Cassie's Hope (Riders Up) (23 page)

Tug smiled. Scratching
his chin thoughtfully, he confided, “I kinda always wanted to do that someday. Never
been much for sales. I like to grow my own. But I’m gettin’ long in years for
growin’ much. Maybe Cassie’d like to work with some better quality horses.”

Looking at the other
man sharply, Clint raised his eyebrows. “You don’t think this is just a six
month thing with Cass, do you?”

“Maybe, maybe not.”
The old man ran a hand up and down his arm. He hesitated. “My daughter’s still
tryin’ to find herself. This life is in her blood just as surely as a Pulpit
filly is going to show stamina and distance. I’ll put my money on my girl takin’
this racing stable to a new plateau.” He stopped long enough for Clint to
blink. “You wanna take that bet?”

“Not at all,” Clint
said. He wasn’t sure he liked what the old man had in mind. If Cassie really
took a strong interest in a horse training career, would that make it easier
for them to forge their future together? Or more difficult?

Answers remained
hazy. But it was very clear her dad was as crafty and cagey as his own
grandmother. Both were forces not to be underestimated. There were moments when
he, too, believed that horses were in Cassie’s blood, even if she wasn’t ready
to own that fact.

“Whatever Cassie
winds up doing, we have to nab whoever’s trying to mess it up for her,” Clint
said, refocusing their conversation on something they could do something about.

“You’re right about
that.” The old man nodded apprehensively. 

Getting up from his
chair, Clint suggested, “Let’s go into the kitchen table where we can spread
papers out for you to look at. I’ve been compiling a number of lists. Maybe
something will pop out at you.”

“Sounds fine to me,”
Tug muttered, “I need a coffee refill anyway.”

Clint studied the
older man as he eyeballed the lists. Cassie’s father might still be recovering
from a stroke, but there wasn’t anything wrong with his mind. He ran a finger
down each list, pausing over a name now and then. He cussed at a few and smiled
at others. Clearly, he was reliving old friendships and old enmities, and that
was precisely what Clint had hoped for. Maybe something helpful would emerge
from prodding those memories.

“So, you don’t know
of any old scores to be settled, or trainers who are simply jealous, or jocks
who thought they were treated unfairly? No name jumps out from those lists of
trainers, jockeys and owners?”

“Nope, nothin’
rings a bell,” Tug said, handing the sheets of paper back to Clint. “I coulda
missed somethin’, but I don’t think this thing is personal.” His voice thickened.
“Someone just doesn’t wanna compete against one of the best horses on the
backstretch.”

“Yeah, guess so,” Clint
said, draining his cup of coffee. “I think we’ll know for sure soon enough.”

“What’s your plan?”
Tug leaned forward over the kitchen table. “I knew you’d come up with somethin’.”

“I’ve checked with
the stewards. They’ve agreed for us to have two video cameras trained on the
paddock area and on the filly throughout the post parade and at the starting
gate. It took some persuading, but they realize that track detectives are known
by almost everyone at the track except the casual bettor. We’ll be less
obvious. I’ll be very surprised if we come up empty. Of course, there may be no
attempt to drug the horse on Saturday. They may wait until the Land of Lincoln.”

Tug shook his head.
“No, I think they’ll try. It’s a feelin’, I suppose. Almost like the challenge
to get away with it is bigger than the result. Sort of like a bettor or a
trainer keeps bettin’ or pushin’ a horse ‘cause they don’t think they can lose.”

“You may be right. This
may be about things we haven’t even considered. Somebody is going a long way to
see that a horse doesn’t perform well. Not in just one race. It’s like they
want to destroy the horse’s career.”

The old man laughed
and then wheezed. He struggled to catch his breath and then lifted his coffee
cup in a mock toasting gesture. “Sort of like that backstabbin’ Harrington
tryin’ to get Cassie to believe you were behind it all. He’d like to put his
brand on Cass, but that’ll never happen.”

“What!” Clint
exclaimed. A sudden chill filled the room. “Cassie thought I drugged the horse?
I wasn’t even here.”

He felt the blood
leave his face and stood to catch his breath. Backing against the kitchen sink,
rubbing his brow with taut fingers, he gasped for air. “She thought I did it?”

“Only briefly,
until I set her straight. Well,” Tug backpedaled, “I doubt if she actually ever
believed it. Though Harrington told her you didn’t have to be here to do it. You
could’ve paid someone to do the dirty work. He said you might be tryin’ to stop
her from trainin’ horses so she would go away with you.”

The old man coughed
loudly. “Course, I pointed out to Cass that Harrington could have the exact
same motivation, make her fail so he could take over our horses and come to the
aid of a fair lady in distress.”

Tug scowled at
Clint. “Now, I don’t for a minute believe Cass really thought you were behind
all our troubles.”

Clint hardly heard Tug’s
efforts to qualify his earlier words. A wave of hurt and rage washed through
his body. His chest collapsed and his brain could not put two coherent thoughts
together. He glanced down at his quivering hands.

 “Thank you, Mr. O’Hanlon,”
Clint mumbled through clenched teeth. “I’ve got to get out of here.”

- o -

Cassie sat in the
visitor’s lounge hugging the young slim girl tightly to her body. After Daisy’s
stomach had been pumped of enough amphetamines to kill her, she’d been
transferred to a secure residential treatment center.

In spite of how
much Raul had teased Cassie about coming back to the group home before her
leave was up, he’d seldom called on her, even in times of serious crises during
the past several weeks. But Daisy’s case had gone beyond serious, and Cassie
was one of the few people who had a relationship with the girl that might make
a difference. He and Cassie had always discounted Daisy’s contention that her
half sister would eventually want her to come live with her.

Cassie had heard
that fantasy from the moment the waif of a girl had stepped through the doorway
over a year before. “As soon as Maxine is settled in, I’m out of here,” was the
story. And no amount of reasoning could dissuade her from that notion. She’d
clung to it like a life preserver.

Raul said the call had
come in around six o’clock the prior evening. Daisy’s sister didn’t want to
hear from her again. They hadn’t lived together since their grandmother died. Maxine
was getting on with her life, and she expected Daisy to do the same, one way or
the other.

Daisy had gone
berserk, screaming, pulling the phone out of the wall and dashing out of the
house. The evening staff were unable to locate her. The police had been called.

Finally, long after
dark, Daisy had been found lying face up in the grass near the intersection of
Forty Seventh Street and Lake Shore Drive, rain pelting her unconscious body. She
was lucky she hadn’t died of hypothermia. Ironically, maybe the drugs had kept
her body humming enough to resist the chill.

Now Raul had
finally gone home to get some much needed rest. Daisy was certainly safe where
she was. And she would likely be there under observation for at least thirty
days. Cassie had already gotten a commitment from her to cooperate with staff. The
suicide attempt was a cry for help. Now the question was whether Daisy would
accept the help given her.

“You knew all
along, didn’t you?” Daisy sobbed softly. “That Maxine wouldn’t take me in.”

“Not for sure.”
Cassie said, rubbing the girl’s back. “But I was afraid this might happen. That’s
why I talked so much to you about thinking through all your options.”

“But I didn’t
listen.”

“No, not much.”

“Guess I’ve really
made a mess of things this time.”

“I’m just happy
they found you in time. We need to look ahead, not back.” Cassie’s own words
jarred her like alarms from a dozen clocks. What nonsense. Hadn’t that advice
been at the core of many of her own difficulties? People who loved her didn’t
want to talk about the past, so it just hung there like a large millstone
around her neck. No, she would do better than that by Daisy.

“What I just said—about
not looking back—that was wrong. You’ll need to look into your past to
understand what went wrong last night. But you don’t have to remain mired down
by it, either. We all have to look at our demons, maybe name them, maybe make
peace with them, and then move on. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

The girl nodded. “I
think so. Will you help me do that? Try to understand what happened, and move
on.”

“Of course I will. And
Raul will help. And the folks working here will also help. The important thing
to know right now is that you are not alone. You have a lot of people who care
about you and love you.”

“I feel so stupid,”
Daisy said, glancing away from Cassie. “Maybe I knew all along that Maxine
wouldn’t take me. Maybe I just didn’t want to believe. Maybe I was afraid to
believe.”

Daisy scrunched her
thin legs up against her chest and wrapped her arms around them, holding
herself rigid. “Stupid. Not just alone, but really dumb. Embarrassed. I didn’t
know what to do. I didn’t think. I know I raged and made a big scene. I just
wanted out of there, big time. Just away, where no one could see me or would
tell me
I told you so
.”

“That had to be a
terrible time for you. It must have been a night of pure terror.” Cassie smiled
softly and held the girl’s hands. “And all that you say about knowing and not
wanting to believe may be true. But it’s not important to figure it all out at
once. You’ve got plenty of time. Let’s not try to press it. You’re not alone. You’re
safe. You’re loved. And you want to get your life together. That’s a very good
start.”

“So after this
place, will they send me to another foster home, or can I go back to the group
home with you and Raul?” The girl’s voice rose with a modicum of hope.

Cassie shuddered. She
wished she could tell Daisy what she wanted to hear, but she couldn’t. “To be
honest, I’m not sure. It’s far too early to tell. You’re fifteen. It’s unlikely
the court will allow you to live on your own. Perhaps we could get approval to
start working with you toward some kind of supported emancipation when you’re
sixteen. But I’m sure there must be some foster parents out there who would
love to have a girl like you.”

“Right. Fat chance
of that.” Daisy’s face fell. “Like only those who want the money would take me.
I’d rather stay at the home with you guys. All I want is to be some place where
people care for each other.”

“I know, honey,”
Cassie said, lifting the girl’s chin up so she could look her in the eye. “I
promise that I will do what I can to make sure that happens. Will you promise
to do your best to be honest with the folks around here and work on your stuff?
They will likely give you a lot of tests. Don’t play games with them. Let’s get
you back on your feet and out of here so you can get on with putting your life
together. Okay?”

“‘Kay, I’ll do my
best,” Daisy whispered, a slight grin crossing her lips.

“Good, that’s all
anyone can hope for. Come give me another hug. It looks like this nice young
fellow is here to talk with you,” Cassie said, nodding in the direction of a
counselor. “Staff will probably keep you quite busy for awhile. I’ll check in
on you in a day or two. People here have Raul’s number and mine. If you need to
talk to one of us, don’t hesitate to call. You take care.”

“Yeah, you too.”

- o -

“I want them on the
next plane back to Salt Lake.” Clint kept his voice calm and level with great
effort but refused to meet his sister’s gaze in the Palmer House suite.

 “Aren’t you
overreacting some?” Silver Hawk asked. “Your pain is obvious. But have you
talked to Cass? Have you heard her side of the story? Have you given her a
chance to explain?”

“There’s nothing to
explain,” Clint responded coldly.

“I’m supposed to
run one of the video cameras on Saturday, remember?” Silver Hawk stood her ground.

“I’ll hire someone.
We’ll catch the bastard.” He closed his hands into fists and opened them slowly.
“I want to see her face when she learns that it’s not me who’s drugging her
damn horse.”

“I don’t think that’s
going to shock her,” his sister said, hands on her hips. “I know the mood you’re
in. You’re hurt and confused, and you’ve shut down. Don’t do something stupid
you’ll regret for the rest of your life. You’ve got an incredible woman ready
to love you. Don’t throw her away by being a stubborn ass.”

Absently, Clint ran
a hand through his thick hair. “Thought you didn’t like her.”

“I told you that
wasn’t true. I just didn’t know her. Now I do, maybe better than you.” Silver
Hawk arched an eyebrow. “Apparently, much better than you. You’re letting hurt
and rage blind you to your own heart.”