A Secondhand Murder (26 page)

While Rob and Antoine took a look at the first barn and pumped Spelling for information on the operation of the place, I intended to do some exploring of my own. I walked to the other building and entered. Stalls lined either side of the structure. Horses turned their heads in my direction. Stable boys did the same. I scraped my foot against one of the boards that made up the wall of the first stall.

Farther down the aisle I could hear voices and a horse nickering. The sound of the animal intensified to an insistent neigh; then came a loud crash.

“
Shit,” said a voice from that direction. “She almost got me in the balls. Hold her still, would you?”

A lower voice with a soft Mexican accent said, “Sorry, Señor Doctor. She be still now.”

“
Got it.”

I walked to the stall and looked in. The horse there, a mare, had turned her head to keep an eye on a tall man with thinning gray hair who was standing behind her. I don't speak horse, but I could read anger and distress on her long equine face. The same expression was on the face of the short, dark man who stood holding her bridle.

“
If you can't handle these horses any better than that, you can find a job somewhere else,” said the gray man.

“
Hi there,” I said.

Señor Doctor said nothing. He pushed past me with a satchel in his hand and walked out of the barn. The man attending the horse nodded to me.

“
Are you lost, Señora?”

“
Looking for the bathroom. She's a beautiful horse.” I gestured at the animal. “She sure didn't seem to like that guy, whoever he was.”

“
The vet. None of the horses like him.”

“
Why not?”

He looked like he was about to answer me, when a voice outside caught our attention. “Carlos. You in here?”

I recognized the voice. Constance.

“
I need to hide,” I said. “Where?”

The stable man gestured toward a stall filled with hay and feed. I moved into it, pushing myself behind a stack of bales.

I wasn't alone in my hiding place.

“
J
erry,” I hissed. “What the hell are you doing here?” I kept my voice low. Constance's got louder as she moved into the barn and toward the stall where we were hiding. Jerry held his finger to his lips, making a “shh” sign.

“
Is there someone else here?” Constance's voice was demanding, imperious, as if the man had no right to be speaking with anyone.

“
I was talking to the horses, Señora.”

“
Well, stop it. Get to work. Where's Dr. Phillips? Weren't you supposed to be assisting him?”

“
Si, Señora. I was. He left a minute ago.”

I peeked around a bale of hay and saw him point toward the other barn. She strode off, striking her riding crop against her boot.
Slap
.
Slap
. I pitied any horse she might ride.

I left my hiding place and dragged Jerry out by the arm.

“
Thanks,” I said to the attendant. “You didn't have to do that. Hiding me.”

He stroked the mare's flank with tenderness. “No matter, Señora. You expressed concern for this animal, and you don't even know her. They don't care about the horses.” He nodded toward the other barn. “Only money.” He shook his head, his chocolate-colored eyes filled with pain.

“
I know someone who would appreciate a man who respects horses. I'll talk to him. Maybe you can get a job on his ranch.”

“
Gracias
. You are very kind, but no. I need to stay here and give these animals the care they deserve. Who else would do it?”

“
Your name is Carlos?”

“
Carlos Rodriguez.”

Our conversation was interrupted by Constance yelling from the other barn. “Hey, boy, over there. Come here. The doctor needs you again.”

“
I must go now.” With a final pat on the horse's neck, Carlos ran from the stable.

I let myself relax against the front wall of the stall, crossed my arms and turned my attention to Jerry. “Now that we're alone and have a minute, I'd like to know what you're up to.”

“
That's quite a get-up. You don't look anything like yourself. I almost didn't recognize you.”

“
I learned it from you. What gave me away?”

“
I don't know, old girl, but I've known you for years. Maybe it was the way you got yourself into trouble, as usual.”

“
I'm in trouble? How about you?”

“
Evie, baby, let's not argue here. It's not safe. Constance could come back. Or that doctor.”

I heard voices from the barn entrance. It was Spelling, Rob and Antoine. I shoved Jerry behind the feed and bales.

“
I need to talk to you. Stop by the house tonight. Promise me.”

“
I'll be there as long as you don't have any other company.”

“
What other company? Oh, Alex? He's no longer in the picture.”

“
You think.” He scurried to the back of the stall.

“
Enjoying the horses?” Rob walked up to me and put his arm around my shoulder.

“
This is a nice one, but something must be wrong with her. The doctor just left a minute ago. I thought he was being kind of rough with her.”

“
Doctor Phillips has to be firm with these animals,” Spelling said. “They're fully checked out once they arrive here from Argentina and must get a clean bill of health before we sell them to anyone. I can assure you of that.”

“
What do you think, Antoine? How about this animal?” Rob gestured toward the mare.

Antoine moved into the stall and began to move his hands knowingly over the horse. At first she shied at his touch; then, encouraged by his gentle movements, she relaxed.

“
I think we'd like our own vet to take a look at any pony we might buy,” said Rob. Antoine nodded his head in agreement.

“
Let's saddle her up, and I'll take her around the ring,” said Antoine.

While Antoine took the horse out for a ride and the rest of us watched from the paddock fence, Spelling glanced at my shoe.

“
Did you find the facilities?”

“
No, I didn't. I got sidetracked by the doctor and the horse.”

“
You're showing a lot of concern for an animal you admitted earlier you don't even like.”

“
I don't much care for pit bulls, either, but I don't like to see them treated badly.”

“
Well, I can see you don't know a thing about handling horses. You have to show them who's boss.

Rob's attention turned from the ring to Spelling. “On my ranch we take the approach of convincing them that you're not a threat. Humans are meat eaters. A horse gets around us, smells that, and then we try to get up on their backs. They think we're looking for a meal. You have to win them over. Once you do that, they're loyal animals and they'll do just about anything for you.”

“
Polo ponies are different.” Spelling's face reddened and his eyes narrowed in anger. “Most of them are mares, and they're just as difficult to handle as women,” he added, looking directly at me.

Rob stepped between Spelling and me. “Well, I guess my experience with both women and ponies has been different from yours. It's really a matter of gaining their respect, human or equine. You don't do that, you're going to have trouble.”

We left the ranch soon after Antoine had taken his ride on the mare and Rob and Spelling had crossed swords.

“
I don't like that man,” Rob said. “The stable attendants are terrified of him. The horses are skittish and something about that doctor isn't quite right.”

Antoine nodded his head in agreement. “Once she felt comfortable with me, the mare handled well. She'd probably be easy to train as a polo pony. Somewhere along the line, she has learned to be mistrusting of humans.”

“
You know,” I said, “this visit was set up to gather information. The two of you sound serious about buying and training a string of ponies.”

“
Oh, we are. I told Antoine last night that I'd been thinking of expanding. I think it's time for the International Polo Association to see what we cowboys can do when we've a mind to.”

“
Are the two of you going to play?”

Rob and Antoine exchanged glances. “Maybe. Mostly we'll do the training, with a little help from someone who knows the game, and then I can sponsor some of the best players. I've played a little now and then. So has Antoine.”

“
I do pick-up for the rodeos around here, so I'm used to getting in close with the horses. I like it,” Antoine said.

“
Yeah, but with polo, you have a mallet in your hand and you're chasing a ball down a huge field.” I shuddered at the thought of it.

“
Seems easier than chasing a bucking bronc or a twenty-five hundred pound Brahma Bull around a rodeo ring.” Antoine chuckled. “In any case, I'm not certain that I'd want to buy my ponies from that place.”

“
Well, Spelling said they were expecting the arrival of some new horses any day now. Said he'd give me a call. We can take a look at what he's got then.” Rob turned off the county road and onto the highway leading back to Sabal Bay.

I told them what the stable attendant had said about the owners and others at the ranch.

“
I'll keep an eye out when we go back there,” said Rob. “I think you'd better not go with us. Eduardo and his wife will be there. I'm afraid they might recognize you.”

“
Right. I won't go with you then.” I wanted to visit someone else instead.

Who can I trust?
Madeleine, sure, but her propensity for bumping into trouble made her more of a liability than an accomplice—I mean as a snooping partner. I'd all but thrown Alex out on his ear and Napolitani was probably back north. Frida was a cop, which meant she'd be great at undercover work, but what I had planned bordered on the illegal. I couldn't call Max and Grandy away from their work. That left only one person, and he was coming to visit me tonight.

I was working on a scotch when my doorbell rang. I looked through my peephole to make sure it was Jerry. The streetlight illuminated a stranger on my porch. Well, given that he was into disguises, it could have been Jerry, but only if he had managed to shrink about five inches since this afternoon. I switched on the porch light to get a better look.

“
Turn off the damn light. Someone might see me.”

“
I'm not letting you in unless I get a clear look at you. Who the hell are you?”

I couldn't make out his features. From the concave lens of the hole, he appeared to have an animal perched on his rather small head.

“
It's me. Don't you recognize me? I thought you were good at that.”

It couldn't be, could it? “Dwight? You're supposed to be dead.”

“
Well, I'm not.”

“
Go away, whoever you are. Mr. Sanders identified that body himself. You think he doesn't know his own son?” I looked at the scotch in my glass. I hadn't had that much to drink, had I? Maybe I'd lost the ability to hold my liquor.

“
He said that to protect me. Now open up. I need to talk to you.”

“
What's on your head? It looks like an opossum.”

The man pulled the furry mass off his noodle and pushed his face nearer the peephole. “It's a wig. See?”

Sure enough. The face of Dwight Sanders, the little weasel who might have killed his stepmother and surely dumped me out in the swamp, filled the lens.

“
I don't care if you are Dwight. You're a murderer. You tried to kill me. Now get out of here before I call the police.” I wasn't convinced that Dwight was the killer, but why take a chance on letting him into my house?

“
I'm not scared of the police. Call 'em, but let me in first. I swear I wasn't the one who left you to the gators. You've got to listen to me. I know who killed Valerie and who tried to kill you.”

“
Me too. It was you.”

“
No. You've got to help me.”

As he was speaking, a car turned the corner and drove down the block toward my house. Its headlamps swept across my yard and made the porch as bright as daylight.

Dwight turned to look at the car. “Oh shit. They found me. Listen, I saw you and your friends at the ranch this afternoon. You must have figured out what's going on. Meet me there tomorrow night at midnight. I'll explain everything. I can prove that what I'm saying is true.”

“
Wait. Dwight.” I opened the door but he was already gone. Walking to the edge of the porch, I craned my neck around the side of the house toward my backyard. Nothing.

Dwight was wrong. He was giving me too much credit. I hadn't figured out what was going on, but after his visit I was even more intrigued.