The Michaela Bancroft Mysteries 1-3 (35 page)

Michaela stood a few inches taller than Kathleen.
She didn't have time to look. She needed to go after Audrey and tell her about
Bob—bad timing or not.

"Can you see what the hell is going on down
there?" Kathleen exclaimed.

Michaela watched as several handlers tried to calm
Halliday down. Soon an equine ambulance drove onto the track. Flashing Chico
was being led into the winner's circle. Michaela saw Hugh and his wife entering
the circle. A sense of helplessness and sadness came over her. This was not
good.

She turned to see Kathleen slumped down in her
seat. She needed to do her best to comfort the woman. Audrey would soon know
the truth about Bob, and she was angry with herself for not telling her before.
Michaela put a hand on Kathleen's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. It doesn't look
good. They've got an ambulance on the track now."

Kathleen looked up at her, tears rolling down her
face. "They have to save him. They have to save him!" she sobbed.
"I love that horse. Oh dear God, I love that animal. Please help me. I
can't go down there. I can't see him like that."

"Audrey is on her way."

"Can you go, too? I can't do it. I don't want
to know how bad…Just tell them, tell the vets that whatever it takes, please
try and save him."

Michaela nodded. "I'll be back." She
would do what Kathleen wanted not only because she'd requested it, but also
because she needed to reach Audrey first before someone else told her that her
brother had not shown up at the track.

"Thank you," Kathleen whispered.

Michaela made her way through crowds of people,
her stomach lurching. She didn't want to see Halliday in any pain either, but
she understood Kathleen's heartache, and she definitely understood her love for
the animal. Olivia's face flashed through her mind. Had Olivia seen the race?
Wait a minute! She squinted as she caught a glimpse of what looked to be Olivia
up ahead, and…oh no, she was with Steve Benz, holding his hand and weaving
quickly through people. Another man walked alongside them. He appeared to also
be escorting Olivia out at a rapid clip. She called to her, but Olivia didn't
respond. Maybe they were also headed down to the track. She thought about
following her, then realized that her obligations to Kathleen and to Audrey
were more pressing.

When she reached ground level, she couldn't get
past security. "I'm sorry miss, you're not allowed out there."

"You don't understand, I'm with Kathleen
Bowen, the horse's owner. She asked me to speak with the vets." The guard
eyed her up and down. "I'm not some gawker; I am with Mrs. Bowen and she
has requested I speak with the veterinarian. Let me through or lose your
job."

He asked for her name, then spoke into his
walkie-talkie, muttering under his breath as if she were some kind of criminal.
After about fifteen seconds of this bull, Michaela was ready to push him aside.
He finally set the walkie-talkie back in its holder and motioned her on
through. "You're lucky you know the vet. This isn't typical protocol, but
he says you're his assistant," he snapped as she bolted past him.

She wanted to question him but didn't have time.
Her heels caught on the divots of the track as she stumbled out to where the
ambulance was parked. Damn, she should have worn paddock boots. Sure. To the
races. This had been the last thing she expected. She rounded the ambulance,
where the vets and handlers were with Halliday, and saw the reason she'd been
allowed onto the track: Ethan Slater. He glanced in her direction, his blue
eyes filled with an intensity she'd rarely seen in him. He was injecting
something into Halliday's neck.

"NO!" MICHAELA CRIED OUT. THE GROUP, ALL
MEN, turned and looked at her. Ethan motioned her over. "You can't put him
down! You're not euthanizing him, are you?"

"No, I can't. I'm waiting to hear from the
owner. Word is that you're representing her?" He looked confused.

She shot him an equally curious expression, not
clear as to what he was doing at the track almost two hours from home and his
own veterinary practice. "I'll explain later. I didn't know you were
vetting here."

He shrugged. "No time for details. Guys,
let's get him into the ambulance and off the track. The Sedivet is starting to
work. Manny, you and Gordon stay with him. Give me a minute and then I'll be on
board. Michaela, let me help these guys first, then I've only got about thirty
seconds to fill you in on the situation."

She nodded and stood back as six men lifted the
injured horse into the ambulance. The poor animal still wanted to get back on
the track and run, his coat glistening from sweat and probably some pain as the
initial injury was likely being felt by him right about now. Halliday tossed
his head from side to side and let out a sharp whinny. Michaela's heart beat
hard against her chest. She brought her hand up to her mouth to keep from
crying as she watched the animal suffer.

Ethan came back out, sweat causing brown waves of
hair to stick to the sides of his face. "Okay, so I've called ahead. If
Mrs. Bowen wants us to try and save him we can take him to the Rocovich Center
Center down in San Diego. If we can save him through surgery, then that's the
best and closest facility to do it at."

"Yes, that's what she wants. Chances?"

"Right now, I'm not certain how bad the
fracture is. I need to set the splint, get him on an IV for fluids, and shoot
him full of some more painkillers. His head is still in the race. He's a strong
animal. Once we get him down there, and get the X-rays on him, I'll have a
better idea as to where things stand."

"Okay, thank you. Notify me as soon as you can."

"Mrs. Bowen needs to be aware that even if
the break can be fixed, it'll be touch and go for a while, and after that a
long period of rehab. There's the possibility of infection. It will be a long
haul. I've already called in the best surgeon I know. I'll be in there with him,
but Dr. Laube is top-notch."

Ethan started to climb in the ambulance.

"Hey, do you know where Dr. Pratt is?"
She was hoping that Bob had at least communicated with the track vets.

Ethan shrugged. "Didn't show. Partly why I'm
here."

"Call me?" Michaela asked.

Ethan nodded and closed the doors. The ambulance
pulled away.

Michaela watched as they sped from the grounds.
She felt on the verge of tears again. The poor animal…and Ethan. What was he
really doing here? Ethan lived only miles from her in Indio. Memories of
growing up with him interrupted her focus for a minute: hanging out with him as
a teenager, holding his hand through his first heartbreak over Summer when she
left him the day before their wedding, and then standing by as Summer worked
her way back into Ethan's life. She couldn't help wondering if Ethan and Summer
would wind up the way she and Brad had. But now Summer was due to have Ethan's
baby soon. He wanted badly to be a father to the baby, insisting on solidifying
his and Summer's relationship only days after she told him she was pregnant.
That was eight months ago, and since then Summer had done her damndest—and had
done it quite well—to purposely drive a wedge between Michaela and Ethan.

She shook off her thoughts, knowing she needed to
find Audrey and tell her about Bob, and then they could go find Kathleen. The
day at the races had turned quite horrible. She went looking for Audrey. Hadn't
she headed down this way? Michaela glanced around, suddenly realizing she was
still on the track. Turning to get off, she spotted Hugh and his trainer
leading Flashing Chico back to the stalls. She called out to him.

"Michaela, I saw you on the track with the
vet. What did he say?"

She briefly told him what she knew.

"Damn. He's a good horse. The last
anniversary present I gave to Kathleen—for our twenty-fifth." He shook his
head. "I know it won't mean anything to her, but when you see Kathleen,
tell her how sorry I am."

"Sure. Congratulations." She nodded at
the horse.

"Yes; bittersweet win, though. I would rather
Chico had lost and have Halliday be okay than this."

She nodded. "By the way, have you seen
Audrey? I thought she was going down to the track to check on Halliday, but I
can't find her."

"No. Jeez, everyone seems to be disappearing.
I hear Bobby didn't show up to vet today. I don't know what to think. The Eq
Tech folks won't be happy about it. Hell,
I'm
not happy about it. I
helped get him that job there as a favor to Audrey. He's a good man, but I sure
in hell hope he hasn't gone off the wagon. I can't find my wife either. She was
heading out to get a bottle of champagne. Took my jockey with her. And, I
haven't seen my daughter since she was on stage."

Michaela remembered Olivia running out with Steve
Benz and wondered if she should tell Hugh. Probably; but the girl was not a
kid. She was an adult. Still, Hugh was her dad and she knew how much her own
parents worried about her, and she was in her thirties. She'd already had
misgivings about not telling Audrey about Bob, and knew it was a mistake not to
have told her yet. "Uh, I saw Olivia."

"You did?"

"Yes. I saw her leaving with Steve Benz and
another guy. Tall, bald, skinny."

"What?"
both Hugh and his trainer
said in unison.

Michaela caught the trainer's expression as his
hazel eyes darkened. He was also tall; Michaela had noticed a slight limp in
his left leg. He had shaggy brown hair, and some scars from the result of what
had likely been aggravating acne during his teenage years. He brushed his hand
through his hair and quickly introduced himself when he realized that Michaela
was looking at him. "Josh Torrey. I train Mr. Bowen's horses."

"Right. Oh sorry, Josh," Hugh said.
"What do you mean, Olivia was leaving with that Benz character? And who
was the other man?"

"I have no idea."

"Marshall Friedman," Josh said. "I
bet that's who it was. Benz's manager; they've been trying for weeks to track
down Olivia. I told Audrey about it. They were really bothering her. They
probably dragged her out of here to get her away from Audrey."

Michaela hadn't gotten the impression that Olivia was being
dragged anywhere. Yes, they had seemed to be in a rush but it didn't look to be
against anyone's will. Granted, she hadn't clearly seen Olivia's face.

"When did you see this?" Josh asked. Now
he had Hugh's attention. 'I'm only asking for you, sir."

"Yes, when did you see her leaving?"

"When I was running down to the track, I'm
pretty sure it was them."

"That Benz guy is such an ass," Josh
said.

"He's not exactly who I want my daughter
with. Let's get this fellow back to the stall." Hugh patted Flashing Chico's
neck. "Then I'll try Olivia's cell phone."

They rounded the corner to the stalls. Grooms,
trainers, and owners were busy with their horses. Horses' whinnies resounded,
along with the strains of Spanish music being played in some of the tack rooms.

Josh handed Flashing Chico off to one of the
grooms. He went inside the tack room and returned with cell phone in hand.
"You can use my phone to call her," he said, handing it to Hugh.

"Thanks." He started to dial when a
shrill scream rang out. The screaming didn't stop; it grew louder. "What
the hell?" He handed the phone back to Josh and along with Michaela and a
few other people, hurried toward the source, out past the stalls near where the
massive horse trailers and semis were parked. Approaching the scene, Michaela
gasped. Was that Bridgette, Hugh's wife? Yes. What was she standing over, screaming
bloody murder about?

She walked closer, and…Oh, no! No!
No!
She
started running. Hugh got there first. He knelt down while Bridgette continued
to scream. A man stood next to her, his mouth agape. Hugh yelled at her to shut
the hell up. She did. The other man stepped back. This could not be happening.
Michaela stared as Hugh picked up the hand of her friend—Audrey's hand. Then
pulled her body in close to him.
Blood everywhere
. Somewhere behind her
she heard someone calling 911. She couldn't move. Paralysis shrouded her as
reality hit. A pair of reins encircled Audrey's neck; her face was ashen, eyes
bulging out in shock and pain. A terrified look on her face—again not real—like
a mask.
Couldn't it just be a mask?
Please God.

But as Hugh looked back up, tears on his face, she
knew it was no mask. Audrey had been strangled to death and the blood…the blood
was coming from her head. She must have fought. That was who she was—a
fighter—and, whoever had done this was evil, pure evil. The killer had finished
her off with a deep blow to the head. Michaela knew her friend was dead.

AFTER AUDREY'S BODY WAS TAKEN AWAY, THE POLICE
questioned the nearest group, particularly Bridgette and the man who had been
standing next to her, Frederick Callahan. Michaela thought she'd recognized
him, but in all the chaos had not been able to place him. The bad toupee should
have tipped her off. It didn't even match the gray it was attached to: He'd
chosen a golden blond. It was hard for people not to discuss his rug when
talking about media mogul Callahan. Owner of
Pleasures
magazine for men,
he was also an avid racehorse fan and owned several of them.

Michaela caught bits and pieces as to why he was
with Bridgette Bowen and how they'd discovered Audrey. Callahan had been
checking to see if his horse, which was running in the seventh race, had passed
the vet check, claiming he was concerned about a leg. It had looked a bit lame
to him that morning. He heard the scream first and ran to where Bridgette stood
over Audrey.

"I-I was going to the limo." Bridgette
glanced at Hugh.

Michaela studied her as she explained how she'd
found Audrey. Still in shock, Michaela didn't know how to react. She wanted to
fall apart, but knew this wasn't the place to do so with all the police around.
She'd teared up a few times as reality came in waves. Focusing on the others
around her helped keep the horrific reality at bay.