When River finished his story, Fields turned to Sierra. “Miss Landsing, please tell us what you found the night of May twenty-ninth, when you visited the Clark stable.”
“You mean trespassed!” Dean shouted out.
“Mr. Clark, one more outburst out of turn and I will excuse you from this hearing,” Judge Hanshaw warned. Dean mumbled an apology but continued to cast glowering looks across the table as Sierra told how she had found Corazón stabled in a windowless stall, what Dean had told her about his daily life, and how he had tormented the horse with rattling chains and threatening him with a pitchfork.
The judge noticed Murphy struggling to hold back his objections as Sierra told her story. “Thank you, Miss Landsing,” she said when Sierra finished. “Mr. Fields?”
Fields argued that further investigation was needed to prove that Beverly Cormack had not at some point sold the horse; and if not stolen, that would negate the alleged theft. He concluded by asking to have ownership examined in a civil case.
Judge Hanshaw turned to the opposing side of the table. “Mr. Murphy, you may present your case now.”
“Your honor,” he began and then related how Beverly Cormack had identified her stolen horse at last year’s championship event and had obtained a court order to get the DNA sample that confirmed her ownership. “The Clarks have had a business relationship with Ms. Cormack for a number of years and have purchased horses from her in the past. It was Dean Clark who recognized the blood lines of the horse and suggested Ms. Cormack might want to have a look at him. Once ownership was confirmed, the Clarks made an offer to purchase him and Ms. Cormack accepted.
“The Clark children love that horse, and they have been distraught with worry for his health and safety,” Murphy concluded his arguments. “With all due respect, the young lady is not quite truthful in what she claims were the conditions in which the horse was kept. Mr. Clark denies that he ever teased the horse in the manner fabricated by Miss Landsing. It is simply her word against his. The horse was an athletic and fit animal. I doubt you will find any rules against competing a horse as often as the owners wish. Both Caroline and Dean are very competitive and they have goals that they had hoped to achieve in their respective equestrian sports; goals they are unlikely to reach due to the theft of their beloved horse.” With a sympathetic expression as he looked at his clients he added, “In addition to restitution of the horse, I am encouraging the Clarks to sue for compensation of their disappointment.” Murphy then presented receipts for feed, farrier, and veterinary invoices to prove the horse had been receiving the best possible care. “I have also submitted copies of the United States Equestrian Federation rules for both jumping competitions and combined training competitions, and you will note they are very specific about competing on a horse that is lame or unwell. If this horse had truly been neglected, he would not have been allowed to enter in these events.” He ended with an accusation that Girard and probably Holmes and Landsing as well, knew the horse had been stolen when they bought him, and never tried to find the rightful owner.
To the best of her professional ability, Judge Hanshaw tried to listen with objective ears to both sides of the story, in spite of the fact she found the confident and overbearing attitude of Murphy quite irritating. Nor did she care for the cocky manners of Dean Clark, the assured, smug attitude of Carla Clark, or the bored posture of Caroline Clark. She knew very well the status of the Clarks in her district; she had met Richard Clark socially and in previous legal dealings. She had been warned by her friends to consider carefully any ruling against the Clark family.
She admitted to herself that she was biased in favor of the defendants. An animal lover herself, she was drawn in by the attachment of the boy to his horse. She liked how tenderly he had looked at Miss Landsing when she told her side of the tale, and surmised they were in a relationship together. She tended to believe Girard’s motives in taking the horse were not for his own personal gain, but for the well-being of the animal.
Nevertheless, she knew her duty and she knew the law. She couldn’t argue with the DNA report that the Cormack woman had first owned the horse; especially since the courts had already ruled in her favor. She believed it was the duty of the defense to discover evidence to justify an appeal of that decision. Unless they did so, she must accept the court ruling that Beverly Cormack had recovered stolen property and had a right to sell the horse to whomever she chose.
Perhaps there was a case against the Clarks of animal abuse, as claimed by Girard and Landsing. But she didn’t know enough about horses herself to assess whether their accusations amounted to abuse. Again, that was the duty of the defense counsel. Fields had provided statements from veterinarians and reputable horsemen as experts in their field; to confirm the Clarks stabling of the horse in a closed stall was not best for a horse’s nature and health. But she also had to concede the validity of Murphy’s argument that it could not be classified as abuse for the horse had been taken out daily for exercise, and it was necessary for the protection of the human workers. Fields’ experts agreed that entering the horse in a competition every weekend seemed excessive and had a high likelihood of the horse breaking down. But even those experts would not go so far as to call it abuse.
And I’m off on a tangent, she reminded herself. If abuse can be proved, does that excuse the crime? The Clarks claimed the value of the horse at eighty-thousand dollars, which made it a felony charge of grand theft. She glanced over at Girard and thought about the boy being sent to prison. That in itself seemed a crime.
The motion put forth from the defense was that indeed the court ruling based on the DNA report supported Cormack’s claim of ownership. But Fields suggested it was possible she had sold the horse previously and it had never been stolen. Apparently there was no record of a stolen horse report filed. On that basis, he believed the matter best served by a civil trial to determine rightful ownership.
I cannot let my personal feelings influence my decision, Judge Hanshaw counseled herself. She did not want to base her decision in favor of the defendants because she believed they were ethically in the right; that was not her duty. She felt her duty in the eyes of the law leaning more to determining this as a criminal case, for Cormack had already won her case as the previous owner. I need some time.
“I am going to take some time to think this over,” she informed the two parties. “Mr. Fields and Mr. Murphy, I will let you know my decision within forty-eight hours.” With that, the hearing came to an end.
*****
“Two messages,” Eric greeted Delia as she entered the ante room of her office suite where her secretary had his desk.
“Thank you Eric,” she replied, taking the yellow sticky notes held out to her. “Did you get your lunch?”
“Yes ma’am, thank you,” Eric replied with a smile, but realized his boss’s attention had perked up and was absorbed by one of the notes.
Delia entered her private office and sitting at her desk, placed the call herself to her private detective, Bret Jackson.
“Bret here,” a gravelly male voice answered on the first ring.
“Bret, hi, it’s Del Evans. I got your message.”
“Some interesting things,” Bret jumped right in, never one to waste time with greetings. “I finally tracked down Tom Gunnerson – two states away; he’s working with a brother-in-law in a car wrecking yard. Anyway, I followed him to his usual hang out, a bar. Only took a pitcher and a half of cheap beer to get him talking. Claims some lady he sold a horse to, turned him in for the conditions of his horse trading business, and ruined him; hence stuck working for his relative. His memory isn’t the greatest, but we’re in luck. He remembers the woman and what he remembers fits the description and picture you gave me of Teresa Holmes. Consequently, he also remembers that particular horse and where he got him. Turns out his story confirms your information that he bought the horse in a lot sale from a George Kiles. I’m going to make a long list of the tracking I’ve done short. I final
ly found Kiles in Idaho, and for someone who don’t come across as the most honest horse trader, he actually keeps decent records. I have copies for you of a package deal of six horses he sold to a Tom Gunnerson and one of the descriptions matches the black gelding; also has a photo. I also have a copy of a receipt Kiles has for purchase of the same horse at an auction. I found the dealer that handled that particular stock auction, and they had a bill-of-sale for a black gelding that again matches the description. Also, sounds like the horse was in pretty bad shape when he was sent to that auction.
“I tracked down the name on the bill-of-sale to the auction; a Henry Gaspar. Interesting thing, Gaspar refused to talk to me and sounded angry, actually threatened me. Didn’t make sense that talking about a horse should get that kind of reaction, so I did a little investigating. Turns out that Gaspar’s wife bought the horse as a youngster and trained him herself. Then she’s out riding on a trail that crosses a train track, and the story is a train must have gone past which freaked out the horse. She was thrown and hurt really bad, and now has permanent brain damage, and I guess is living in a nursing home. Gaspar freaked out and beat the horse and then practically starved the animal. I got this information from three different neighboring farms – talked to owners and some hired hands, and they all told me pretty much the same story. When someone threatened to turn Gaspar in to the humane society, that’s when he sent the horse to auction. Two different neighbors told me they thought Ms. Gaspar bought the horse from a breeding farm in the area, a Green for Blue Farm. No chance of getting any more information from Gaspar, much less a bill-of-sale. This Green for Blue Farm has since that time been sold, but I have found out the owners’ names.”
“Excellent work, Bret. The name associated with the breeding farm doesn’t happen to be Cormack, does it?”
“Nope, it was a partnership; a Brown and Petrick. Petrick died two years ago and his relatives have no idea where the breeding farm records might be. I’ve got a lead on Brown and am heading over to the address given me by Petrick’s relatives first thing in the morning. I’m tellin’ ya, Del, horse dealing ain’t like real estate or buying a car. You’re real lucky to be able to trace back all the way to where the horse was bred. But, if we can prove the Gaspar woman bought the horse from the breeding farm, you’ll have a complete record of all his owners.”
“Thank you again. This is quite helpful, Bret. Let me know as soon as you find out anything more. Can you fax me copies of the bills-of-sale you have so far?”
“Sure thing.” Bret disconnected.
“Not stolen!” Delia spoke out loud. She read over the notes she had jotted as Bret told his story, her excitement rising. Then she punched a button on her phone.
“Yes, Del?”
“Eric, is Liv in?”
“Yes ma-am, in her office.”
“Good, have her come to my office with the Girard and Landsing file.”
When Olivia arrived, together they reviewed the case in view of the new information from Bret.
“The only thing to dispute Girard’s legitimate ownership of the horse is this DNA report,” Olivia pointed out.
“The way I see it, there are only two possible answers,” Delia responded, thinking out loud. “The Cormack woman did own the horse, even though Bret did not turn up her name. I suppose it is possible she sold the horse to this Green for Blue Farm or if it had been stolen, the thief sold the horse to the farm, but it seems unlikely to me. Why would a breeding farm buy a young gelding? Even if they did, this farm was in Idaho and Beverly’s farm in Massachusetts. No, those pieces just don’t fit. So, the other possibility is that the DNA report is in error.”
“How is that possible?” Olivia asked in a baffled tone.
“Good question, but wouldn’t it be interesting to re-test the horse?”
“Girard would have to agree to disclose the horse’s whereabouts so we could have a court-appointed forensic agent do the testing,” Olivia said, tapping a finger on the file.
“Yes, he would. I’m expecting to hear from Fields any time now. The motion hearing was this morning while I was in court. Between the two of us, we need to convince River to reveal the location of his horse.”
They concluded their meeting and Delia turned her attention to work on other cases. She was about to leave for the day when Eric put through a call from Fields.
“I would have called you earlier, but I had another meeting right after the motion hearing,” Fields said. He told her all that had happened.
“So, we have two days,” Delia said. “Well, John, we may have had a breakthrough. I just talked to my private investigator who has been tracing ownership of the horse.” She filled him in on the results of the investigation so far. “If the horse never was stolen from Cormack…well…”
“Yeah, interesting, huh?” John replied. “Let me know as soon as you hear from your agent.”
*****
The summons from Judge Hanshaw, as promised, came two days after the first hearing.
Fields escorted his clients in when the secretary opened the door, and they took their same places at the table. He fingered the files in front of him on the table, containing the summary of Evans’ investigation and copies of the bills-of-sale. He had received permission to bring this new evidence today.
A few minutes later, Murphy arrived, but the only one of his clients with him today was Dean Clark. The young man entered to glare at River and leer seductively at Sierra, causing River to deepen his dour expression and Sierra to blush.
Judge Hanshaw entered and asked them all to stay seated. Fields studied her expression and mannerisms and thought he detected a discouraged slump to her shoulders. He knew this judge would be sympathetic to his clients’ side of the story, but he also knew her to be firm in upholding the letter of the law. Her posture dampened his hopes.
“Thank you for your patience,” Judge Hanshaw began, looking up over the rim of her glasses and surveying those at the table. “Mr. Fields, I am ready to hear the new evidence.”
“Thank you, your honor.” Fields stood and handed a file to the judge and a duplicate to Murphy, and explained the contents as the judge and prosecuting lawyer looked over the file. “You will find records of sales of the horse in question from his purchase by Pegasus Equestrian Center, all the way back to the first owner except the farm where he was bred. We are still hoping to contact the breeding farm, but statements from two neighbors collaborate that the horse was bought legitimately. I believe this evidence proves the horse was never stolen, and therefore, never owned by Ms. Cormack, and legitimately belongs to Pegasus Equestrian Center.”
“Your honor,” Murphy spoke up, “This is ridiculous. These are not official documents.” Murphy slapped the back of his hand against the copies he held in his other hand. “None of these are notarized. These are not proof; any one of these, if not all could be falsified. And statements from neighbors could mean anything from a neighborhood conspiracy to who knows? Looks to me like you may have just discovered the culprits who stole the horse. Beverly Cormack has already proved to the satisfaction of our courts, that she is the original owner.” Raising his voice for emphasis, he continued, “She has the DNA report proving she bred the horse. How can you argue against that?” Murphy posed his question to the defense side of the table.
“We believe that somehow the DNA report is in error. Your honor, I would like to make a motion to request a court-appointed agent to take another sample from the horse and have it analyzed in the state forensic lab.”
“Out of the question…” Murphy objected.
“I’ll decide, Mr. Murphy,” Judge Hanshaw glared at him. She directed her next statement to Fields. “It does seem rather unlikely that a DNA report would be in error, Mr. Fields. Wasn’t Ms. Holmes present when the sample was taken?”
“Yes, your honor,” Fields admitted. “But that is not to say the sample couldn’t have gotten mixed up somewhere along the line. I don’t think it is unreasonable to ask for another t
est.”
Silence reigned as Judge Hanshaw studied the file in front of her. After several long minutes, she looked up and with a deep sigh, said, “I have reached my decision.” Looking first at Fields, she said, “These may be legitimate bills-of-sale, but unless you have them validated, and unless you can locate evidence of a sale from the breeder, then I am afraid I must accept an already awarded court decision that Ms. Cormack owned the horse, and therefore had the right to sell it to the Clarks.” She shifted her eyes to River and Sierra. “Mr. Girard, however honorable your motives may have been; there is sufficient evidence to charge you with the crime of grand theft, and Miss Landsing, an accessory.”
“Yes!” Dean spoke from his side of the table, the corners of his mouth rising in a triumphant grin, but he straightened out his mouth at the sharp look from the judge.
She continued, “Mr. Fields, I cannot approve your motion for a civil trial. An arraignment date…” she stopped and looked up when they all heard a tap at her door. “Yes, enter,” she called out.
“Excuse me, your honor,” the judge’s secretary opened the door and leaned into the gap. “I have an attorney, Ms. Evans, a colleague of Mr. Fields, just arrived with evidence she believes is important for this hearing.”
Judge Hanshaw frowned in annoyance and turned to Fields. This had been a very difficult decision to make and she wanted to end this meeting as quickly as possible. “What is this about, Mr. Fields?”
*****
“Del, I have a deputy prosecutor Mackey on the line,” Eric said after Delia answered his page.
“Put him through,” she said, and when the connection was made, “Hi Bill.”
“Del, how are things?” The prosecutor chatted a few minutes over mundane subjects and then said, “I still owe you one since the Stephenson case, and I just may be able to pay you back today.”
For The Love of Horses (Pegasus Equestrian Center) Page 35
