Brody came back with a warm bran mash and held the bucket under Ali’s nose. Ali immediately dived into it. Brody added maple syrup to the mix to make it taste better.
“We’d better give Doc Martin a call in the morning. This fellow may need stitches in those deeper scratches. He has bite marks too. Looks like he was attacked by something pretty big, a mountain lion or a bear, probably a single one or he wouldn’t have gotten away. I wonder if he’s been up in the mountains. There aren’t too many mountain lions or bears down here. Too bad he can’t talk. Let’s give him a small flake of hay for tonight. We have to go easy on the feed until he gets used to it again.”
Brody cleaned up the cholla and supplies they’d left in the feeder and brought Ali a small flake of alfalfa hay. He went into the stall and stroked the horse’s neck and talked to him for a while in soothing tones.
Ali laid his head on Brody’s shoulder. Ali was so grateful to feel safe again. Brody threw his two arms around Ali’s neck and hugged him back. “You’ll be okay boy. Wait and see.” Brody told him.
Brody topped off the water buckets, removed the ice wraps which had done their job, closed the stall door and left for the night, closing the main barn doors on his way out. The wind was back and howled outside but Ali was safe and warm inside this time. He slept peacefully for the first time in two weeks.
Mike called Doc Martin first thing in the morning. He had vet calls to make in the area anyway and stopped by Mike’s ranch first. Mike took the horse out of the stall so the vet could have a good look at him.
Ali limped slightly on his left leg from the muscle pull in his knee. He was a little tender on the right rear where he’d lost a shoe. The swelling from the cholla was gone and there didn’t appear to be any further tenderness in that area. His ribs showed all down his barrel and his hip and back bones protruded. He was several hundred pounds under weight. And he was dirty. His former silver coat was the color of the sand that coated him from nose to tail.
The wounds on his back and flanks were another story. They were days old and starting to heal from the bottom. Mike told the vet he’d given the horse a tetanus shot the night before so that didn’t need to be done again. The vet was worried about infection so he left Mike and Brody antibiotics to give the horse twice a day for the next five days.
“This boy has missed a few meals,” the vet said when he finished his exam. “I’d feed him small flakes of hay three times a day for the next few days. You should give him a bucket of soaked hay pellets and beet pulp too. Gives his system a chance to get used to food again. He needs groceries. Other than that, there’s nothing time and a good farrier won’t fix. I looked at the other shoes he’s got on. Top notch work there. But your farrier can fix him up. I’d have all four feet done so they match. He’s worn those shoes down. One of the other’s about ready to go as well. Do you have any idea where he came from?”
“Looks like he walked in the back gate. I leave it open until I close the ranch down at the end of the day. He probably came in looking for food and water. Too bad he doesn’t talk. For an “Arabian” stallion, he’s pretty well behaved. He must belong to someone.” Mike said. “I’ll be putting out flyers at the local feed stores around and see if we can find the owner. My guess is he’s pretty high strung when he’s fit. He probably got away from someone and they’re looking for him.”
“Uncle Mike, don’t you let Aunt Ginny hear you talk like that,” Brody remarked. “She loves her Arabian horses and would smack you upside the head if she heard you.” He laughed. “Besides, this boy hasn’t given you a lick of trouble. Remember how good he was while you pulled cholla stickers out of his hide? He squealed one time then stood like a statue.”
“I know,” said Uncle Mike. “Now don’t you go tellin’ your Aunt Ginny I said bad things about her “Arabian” horses or I’ll have to git on you and give you extra chores.” He pulled his hat brim down and grinned at Brody.
“Okay, Uncle Mike,” Brody said with a grin. “I promise not to tell.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
The week Ali wandered in the wilderness, Becky remained still and silent in her bed in the Intensive Care unit. She made no movement on her own of any kind. She made no sound. Caroline stayed with her most of the time.
Becky spent most of the time in the fog. Occasionally she would find herself dreaming or remembering things she did with Ali. She could hear Mom and Dad and others talking in her room, but they remained far away and she could never hear what they were saying.
She found herself getting up before the sun to help get Ali ready for his first class in Scottsdale, Arizona. She helped wash him. He used his upper lip to scrub the top of her head while she squatted down to scrub the shampoo into the front of his forelegs. She was in the grandstands next to Todd when Chris asked Ali to trot into the arena. When the crowd in the stands first noticed him, he noticed them and started putting on his best trot. The crowd began cheering. That encouraged Ali to trot higher and higher until he reached his signature high floating trot. It was so exciting to see. Ali won his first class. She was bursting with pride. Becky slipped back into the fog with the sound of crowd cheering ringing in her ears.
Another day she rose from the fog to find herself at Maverick Stadium in Denver, Colorado. She and Todd stood at the Mavericks Players tunnel watching Ali charge down the sideline behind the players’ bench as he was introduced by the announcer. Ali cantered out and stepped into his high floating trot. Seventy thousand fans in the stadium cheered him on. He stopped and reared on command at mid-field and screamed his stallion challenge. The fans went wild. Someone started chanting “Ah-li! Ah-li! Ah-li!” and it was picked up by the others. The encouragement led Ali to higher and higher levels. He looked like he floated above the ground! The game was over and the Mavericks won. Players celebrated on the field. One rushed into the tunnel and asked Ali to join them. Ali head and shoulder bumped three hundred pound linemen and nose to fist bumped the running back that scored the winning touchdown. It was all so exciting but the sound receded as she slipped back into the fog.
Hours or days later, she had no sense of time, she was on an airplane with Mom and Dad, Sharon and Todd O’Neal on their way to Paris, France. She walked into the famous Salon de Cheval to watch Ali compete in the World Championships. He made the top ten! She noticed how nice she was dressed for the finals on Sunday afternoon. Around her everyone was dressed in formal clothes. Men wore tuxedos. Women wore gowns and dripped in jewels. It was the most beautiful sight. Chris trotted Ali into the judging ring. The judges called the winners starting with tenth place. Ali won! Chris ran his hardest to keep up with Ali on his victory pass. Ali tossed his head and snorted and blew as he floated above the ground. The cheering receded as she slipped back into blackness.
Becky noticed her parents voices were getting closer. She could almost hear their words. She hoped she could reach them soon. The blackness wasn’t so dense.
***
Walter returned to his office Monday that week to handle several large projects coming due. Those projects required his expertise. He spent no more than four hours at the office at a time and returned to the hospital so Caroline could leave to shower and change. The two of them took turns sleeping on the cot in Becky’s room in the ICU each night.
Walter broke down and told Caroline what Detective Nelson said about Ali. They worried about him. Ali was a pampered show-horse. Nothing prepared him for life in the wild. He was smart and courageous but he was a prey animal.
At Caroline’s urging, Walter called Detective Nelson and increased the reward for information about Ali to a hundred thousand dollars. Brian Nelson told him the Fish and Wildlife Inspector was in the area on horseback looking for signs of Ali along with Carl Nixon.
“That old man, Nixon, really had a soft spot for Ali,” Brian told Walter. “He seemed broken up about the horse getting away from him. He was going to the Sheriff’s Department that morning to find out what he could about the horse when he d
iscovered him missing.”
“That’s the old guy who bought him for four hundred dollars?” Walter asked.
“Yes. He told us he called a horse broker looking for a two hundred dollar pack horse. Our suspects showed up with a horse in their trailer and took what they could get to get rid of the animal. By that time it was all over the news. Nixon doesn’t have a radio and didn’t know anything about the theft from the parade.”
“Do you think the reward is high enough now? Do you think it will help to get him back?” asked Walter.
“There are people out there that would turn their mother in for fifty bucks. Yes, I think the reward is high enough. We’ll probably get lots of calls about loose horses. Let’s hope one of them is the right horse if the horse gets down to the desert from where he was. Nixon told the Fish and Wildlife Inspector he was circling the territory of a mountain lion to see if the cat had taken the horse. He hadn’t found anything. Fish and Wildlife told me there are also a few black bears up there in the same area.”
“Pleeeze don’t say anything to Caroline about that. She’s worried enough about Becky and she knows the horse is lost in the mountains. I won’t tell her he could be walking into a mountain lion. Like I told you before, that horse is like a son to her.” Walter said. “Let’s keep that between you and me, please?”
“You got it.” Brian replied. “I’ve got some leads to run down right now so I have to go. I will call you if I hear anything else. If you need anything please call me. And let me know how Becky is doing if anything changes, will ya?”
“We sure will. And thank you again for all you are doing to help us on this.”
“One thing before I go, Calvin and Danny Hix were arraigned yesterday in San Diego Superior Court. The San Diego DA has them for multiple charges on the bust we did last Sunday. The Orange County DA is charging them with Attempted Murder, Great Bodily Injury in the Commission of a Crime, Grand Theft, and several other things in connection with our case. I don’t think either of them will ever see the light of day again.”
“That’s good to hear,” Walter answered. “I hope they throw the book at them. Do you think you have enough evidence to get convictions?”
“We got ‘em cold. We have fingerprints, DNA, and a good solid witness that will ID ‘em. Nixon picked them out of a photo lineup. We have the horse trailer they used. We could probably get DNA from the horse out of that. They won’t be walking away from this.” Brian told him. “You can take that to the bank.”
Walter relayed his conversation with Nelson to Caroline after they’d hung up. He looked at her. She had blue circles under her eyes and she’d lost weight. She had a perpetual worried look on her face. And there was a sadness that seemed to overwhelm her. It was hard. He was worried too. He hoped they’d get through all this.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Mike asked Brody to put together a flyer on the stray horse. He was better on the computer than Mike was. Brody and a young volunteer at their ranch who was working off her riding lessons helped him. She was better with the artwork than he was. They put it together including a photo he’d taken with his cell phone. It wasn’t the best picture, but the horse didn’t look very good anyway.
Mike had one of his guys make copies and drop them off at the local feed stores. Mike fully expected to hear from some idiot who had no business owning a stallion with a silly story about how the horse got away from him.
Mike put Brody in charge of Ali. He was taking care of the balance of the ranch with Ginny gone. Brody was a big help and he was happy to take over Ali’s care. He and the volunteer, Maryann, spent time with him before and after school and weekend days. They washed and put new ointment in the wounds on Ali’s back and flanks, fed the horse three times a day and brushed the knots out of his mane and tail.
He and Maryann brushed the rest of Ali, except for the area with wounds taking care to miss the sore spots where the cholla stickers had been. They re-iced Ali’s leg to keep the swelling down and called the farrier out to replace Ali’s shoes. Brody and Maryann kept Ali’s stall clean and his water buckets full. They spent time with Ali just talking to him. Ali looked and felt better by the day.
Clyde had the run of the ranch every day. He stopped in to talk with Ali when no one else was around.
“You never did tell me what happened to you,” Clyde said.
“It’s a long story. The last thing I remember was Becky leading me back to our horse trailer after the parade and two guys walking up on me while Becky was in the trailer changing clothes. One of them stuck me with a needle. I saw Becky fall but couldn’t help her. I woke up in a stinky horse trailer on my way up to the mountains.”
“Wow. What happened next?” the dog asked.
“The two guys dropped me off in the mountains with an old man and another horse. He forgot to latch the corral gate a week later and I walked out. I have to find my family!” Ali explained. “I know you’ve been there. Do you know how I can get home?”
“Sure wish I could help you,” Clyde said. “I rode in the truck so I don’t know the way. Maybe when Ginny comes home she will recognize you and help you get home.”
“That’s the most hopeful thing I’ve heard. Thank you. Do you know when she’s coming back?”
“Naw, I just hear bits and pieces of conversation when Mike, he’s the big guy, talks to her. I’m an old dog these days and go to sleep early so don’t really hear much of what he says to her when she calls home at night. What I meant to ask you was how you got those wounds.”
“I was in the forest trying to figure out which way to go and looking for something to eat at the same time. All of a sudden a huge monster jumped on me. It had the biggest teeth I’ve ever seen and huge paws full of long, sharp claws. I’m sure it was trying to kill me. It used those huge teeth to hang on when I reared and tried to run away. I saw it slipping behind me so I used every ounce of strength I had to kick it off and get away. I was scared to death!”
“Really? How big was that thing?” Clyde asked with eyes open wide.
“Bigger than you! It was at least twice your size and then some. It really looked a little like one of the barn cats we have at our barn, just huge.”
“Oh, that will give me nightmares. Some of the barn cats here don’t like me much as it is. I can’t imagine one of them that size.”
“You wouldn’t have liked the other monster that chased me either then. That thing was huge and brown and hairy. It came at me with its mouth wide open and full of sharp teeth. Its paws were gigantic and ended in long claws. That thing sure moved fast for as large as it was. I’m just lucky I’m a horse and could outrun it.” Ali told him.
“Wow. I’m kinda sorry I asked you. Now I will have nightmares for sure.” Clyde admitted.
Ali looked forward to Brody’s and Maryann’s visits to the barn. The wounds on his backside burned a lot less with the ointment and the cleaning. He ate good feed and drank fresh, clean water. They kept the stall deeply bedded so Ali could lie down and take the pressure off his feet for a few hours each day. He felt safe here and enjoyed the companionship of Clyde, Maryann and Brody.
Ginny called Mike every night to report on her day and how Becky was doing. They talked briefly. Mike wasn’t a big talker in the first place. Mike just gave her a running summary of daily activities at the ranch which wasn’t all that much.
Ginny explained there had been no changes with Becky and that she and Sharon O’Neil worked with the Howard horses, helped Luis maintain the ranch, and told him what delightful meal Esperanza prepared for dinner that night. She usually called home after Brody had gone to bed so she didn’t have a chance to talk to him.
Friday night Ginny told Mike that Becky finally had some movement and the nurses told Caroline she might be waking up. There wasn’t much change to report on Saturday, Sunday or Monday nights.
For whatever reason Ginny called around 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday night. Brody answered the phone this time. She hadn’t talked to him in over a
week. She was delighted.
“How are you doing, kiddo? How’s school? What have you been up to?” Ginny wanted to know.
“Did Uncle Mike tell you about the horse that strayed onto our property last Friday?” Brody asked her.
“What horse?” Ginny asked him.
“Well, I was doing my homework and Clyde came in to my room and got me. He let me know he wanted me to follow him and we went out back. There was this poor horse just standing there. He’s skinny, he’s dirty, he was covered in cholla, he’d lost a back shoe, and he was bleeding. Poor guy had blood all over him.”
“No, Uncle Mike didn’t tell me a thing about it. You know your uncle, a man of few words. Guess he forgot. Tell me more about this horse.” Ginny said.
“Well, I thought Uncle Mike would’ve told you since he’s one of those, as he calls them, “Arabian” horses. We put flyers up at the feed stores, but nobody’s called us yet. This poor horse looked pretty sad. Me and Maryann have been taking care of him so Uncle Mike can get the other stuff done, with you gone and all.”
“An Arabian, you said?” Ginny asked.
“Yup. He looks like a purebred to me. He’s really pretty and he’s getting better since we’ve been working with him and feeding him. He must’ve gone without food for a while. He’s not so sucked up now as he was when he got here. Oh, did I tell you he was a stallion? But he’s real well behaved too.”
A light bulb went off in Ginny’s head like a bomb. Walter told her the creeps that stole Ali took him up in the Angeles National Forest and sold him for four hundred bucks. He escaped from there and nobody could find him. Could this be him? How far would that be? She couldn’t fathom. It was quite a distance as the crow flies, but there’s a three or four thousand foot elevation change and so many obstacles Ali would have encountered.
“What color is this horse?” Ginny asked, and then held her breath.
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