether Waxwing stays.”
“So you would think,” Hayley said, not without a little bitterness.
***
“No way, Hayley! I told you he was bad news and look what he’s done. It just proves what I first said! Who in their right mind risks a valuable horse, just so they can sneak their way into a stables?” Miles said when she’d returned Waxwing and they met in his office.
“I’m right here… just in case you’d forgotten,” Oliver said from where he had seated himself in the red armchair. Miles threw him a look filled with poison.
“But Miles, he’s offering money, just like anyone else. Well, more than anyone else if we're being really honest, and it’s just one horse. If he’s attacking people, there's definitely work that needs to be done with him. You can’t have a horse stuck acting like that. I want to help Waxwing get over his problems.”
Miles pulled at his dark hair, ruffling it without ruining the style. “This is all just a game of one-upmanship, don’t you see that? Once we've said yes to this, it’ll be something else. Come on, do you really feel as though you’ll ever be able to trust him - knowing the games he’s already played? Everything is always going to be another game to him and I don't like being manipulated.”
“And I’m still here!” Oliver cut in, managing to keep the mocking smile on his face. “By the way Miles, you always were a sore loser, that’s your problem.” He sat forwards in the armchair, looking imploringly at Hayley. “All I’m asking is for you to give him a chance. If you don’t want to ride him, that’s okay! It would be great if you could find him the right rider and get him to not trample everyone in sight. If you can do that, you’ll be saving him. Otherwise… well…” He didn't need to say it. A horse with that much aggression was a liabili
ty - no matter what they may have cost in the first place.
“Riding him? You were going to get Hayley to ride him competitively?” Miles asked, annoyance written all over his face.
“Sure, what's wrong with that?” Oliver said, pushing his own hair back and smiling.
“What’s wrong with? She works for me!” Miles said and Hayley felt a rush of anger run through her.
I knew it, she thought, turning around and walking straight out of the door.
Miles caught up with her outside Waxwing’s stable. She was looking in at the smoke grey horse, feeling more miserable than ever. At least her current position made it hard for Miles to get anywhere near her personal space.
“Hayley, I didn’t mean what I just said, not the way you think, anyway. You’re my business partner! I just don’t think we should have any ties with another stables as close as the one Ollie Townsby is suggesting. How do you think it will look to our other clients? We’re meant to be unaffiliated…”
Hayley threw him a dirty look. “Oh, I think you meant exactly what you said. While we’re on the topic of telling the truth, as your business partner, I'm concerned about your involvement in the murder investigation. How about we discuss how my business partner might be about to go to prison for drowning a woman?”
Miles paled. “I didn’t kill her… it was all one big misunderstanding.”
Hayley laughed. “Well, I'm sure that makes it all fine then.”
“You don’t understand, I did something stupid, tried to cover it up and now I’m paying the consequences for messing in affairs that weren’t my own.”
Hayley folded her arms and turned to face him. You’ll have to do better than that, her face said.
Miles wrung his hands. “Look, I might have got quite close to one of the hens. On the first night, I went up there to make sure they were all settled in and Jude was really friendly. She seemed like a girl who was up for a good time, so that first night, she let me in through the front door after the others were in their rooms and well…" He cleared his throat. “Unfortunately, the next morning, Kali walked in to get Jude for their early morning horse chores and found me there. She wasn't too impressed that her sister-in-law was having a fling and threatened to tell Jude’s husband. Jude was seriously worried about that and called Kali a couple of times and left voicemails, begging her not to tell." He sighed. "She told me about the voicemails right after I found the body, so I went back in before the police arrived, while the hens stayed together, and deleted them. It was the wrong thing to do, I just didn’t want her marriage to go up in smoke just because of a, frankly, rather drunken mistake.”
