One Hoof In The Grave [Carriage Driving 02] (38 page)

He called back until she stayed on the line. Grudgingly, she gave him the name and cell phone number of Raleigh’s personal attorney in Atlanta.

Geoff expected to reach him at the eighth tee on his country club golf course.

“I’m not golfing,” Wilson Waters said. “And it’s your fault, Agent Wheeler. Raleigh’s estate is so screwed up, I’ll have auditors and IRS agents and the SEC and I don’t know who all in my hair for a year.”

“For which you are billing the estate by the hour,” Geoff said. “You actually owe me.” Geoff had encountered Wilson Waters several times in the course of his investigations. Atlanta might be big, but the legal community wasn’t. Not for a GBI agent who spent a good deal of time in court.

The man had an excellent reputation. He suspected Raleigh kept as many of his business transactions in other hands as he could manage, leaving his personal finances relatively clean. He hoped Waters was not only honest but cooperative. “I need the answer to one question.”

“Will it help arrest his killer?”

“And convict.”

“Ask away.”

Peggy didn’t think Merry even knew what they’d been talking about.

“Anybody see Geoff?” she asked, scanning the room.

She didn’t wait for an answer, but dumped her leavings in the trashcan and left without a word.

“Before you ask,” Peggy told Dick, “I have no idea what that’s about.”

“We can talk tonight. You gonna give me a hand getting the cart ready for Casey?”

They had scheduled Casey’s dressage test first after the lunch break to give them time to set up her carriage and warm up for an extra-long time before she drove her test.

Peggy was glad Dick was driving with Casey. The way Merry was acting, she’d drive off course. Unfortunately, Merry’s Halflinger, Golden, the old campaigner, was trying to develop an abscess in his right front hoof and was therefore slightly lame. That meant only Ned, Peggy’s Halflinger, was available for Casey to drive. Merry had suggested she scratch, but Casey would have none of it. “Is he safe?” She asked.

“Mostly,” Merry said.

“Then I’m driving,” she said. “Dick won’t let anything happen to us.” Ned had been a perfect saint since his dunking at the Tollivers’. Peggy figured he was afraid that if he misbehaved, they’d try to drown him again.

There was no shortage of helpers to get Casey’s wheelchair strapped into the cart. Her husband, Hank, the veterinarian, was a big man, and Louise’s grandson Pete had played high school football.

As Casey and Dick settled themselves and walked Ned around outside the arena to enter at A, Geoff found Peggy in the stable.

“Where’s Merry?” He looked grim.

“Looking for you. Why?”

“I have to talk to her
now
.” He peered around the arena and spotted Juanita Tolliver alone under the judge’s tent checking the afternoon dressage tests. The boxes containing the remains of their lunches sat on the table beside her. He headed for the table.

Peggy followed him. She wanted to hear what he said.

“Mrs. Tolliver, have you seen Merry or Catherine?”

“I think Catherine went to the restroom, Agent Wheeler. The last time I saw Merry she was back by the hazards course in the back pasture.”

Geoff started toward the lane between the pastures, then turned back and pointed to the open plastic lunch box on the judge’s table. “Is this yours or Mrs. Harris’s?”

“Hers. The other one’s mine. Why?”

Catherine’s paper napkin was balled up, but there were several streaks on it that looked like blood. The garden club hadn’t brought catsup for the turkey sandwiches, and there was none on the judge’s table.

“Has Mrs. Harris hurt herself?” Geoff asked.

“Bless her heart,” Juanita said. “She’s got a couple of nasty cuts across the underside of her little fingers. She said she found a piece of rusty barbed wire in her pasture and cut herself yanking it loose from the dirt. Swear to God, that stuff ought to be outlawed around horses.”

Whoever had pulled that wire tight around Gwen’s throat must have exerted a great deal of force. Pulling hard on alfalfa wire even wearing gloves could slice your fingers so badly they bled.

Using a fresh napkin, Geoff closed the box holding the remains of Catherine’s lunch with her used napkin inside, borrowed Juanita’s ballpoint and wrote his name, date and time across the top and side of the box. He picked up the brown paper sack the two lunch boxes had come in, put Catherine’s box inside and folded it closed. “Mrs. Tolliver, you wouldn’t happen to have any tape, would you?”

Her eyes were wide and scared, but she realized something about that lunch box was important, and not in a good way. She shook her head and said, “But I’ve got a staple gun.” She handed it to him.

“Great.” He wrote his name and both Peggy’s and Juanita Tolliver’s on the sack, then stapled the top together. “Ladies, mind writing your name across the flap?”

Peggy and Juanita locked eyes. Peggy’s hand shook, but she signed, then Juanita signed.

“Thanks,” Geoff said. “Hang onto this for me, please.” An enormous leather satchel sat at Juanita’s feet. “Put it in your satchel, but don’t let anyone know you have it.”

Juanita took a deep breath. “My God.” She slid it into her bag.

Catherine had been wearing thin driving gloves all morning. Peggy thought at the time that was weird considering the warm weather, but then she’d dismissed it.

But Catherine wouldn’t have been able to explain eating her lunch with her gloves on. And her fingers were still raw enough to bleed.

Geoff was nearly running down the lane toward the hazards set at the far end of the mare’s pasture. Peggy wanted to see Merry, talk to her, warn her, although there was no reason Catherine, even if she were guilty, should attack Merry. Was there? She said to Juanita, “Don’t mention this to a soul.”

“But what am I supposed . . .”

Peggy couldn’t see Merry, but then, this was nonsense. Catherine wouldn’t kill anyone. There had to be a mistake. Geoff would find Merry and look after her.

Surely, Merry would come to the arena to watch Casey warm up. This was their first judged dressage test, and both she and Ned were nervous. Peggy knew Dick’s coaching would relax both of them. What she didn’t know was where Merry had gone. She looked for Merry with her fingers crossed and a prayer on her lips.

“She’s not down by the hazards,” Geoff said from behind her. “I don’t see her anywhere.”

“She’s probably in the loo.” She looked carefully into Geoff’s eyes. “Are you worried?”

“Where’s Catherine?”

“She’s due back in ten minutes. Probably still in the bathroom.”

“Yeah, putting fresh bandages on her fingers.”

Ned passed them at a strong trot. From time to time he took a couple of canter strides, which would be penalized in the actual test. Casey brought him back under control expertly. Peggy began to relax.

Merry

I know Geoff said not to unlock the barn for any reason until he got back, but he wasn’t running a horse show. I was. I should have known Marvin Cudlow and Becca would continue to cause problems. Marvin decided to drive the hazards course flat out. Unfortunately, he couldn’t steer his pair at a gallop worth a darn.

He’d been the last on course before the lunch break, which was fortunate, since he demolished one of the plywood gates we’d constructed. The plywood, painted to look like gray stone, was relatively intact. One of the two-by-fours that kept it upright, however, was in pieces. The horses were lucky they hadn’t picked up shards in their legs.

No barn is ever without two-by-four studs and plywood. Our supply was kept in the front corner of Hiram’s barn, where they were presently under lock and key along with my carriages. Louise’s grandson Pete could nail up a new upright and set the hazard back in place after he finished eating, but he needed wood, a hammer and nails.

Pete followed me into Hiram’s barn, balanced a couple of two-by-fours on his shoulder in case another one got broken, stuck the hammer and nails in his back pocket, and trotted off across the parking lot as the remaining two-by-fours shifted and began to slide to the floor.

I ran over to catch them, rearranged them and turned to leave.

Catherine shut the barn door behind her quietly, and said, “I’ve never been in here before. It’s huge.”

“Plenty of space for the carriages Hiram was repairing.” My mouth felt dry, but I think I sounded normal.

She ran her hand over Dick’s marathon carriage. “I’ve never seen a cover drape all the way to the floor like this. Custom made, of course, nothing but the best for Dick.”

“He can afford it.”

She tittered. She was nervous and making me nervous too.

“Hadn’t you better get back to the judge’s stand?” I asked.

“Oh, I’ve got ten minutes or so. No hurry.”

I couldn’t walk out and leave her. She’d pull that hatpin out of the Meadowbrook. The minute she saw Peggy’s substitute, she’d know somebody had found hers and probably recognized it. She’d be certain it was
me
. I knew she’d killed Raleigh. That meant she’d probably killed Gwen as well.

We were almost the same age, and I was two inches taller, but she was tough too. I didn’t want to go up against her, hatpin or no hatpin. I had to keep her calm and get her out of the barn without it.

She trailed her hand over the miniature Meadowbrook. “You brought this back on Sunday from the Tollivers’, didn’t you? Where was it? Under that cover?”

I nodded. “It folds up.”

“Why on earth would you lock your trailer in your own parking lot?”

“Why would you tell me Hiram was Troy’s father?” I knew the minute the words left my mouth I’d made a big blunder. “Didn’t you think I’d check our DNA? As his daughter, my DNA would be close enough to his for comparison.”

“You couldn’t possibly have the results back yet.” She was suddenly tense. She must have realized she’d admitted knowing that my trailer had been locked. And now, this.

I had no intention of telling her I was bluffing about the DNA. “Geoff pulled strings. He already had Troy’s DNA.”

She sighed and her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry, Merry. I know it was a despicable thing to do. If you thought Troy was your half-brother, I felt certain you’d try to help him.”