The Michaela Bancroft Mysteries 1-3 (55 page)

"Maybe you're right," Olivia replied and
finally stopped pacing. She stood facing the ocean.

Michaela heard the doorbell ring and went inside.
It was Josh. "Got here as soon as I could. She okay?" he asked.

"Yes. She's outside, thinking. Might want to
give her a few minutes before you go out there."

"Thanks for calling me," he said.
"Boy, you have been through it this week, haven't you?"

"We all have, but yes, I will agree that this
has not been the best week. I still don't know what to think about who murdered
Audrey, and I'm really confused about Bob's disappearance."

"I saw Hugh earlier and he said that the
police are releasing Audrey's body tomorrow. He's started making plans for a
funeral service next week."

"Oh. Good. I'll let him know again that if he
needs anything, I can help."

"I'm sure he'd appreciate it. You know he was
in love with her, don't you?"

Michaela slowly nodded. "Did he tell you
that?"

Josh shrugged. "No. Bridgette moved out
today. I told you about the yelling and her tearing down the drive the other
day?"

"Yes."

"Today, she was back and she had movers
picking up her things. I came up to the house to tell Hugh something and she
was screaming at him that she knew about Audrey. After Bridgette took off
again, he told me that he had loved Audrey and they'd planned to get
married."

Michaela didn't know what to say. She already knew
this, but she still had doubts that Hugh's love was sincere. But what would be
his motive to kill Audrey, who everyone claimed he loved? Even Callahan said
that Hugh had been in love with her for two decades.

"Josh?" They both turned to see Olivia
standing in between the French doors that led to the balcony.

"Hey." He walked over and hugged her.

"I'll let you two talk. Would it be okay if I
used your mom's computer, Olivia? I need to check my e-mail."

"Sure."

Josh put an arm around Olivia and they walked back
outside. Michaela beelined it for Kathleen's office. She had a few things to
check before they came back inside.

THE FIRST THING MICHAELA DID ONCE SHE SAT down at
Kathleen's computer was to Google Cara Klein's name. It had been bugging her
for a day that she hadn't had the opportunity to look into the woman. Joe also
hadn't called her with any new information. She seized opportunities whenever
they presented themselves. Now looked as good a time as any.

At first she came across the typical ads for
finding someone by that name, but as she scrolled down to the bottom of the
page she found an article about a woman named Cara Klein who had been the
president of a company called Strong X. The company had filed for Chapter 11
over five years ago, and Cara had stepped down as president and CEO. The
company closed its doors within six months after she'd left. The article went
on to report that a handful of lawsuits had been filed against Strong X, which
was the maker of muscle-and endurance-type supplements for athletes, including
runners, gymnasts, and boxers.
Boxers!
Michaela picked up the phone on Kathleen's
desk and called Joe.

"You home now?" he asked.

"No."

"What?"

"I don't have a lot of time." She
quickly filled him in and he immediately ran with her thoughts.

"Somehow this Cara Klein is linked to Terrell
Jardinière. Sorry I hadn't had a chance to follow up on that lead yet with
her."

"It's okay," she replied and then told
Joe about her encounter with Terrell.

"Oh shit. I follow, Mick. Let me see what I
can come up with. Be careful…and get your ass home!"

"As soon as I can."

She had a strong gut feeling that she was onto
something here. She wasn't sure what it was, but if two and two added up, and
this Cara Klein was the same one that Bob had been dating, there was a link of
some sort. She knew she couldn't go back to see Terrell; there was no way
anyone would let her in. Had Terrell known Cara? Was Cara the missing link to
Bob's disappearance and Audrey's murder?

She went to log off her search and accidentally
hit the back menu button. What she saw made her suck in a deep breath of air.
There on the screen was a copy of Kathleen's itinerary for today. She was
headed to New York City and would be back on Saturday morning. Whirlwind trip.
So maybe she wasn't on the run after all. But that wasn't what had taken
Michaela's breath away. It was who Kathleen was traveling with—Marshall
Friedman. Marshall Friedman's name was on the itinerary. She scowled. In hiding
or not, they were up to no good. Had to be.

Her curiosity aroused, she figured it couldn't
hurt to do a bit of snooping around Kathleen's office. She first checked to
make sure that Josh and Olivia were still out on the deck. They were. Then she
rummaged through a few drawers. The photos she'd discovered had been moved.
What she was looking for, she didn't know.

But she didn't expect what she did find tucked in
with some files inside a leather ottoman that also served as a space saver. She
pulled out a file marked "CHARLIE SAMPSON." The Sampson ranch!
Charlie Sampson had been Audrey's husband. Michaela opened it up and found an
old insurance policy, one that Audrey had taken out on herself with her late
husband as beneficiary. An addendum had changed the beneficiaries to Bob Pratt
and Kathleen Bowen. The policy's face value was three million dollars. Good
grief! With Bob out of the picture, Kathleen stood to inherit a ton of money.

Michaela heard the sliders close, and she quickly
put the file back inside the ottoman. As she closed the lid, Josh said,
"Looking for something?" He stood in the doorway.

"No. I had seen one of these ottomans in the
Pottery Barn catalogue and just wondered how they worked. Great idea. Space
saver thing, you know." She yawned. "I am beat. Everything good with
Olivia?"

"I think so. She's agreed to go with me and
talk to her dad. He'll want to help. It's the right thing to do. Thanks for
calling me."

"Not a problem."

"Hey, I know it's getting late, but I think
your trailer is ready. Juan mentioned it to me today."

"I need to get back home." The last
thing she wanted to do was drive to the Bowen Ranch, even if it meant getting
her trailer back and picking up Geyser. "I'll be here Saturday for the Eq
Tech Gala."

"Oh good. I'm going."

She nodded. "I'll either pick it up Sunday
morning, or I may send my assistant to do it."

"Sure."

Michaela left, sighing as she closed the front
door behind her. Josh had eyed her suspiciously a minute ago, and she wasn't
sure she trusted him. Hell, she wasn't sure
who
she trusted. She had run
the idea of Hugh murdering Audrey over again and again in her head, and it
didn't sit right. She couldn't fathom it. But the
boss man
she'd heard
Juan and Enrique referring to still had her wondering who that might be. Was it
Josh? They all worked at the same place, and Josh held a higher position than
either one of the Perez brothers. But now she had all of these other pieces not
adding up. Terrell, Cara Klein, Kathleen, and Marshall Friedman. She had a long
drive ahead of her. Maybe she'd be able to flesh out her thoughts.

But her thoughts were cut off when she received a
call from Ethan. "You'd better come," he said. "It's
Rocky."

MICHAELA BARELY REMEMBERED THE DRIVE DOWN to San
Diego. She was a mess. Thank God the traffic was moving and a California
Highway Patrol guy didn't spot her speeding, because she probably wouldn't have
stopped until she made it to the center.

The grounds of the Rocovich Center were well lit.
She told the guard at the kiosk who she was, and he waved her through. Ethan
was waiting for her.

"What is it? What happened?"

Ethan shook his head and placed a hand on her
shoulder. "I don't know. We've got him stable now. He's comfortable. I've
sedated him some, and we're going through the paces again with the labs. His
pressure went up after he ate, along with his cortisol and other hormone levels.
He had a seizure, Mick."

"Oh no." Her stomach sank as a wave of
horror made her feel dizzy.

"We're testing him for Cushing's disease,
which typically doesn't occur in a horse as young as he is, but we need to rule
it out. He doesn't look like he has it. He doesn't have the potbelly, or
lethargy and a thick crusty neck. Those are symptoms we would likely see with
that disease. So, I'm also looking into hypothyroidism, which is pretty rare.
It's hard to differentiate between the two though, because with either illness
we're going to see the rise in cortisol levels and other hormones. Now his
glucose levels aren't way off, and he does not seem excessively thirsty, so I
don't think we're looking at diabetes. There are a handful of other
possibilities I'm checking into. He could have a tumor on his pituitary gland,
either benign or malignant. I just don't know yet. What I need you to do is
detail his history for me. Obviously I know what his environment is like, but I
want you to write out his daily schedule: workouts, feedings, all of it. I have
his medical history. And, we have to look at his entire system: cardiac,
respiratory, everything. The thing is, seizures are fairly uncommon in horses.
They can be difficult to diagnose. I've ruled out liver or renal disease. I've
also been able to rule out hyperkalemia, which is a muscle disorder found in
certain lines of quarter horses that can be confused with seizure activity.
I've had a CT scan and MRI done on him and neither shows any type of cerebral
edema. And, I'm running an EEG. He's been started on Diazepam to control any
recurrence of a seizure tonight."

Michaela held up her hand. She'd had enough vet
talk. "Can I see him?"

"Of course. We have him in a padded stall,
and we've considered putting a padded helmet on him, just in case he goes down
again. Right now though, his levels have started dropping and the Diazepam
appears to be doing the job. I'm sorry, Mick. We'll find out what's wrong, and
take care of him."

She followed Ethan through large steel double
doors, where the mixture of antiseptic and familiar horse smells wafted through
the air. They passed a surgical suite and walked through another set of doors.
Once past them, Michaela spotted Rocky and tears sprung to her eyes. He was
inside a stall with his head hung low.

She slid through the stall door and wrapped her
arms around Rocky's neck, stroking him underneath his mane. "Hey guy. I'm
sorry. I'm so sorry. They're going to make you better, okay? I promise. Then,
I'm going to take you home and spoil you with carrots and molasses and a
handful of mares." She smiled through her tears, knowing that if he could
really understand her, he would've liked the sound of all that. He was such a
great animal. She hated seeing him like this. It tore at her heart, her core.
God, she loved him. She stayed in his stall for over an hour like that, talking
to him and stroking him, while Ethan left them alone. Rocky did seem to perk up,
knowing that she was there.

When Ethan came back it was past eleven and her
body and mind felt exhausted. "Listen," he said, "I know you
won't want to check into a hotel; we have beds here. They aren't great, but you
can get some sleep, and that way we can be close by and check on him through
the night."

"I don't want to leave him."

"You won't be. We'll be right through those
doors, and you can come in anytime and see how he is. He looks pretty happy
right now. Once he knew you were here, I noticed he relaxed even more. Come on,
I've made you some tea."

She sighed and squeezed Rocky's neck. "I'll
be back. Okay. I suppose I could use something to drink.

"And eat? I had a pizza delivered."

"I don't know if I can eat much."

"Give it a try. You won't be doing him any
good by starving yourself. Now come on."

She followed Ethan into a break room, where he had
the pizza set out. She'd noticed a few other techs and vets in and out since
she'd been there, but as the night wore on it grew quiet, which was good. She
didn't feel like talking to anyone she didn't know.

They sat down and started in on their late dinner,
eating in peace for a few minutes. She decided maybe it was time to lighten the
mood. "Won't be long until you'll be a dad."

He smiled. "Yeah, I know. Cool. Some day, it'll
be you. You'll be a mom."

"Maybe."

"I'm worried about you, Mick. You look tired
to me. Exhausted, actually."

"Well, you look like you're having sympathy
for your pregnant wife, or are you trying to match her on the weight
gain?" she chided.

"Hey!"

"You told me that I looked exhausted. I can't
jab you back a little?"

"It's only a few pounds. Maybe five."

"Or ten."

"You're a pain in the ass."

"So are you. You really ready to be a
dad?"

"You know what? I am. I can't wait for this
kid to be here. We are going to do everything together."

"I bet you will."

"Summer and I may have had a rough start, but
things have calmed down a lot, and I know she isn't the perfect wife, or…Wait,
let me rephrase that: She actually
is
the perfect wife; she just may not
always be my perfect fit. She's a bit too perfect. Hell, who am I kidding? I
know I should be home with her right now, but she's just so moody, almost angry
all the time." Michaela listened and decided not to put in her two cents.
"But she loves me, and I do love her. I really do." Michaela wondered
who he was trying to convince of that—her or himself. "I know in my gut
that we'll make great parents together. And, I can't wait to be a dad."

"I think that's wonderful."

"It is. Hey, while you're here, do you want
to take a look at Halliday?"