Chapter Thirteen
I arranged we’d meet Maddox the following evening.
I didn’t want to risk blowing our cover or raising unwanted questions by driving off the property late at night; and I couldn’t be certain of a meeting spot on the farm where we wouldn’t be observed.
Maddox did tell me he wasn’t investigating Jessica, reiterating that the farm had only cropped up in connection to the case, and that they weren’t his primary concern.
Yet as I went to sleep that night, I wasn’t sure he was telling me the whole truth.
Something had enticed him to conduct surveillance at the farm.
What was it?
And did it have anything to do with Jessica Casey’s death?
When I awoke in the morning to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and croissants, I was none the wiser. By the time I’d pulled on the dried jodhpurs, a sweatshirt, and thick socks, Lily was buzzing around the kitchen.
“I made breakfast!” she declared, thrusting a slip of paper at me. “And someone posted your schedule under the door so eat up! We need to get going!” She passed me a coffee and pointed to the table where she’d put a heaped plate of croissants and a jar of jam.
“This is nice,” I said, taking a seat. “Very cozy.”
I scanned the schedule and frowned. “I have no idea how to do any of this.” The notes indicated I was teaching two clinics in the morning and another two in the afternoon.
Various horses’ names were also printed on it.
At least, I thought they were horses. It was entirely possible there were some crazy parents out there who’d called their kids Strawberry Moon and Neptune.
That made me wonder what Solomon and I would call our kids.
I hadn’t thought about it too much but now it was in my head, I could think of nothing else.
Would we go classic? Or pick something original?
Did we want our kids’ names in the Top 100 of the Year lists or would we go for something unique? Would our kids even like their names?
I liked my name. Lexi suited me perfectly, far better than Alexandra did, although my full name was pretty and had gravitas…
especially when hissed by my mom when she was pissed.
Had she and my dad agonized over names for weeks?
Months? Or had they always known what they wanted?
Was naming me, their fifth child, easier than naming their first?
It was probably better to wait until I was pregnant to start planning names. Maybe we’d get lucky next month.
Or the one after.
“You look deep in thought,” said Lily, sliding onto the chair opposite, a half-eaten croissant in hand.
“I was thinking about what I’d name my future baby.”
“Lily,” said Lily promptly.
“That would be confusing.”
“She could be Little Lily.”
“What if it’s a boy?”
“I didn’t think of that.”
“Do you want to be called Big Lily for the rest of your life?”
Lily grimaced. “Lily Pad would be cuter.”
“I think Solomon should get a say in the naming of our hypothetical child.”
“Why? You’ve been married for three minutes. We’ve been friends for decades.”
“You can make that argument to him.”
“I don’t think I should third wheel your marriage.”
“It’s never bothered you before.”
“True, and I guess it doesn’t bother me now,” said Lily before she popped the last bite into her mouth. “My vote is for Lily.”
In the minutes between waking and reaching the kitchen, I’d formulated a vague sort of plan for the day. I needed to find and examine Jessica’s damaged body protector. Even though it wasn’t the kind of equipment I was used to, I felt sure I’d be able to identify any obvious signs of sabotage.
However, my first task of the day would be to maintain my undercover role, something I was ill prepared for, but I had a plan for that too. Coffee cup in hand, I headed to my bedroom and returned with a small box that Solomon had added to my luggage.
“I need you to help me fudge horse and riding terminology,” I told Lily, passing an earbud-and-mic button set to her. “We’ll use these to communicate. If you stay nearby and watch the riding clinics, you can tell me what to tell the riders to do.”
“Ooh, exciting,” said Lily with a grin as she attached the mic button onto her sweatshirt’s collar.
I pushed the earpiece into my ear and fixed my mic button onto my collar, then walked across the room. “Testing, testing,” I said softly into my collar.
“Hearing, hearing,” came Lily’s voice clearly in my ear.
“We have a few minutes to get there. Let’s go,” I said. I swallowed the last of my coffee and deposited the mug in the narrow dishwasher. I pulled on my boots, grabbed another croissant, and we headed out the door.
Two stable hands, TJ and Carl, walked past our garden gate, deep in conversation, and we followed them to the school where the schedule indicated we should be.
Instead of going directly in, I took a moment to watch the busy comings and goings of the farm.
Several horses were tied outside the stables with Brittany and her friends grooming them, Clare was pushing a wheelbarrow across the yard, and Tommo was mucking out a stall, his back to us, quickly filling another wheelbarrow with dirty straw.
There was the impression everyone had been hard at work for hours and yet my watch barely ticked eight AM.
Kenzie and Becca walked past us with two large horses and headed down the track to the school. One of them opened the gate and they both passed through. The second took both horses’ reins and led them into the middle of the school, while the first shut the gate, then hurried to rejoin them.
“They must be Delphinium and Buffy,” I said, reading the schedule. “Delphinium has been lame and needs to get her fitness back, and Buffy needs some reschooling but is showing promise as an eventer. Oh. It says here Buffy has some separation anxiety. Shouldn’t she see a therapist about that?”
“I think Buffy is the horse,” said Lily.
I grimaced. Thankfully, there wasn’t anyone close to us to hear my mistake.
We headed down the track, making a plan for Lily to linger nearby while I went inside. “Just stand in the middle as soon as they start moving and you’ll be fine,” said Lily.
“They’re huge,” I said as we got closer. “What if they decide to trample me?”
“Shout at the riders to get back on track.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“You’ll be fine. If you can go undercover as a gym instructor and who knows what else, you can manage shouting at people.”
“I’m not worried about that,” I said, in case she thought I was in over my head. “I’m worried that someone else will realize I have no clue what I’m doing.”
“Shout at them too.” Lily gave me a little push through the gate and I stepped into soft ground. “If it really starts going wrong, have a meltdown.”
“Ready?” I called to Kenzie and Becca as I approached them. Their horses’ tails swished as they waited.
“From the front!” said Lily into my ear.
I adjusted my direction, circling around the horses to approach their heads. The horses didn’t seem to care and Kenzie and Becca waited patiently. “Okay,” I said. “Let’s, uh, see them walking.”
“Do you want us to mount?” asked Becca.
“Not yet,” I said. “I’d like to see the horses walk first. It’s part of my process.” It was also how I planned to take up time in the lesson.
“Okay,” agreed Becca and shrugged. She gave the reins a gentle tug, made a clicking noise with her tongue, and the horse stepped forwards, following her.
Kenzie followed and they made for the edges of the school, walking casually around the periphery.
By the third pass, I was bored of watching them and fed up with the pungent horse and sawdust smell.
“Shall we keep going?” called the Becca.
“Yes,” I called back. “Keep going. That’s great.”
“Tell them you want to see a more active walk,” said Lily.
“I want to see a more active walk,” I called and the riders increased the pace, the horses gliding past effortlessly. “Very good. Yes, that’s what I want to see.”
“What are you looking for?” asked Kenzie.
“Their paces,” said Lily.
“Their paces,” I repeated.
“Their paces?” repeated Kenzie.
“Yes, and, uh, I’m monitoring their fluidity for, uh, any stiffness and, uh, issues. All looks good,” I said, and gave them the thumbs-up.
“Nerd,” said Lily.
“Nerd,” I said loudly.
“Pardon?” called Becca, flashing me a quizzical look.
“I said, head nods are nice.” I glared at Lily, now resting her arms on the fence, her chin on top of her arms, and she held her hand in front of her mouth, trying to avoid laughing.
Becca frowned and said nothing.
“Great posture,” I continued, throwing myself into the role with a few compliments. “Nice legs. Looking good… um… Buffy.”
“Shall we mount up?” asked Kenzie.
“Yes. Good call. Mount up, please.” I waited while they both approached a big block, climbing up the steps, then throwing their legs over the horses’ backs and settling into the saddles.
“Okay, please continue with an active walk in the opposite direction. Very nice. Great. Good job, everyone,” I said, then quietly, “Lily, tell me what to say.”
“Tell them to go in figure eights and then you want to see trotting.”
I repeated that and the horses sprang into action, moving about the school as I watched.
The horses were beautiful, finely muscled with glossy coats, and beautifully combed manes and tails.
Their saddles were an elegant English style, sleek and stylish compared to the Western style I’d ridden on.
Their hooves shone, their eyes were alert and sparky, and if there was anything wrong with either of them, I couldn’t see it.
Whatever I was supposed to be rehabbing was a mystery to me.
“What should we do now?” asked Kenzie as she passed me again, gliding in a diagonal line across the school.
“Change directions,” said Lily.
“Change directions,” I repeated, listening as Lily continued. “Uh, Kenzie, you switch directions for two turns around the school. Then change again. Right. Yes. That’s it. Becca, go in the opposite direction!”
Neither replied but Kenzie peeled off at the corner, and switched back, sending her horse in the opposite direction. The horse began to toss its head, snickering and prancing, fighting to rejoin its friend while the rider attempted to keep the horse on track.
“Good job,” I called. “Keep going.”
“What should I do?” called out Becca.
“Keep doing what you’re doing,” I called back. “You’re doing a good job too.”
I kept up the running patter for another twenty minutes, having them change directions at Lily’s prompting, slowing, and speeding up. When I called time, they directed their horses into the middle of the school.
“What do you think?” asked Kenzie.
“Interesting, very interesting,” I said, rubbing my chin as if I were contemplating. “I think the real question is what do you think?”
“Buffy handled nicely,” said Kenzie. “The separation anxiety is noticeable but we can work with it. She was okay once she realized she wasn’t that far away from Delphy. She hasn’t been here very long so maybe she’s just lonely. We could try putting her in the paddock with one of the donkeys?”
“Great thinking. Yes, I like it.”
“And we could ride her out with different horses so she isn’t alone but doesn’t get fixated on any one particular horse.”
“Yes, let’s try that out,” I agreed. “And you?” I said to Becca. “What do you think?”
“I didn’t notice any signs of lameness coming back. Delphy wasn’t stiff at all and she was really responsive.”
“Excellent,” I said, nodding along. “You’re correct. Really good assessment.”
“Thanks.” She grinned, pleased.
“Yes, let’s try that,” I agreed. “And Kenzie… Buffy’s eventing potential? How do you feel about that?”
She brightened, patting Buffy’s neck. “Jessica said she’s got a lot of potential but she’s the only one who’s ridden her over jumps so I guess…” She trailed off, uncertain now.
“You probably should too,” I said. “Are you up for it?”
She grinned. “Yes, I am.”
“Great. Sounds like we’ve got a plan. Okay, that’s it for today. Thank you.”
I headed to the gate and Lily beamed when I got there. “You did great,” she said. “You sounded professional.”
“I did, didn’t I?” I held the gate open for Kenzie and Becca and they filed past. I kept the gate open for Becca and Carl and their horses to enter.
As I closed the gate, Harvey walked down to stand next to Lily. “Do you mind if I observe?” he asked me, nodding towards the school.
“Of course not,” I said even though I hoped he would get bored and go away. “Always great to have a fellow professional observe. Lily, would you mind coming in? I want to discuss a few points with you.”
“Of course,” agreed Lily readily. “I need all the hands-on experience I can get.” She slipped through the gate and we walked into the middle.
Between the two of us, we managed the next lesson well.
The horses worked under Lily’s instruction and my apparent supervision before she headed back to the fence at half time, climbing over.
I encouraged the riders to chip in with their thoughts and ideas, conveniently providing their own assessments, and by the time the session came to a finish, Harvey had disappeared, just as I’d hoped.
Lily was practically hopping with excitement when I rejoined her.
“I did good, right?” I asked, brimming with confidence.
“Oh, yeah, for sure,” she said, almost fit to bursting. “I got Harvey chatting and I discovered something.”
This was potentially very good because, so far this morning, I’d discovered nothing except for a lack of aptitude as a horse trainer.
Whatever real trainers could see, I could not.
Keeping up the facade of being the trainer Jessica had enthused about was going to be difficult.
I wasn’t sure how long I could sustain a steady patter of encouragement to the riders while getting them to make the assessments I couldn’t before they realized what I was doing.
“I asked him if he had any horses he wanted to get on your schedule and he said no, he prefers a hands-on approach so he trains all the rehabs privately.”
“That’s in line with what he’s said already.”
Lily nodded easily. “I know, so then I asked him if he had any he didn’t have time for and again, he said no. So I asked if there were any new horses in and how long they’d all been there and he said there hadn’t been any new horses in a month.” Lily’s eyes widened as she added, “Lexi, he lied.”
I grinned. “Good work, Lily!”