Shadow Horse (9 page)

“Only on one condition.” Miss Hahn looked at Jas with a very serious expression.

“What?” asked Jas warily. She should have known. This was where Miss Hahn was going to show her true colors. This was where she was going to demand that Jas forget all about Whirlwind and leave Hugh alone.

“He’s
your
project. You take care of him. You retrain him.”

Jas stared at her, totally taken aback. “Sure,” she blurted.

“Then come on,” Miss Hahn said, sounding like a kid about to get into trouble. “Let’s go buy a horse.”

SUNDAY MORNING, THE DAY AFTER THE AUCTION
, Jas finally got to see her grandfather. He was sitting in a wheelchair in front of the dayroom window, his back toward her. Jas would have recognized him anywhere, even though he was thinner and shorter.

“Grandfather!” Rushing over, Jas sank to her knees and buried her face in his stomach so he wouldn’t see her tears.

His right hand pressed against her head, and she could feel his fingers tremble. “Jas-s.” He slurred her name.

Looking up, Jas could see that his mouth was crooked. One side of it was tilting up in a smile, while the other was frozen in a straight line. “I’m so glad to see you, Grandfather. I missed you so much.”

He nodded, tears filling his own eyes. “Me too.”

“How have you been?” Sitting back on her heels, Jas studied him. “Are they taking good care of you?”

He nodded, drool trickling from the side of his mouth. His hair was sticking up in gray wisps, and his eyes were cloudy. Jas wanted to cry out loud at the change in him. A month ago, even at the age of sixty-eight, he’d been strong enough to lift two bales of hay.

“I’m etter every ay,” he said, patting her shoulder with his right hand. His other hand lay by his side, the fingers curled loosely. Ducking his head, he gestured toward a straight-backed chair under the picture window. “Sit.”

When Jas went to get the chair, she looked around the dayroom. It was decorated in pastels. The sun streamed through the huge window. Games, magazines, and books were strewn on several tables. Only no one was reading or playing. One woman watched TV, her head flopped to the side, while several other patients shuffled randomly across the shiny tile floor.

“Your doctor’s going to talk to me after
our visit,” Jas said, setting the chair in front of him. “Miss Hahn, my foster parent, brought me today. She’ll bring me back on Wednesday, too. I tried to see you before, but the visit had to be written into my schedule and I had to obey all these rules and …”

Raising a thin, blue-veined hand, Grandfather stroked Jas’s hair.

She caught his hand and held it to her cheek. “Oh, Grandfather, nothing is right.” Jas struggled with what to say.

“I know.” His eyes watered. “Il came to ee me.”

“What?” Jas asked, not sure what he was saying.

“Il arks.”

“Phil
came to see you.”

“Ee told me everything.”

Jas pressed his palm hard against her cheek. “Did he tell you that I attacked Hugh and that I’m on probation? I can’t ever go to High Meadows again.”

“Good! I on’t ant you ever on at farm again.”

Twisting his hand, he grasped Jas’s fingers and squeezed them tightly, and she could feel the conviction of his words.

“Why don’t you want me on the farm again?”

“Ecause Hugh is …” He took a shuddering breath. “E-vil.” He pronounced the words with such effort that Jas could feel his arm shake.
Grandfather knew
.

“What else did Phil tell you?”

“Ee said ee thinks Hugh killed Irlwind.”

“Yes! I think he killed Whirlwind, too. But why, Grandfather? Does Phil know?”

He shook his head.

“Is he going to find out?”

He shook his head again. “Worried about is ob.”

“He doesn’t want to lose his job. I understand.” Phil had two teenage sons in college and a daughter ready to graduate from high school. Hugh paid him a good salary. If he was fired, he’d have to start all over.

“Well,
I’m
going to find out,” Jas stated. “I have nothing to lose. Except you.” Jas clamped both hands around his, suddenly afraid to let go.

Her grandfather swung his head violently. “Oo stay away from Hugh!”

“I won’t go near him. Promise. But if you help me, we can figure out why Hugh killed
Whirlwind. You must have an idea, Grandfather.”

“Orget about Hugh. As oon as I am well, we’ll leave Stanford.” Struggling to lean forward, he drew in a ragged breath.

“All right,” Jas agreed quickly. “Now calm down. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

He slumped back in the wheelchair, his breathing ragged. Jas jumped up, searching anxiously for a nurse. Miss Hahn stood in the doorway.

Jas’s heart fell to her knees. How long had she been there? Had she heard what they were saying about Hugh?

“I’m not ready to go yet,” Jas said, her voice quivering with anger.

“That’s fine,” Miss Hahn said. “The doctor wants to see us both. I’ll tell her it will be a few more minutes.”

Arms rigid by her sides, Jas watched her leave. Her grandfather tugged on her hand. “Jas-s-s,” he said. “You eed to orget about Irlwind.”

“But I can’t,” Jas declared. “I can’t forget about Hugh, either. Too much has happened. I’m just now realizing what kind of person he is.”

Her grandfather made such a strange sound that Jas looked down at him. One side of his mouth was tilted almost wickedly, and she could see a trace of his crafty old self.

She grinned back at him. “I knew you’d understand. I knew you’d help. Especially since he accused
you
of putting the yew in the paddock. The snake.” For a second, the thought of what Hugh had done made her tremble with anger; then she turned her attention back to her grandfather. “Now we need to get you well. Is there anything I can do?”

He nodded. “Alk to Dr. Anvers.”

“Dr. Anvers? But I thought your doctor here was named Bindera?”

“It is. I ant you to alk to Anvers.”

“Dr. Danvers! You mean Hugh’s vet?” Jas’s eyes widened.

“Ee ad to ex-am-ine Irlwind after she died,” her grandfather continued, his voice insistent.

“Why would he examine Whirlwind if she was dead?” Jas asked, not understanding.

“Insurance.”

Jas’s mouth dropped open.
Of course! Insurance!
Why hadn’t she thought of that? Hugh insured all his horses against accidental
death. “Do you think he killed her for the insurance money?”

Grandfather shrugged, although only one shoulder was able to move. She touched his cheek. His face was pale with exhaustion.

“Hey, that’s enough for today. I don’t want to wear you out completely,” she said, patting his arm. Someone had dressed him in a short-sleeved dress shirt and polyester slacks. Ever since she could remember, he’d worn jeans hitched up with suspenders and a long-sleeved denim shirt.

“I need to bring you some work clothes,” she said. “That’ll make you feel more like your old self.”

He nodded in agreement. “Tell me ow you are.”

“I’m okay. Miss Hahn, my foster parent, runs this farm for rescued horses,” she said, choosing her words carefully. She didn’t want to scare her grandfather with her suspicions about Miss Hahn and Hugh. “Yesterday, we went to a killer auction and bought a horse. I’m supposed to work with him as part of my probation agreement.”

Jas’s voice rose in excitement as she talked about the big horse. “I named him Shadow,
because he likes to hide in dark corners. You wouldn’t believe what a mess he is, nothing like Whirlwind or Hugh’s other horses.”

She told her grandfather about spotting Shadow and realizing he had the same illness as Pocomo Pete. Then she went on to tell him how the horse was so weak that they practically had to lift him into the trailer.

“Chase, a boy who works at the farm, he and I had to link hands behind Shadow’s hindquarters and push him into the trailer while Miss Hahn pulled. We finally got him back to the farm, and tomorrow Miss Hahn’s vet will be in to examine him and—”

“Miss Schuler?” a voice cut in.

Jas turned. A nurse with a friendly smile had come up beside Grandfather’s wheelchair. “Dr. Bindera would like to speak to you now. Besides, it’s time for your grandfather’s nap.”

“Oh, right.” Jas glanced back at her grandfather. His eyelids were drooping. “I think I wore him out.”

“No, you relieved his anxiety. He’s been very worried about you. And now that he’s seen you, I think he’ll be able to relax and concentrate on his therapy. We need to get him up and walking.”

Jas stood up. Grandfather’s chin had dropped to his chest and he was snoring softly. She touched his hand one last time, then followed the nurse into the hall.

Jas tensed up when she saw Miss Hahn sitting in the office with Dr. Bindera.

On the drive over, Miss Hahn had asked Jas if she could listen in on the conversation with the doctor, explaining that she’d gone through the same thing with her mother. Jas hesitantly answered yes. She might be able to take care of herself, but she knew she couldn’t take care of her grandfather. She didn’t know the first thing about nursing homes or strokes.

But after catching Miss Hahn listening in on her conversation with her grandfather, Jas wasn’t sure if she wanted anything from this woman.

“Your grandfather is doing well, Miss Schuler,” Dr. Bindera, a plump woman with pitch-black hair, said, gesturing to a chair. “He’s very determined, and his previous strength and good health have given him an edge in recovery. Plus, his mind was not affected by the stroke, so he was lucky.”

“Good.” Jas sat down, her hands clasped in her lap. “How long will he have to stay here?”

“That’s hard to say. It depends on his progress. His left side suffered quite a bit of paralysis. Since he is right-handed it won’t affect him quite as much. We will continue working daily on his speech and strength.”

“I guess that’s good news.” Jas hoped the doctor was being straightforward with her. If she was, then it sounded as if Grandfather was getting excellent care. Hugh had kept his end of the deal. When they left the nursing home five minutes later, Miss Hahn asked, “Did you have a nice visit with your grandfather?”

“You should know,” Jas retorted.

Miss Hahn stopped in the middle of the parking lot. “Pardon me?” she asked.

Jas shot her an angry look. She couldn’t believe the woman was going to pretend she hadn’t been eavesdropping. “Never mind.” Striding ahead, Jas yanked open the car door and slid into the seat. She wasn’t going to say another word. She wasn’t going to give Miss Hahn anything more to tell Hugh.

“Dr. Bindera seemed very competent,” Miss Hahn said a few minutes later as she started the car. “Speaking of doctors, Dr. Danvers will be at the farm tomorrow afternoon to check Shadow.”

“Dr.
Danvers?”
Jas repeated, turning to face her.

“Yes, he’s the farm’s veterinarian. He donates quite a bit of his time.”

Jas’s heart thumped excitedly. She couldn’t believe her luck.

“Shadow will have to stay in quarantine until Dr. Danvers gives him a clean bill of health,” Miss Hahn went on.

But Jas wasn’t listening. She was thinking about Dr. Danvers. She had been wondering how she was going to contact the vet. Calling him up to ask him questions about Whirlwind would seem too suspicious.

But now he was coming to Second Chance Farm, and all Jas had to do was just
happen
to mention Whirlwind. That would definitely appear pretty normal.

Jas wanted to grin, but she didn’t dare. Miss Hahn might figure something was up. This could just be the break she needed to find out why Hugh had killed Whirlwind.

“
YOU WERE RIGHT, JAS,
”
DR. DANVERS SAID AS
he capped the vial of blood and stuck it in the pocket of his coveralls. “This horse acts just like Pocomo Pete’s twin. The blood tests will tell us for sure if he has a thyroid condition. Until then, I’m starting him on the treatment anyway.”

“Great.” Jas stroked Shadow’s neck. He hadn’t moved during the entire examination, even when Danvers pushed the needle into his neck. In fact, he was so listless that Jas was beginning to worry. Even a crisp, sweet-smelling section of alfalfa hay hadn’t tempted his appetite.