A Moment in Time (21 page)

Valerie stared out toward the moonlight on
the pond and the silvery flowers surrounding it. Its beauty held
her attention for but a moment. For all of Colette's
well-intentioned efforts to make her feel better and to give her
courage, her last words had had a chilling effect.

Over the years she had come to realize that
Teddy was a much needier man than she would ever have expected, and
that from this neediness sprang a desire to control and manipulate
everything—and everybody—around him, including Valerie herself. And
that's where his ruthlessness came into play. For he ruthlessly
pursued what he wanted—she could see that now—and would stop at
almost nothing to get it. Woe be to anything or anybody who got in
his way.

She suddenly wrapped her arms around herself
and shivered slightly.

Does that include me?
she wondered.
Will
Teddy refuse to let me go?

She quailed inwardly at the thought. She was
glad, however, that she and Colette had had this conversation. For
if nothing else, the realization that had been gradually asserting
itself in her consciousness—that she didn't love Teddy and didn't
want to marry him—had become crystal clear. She knew now that she
must talk to Teddy as soon as possible. Colette had given her the
courage to act on her feelings.

Still, a pervasive sense of dread made her
uncomfortable with this knowledge. She would have to handle Teddy
with kid gloves, of that she was certain.

"You're awfully quiet, Val," Colette said.
"Have I disturbed you terribly with my unsolicited advice?"

"Oh, no, Colette," she replied. "I'm really
grateful to you for being honest with me." She reached over and
squeezed her friend's hand. "You've made me feel more sure of my
own feelings. Thank you."

Colette smiled tenderly. "I love you, Val.
You know that."

"I know," she replied, "and I love you. I've
sometimes wished that you'd been my mother."

Colette sputtered with laughter. "As much as
I love you, I would never, not in a million years, want to compete
with Marguerite for that honor."

Valerie laughed with her. "How's Hayden
doing, by the way?"

"Ah, he's doing beautifully," Colette
exclaimed. "I just made him a new batch of turkey soup. I make a
lot, then freeze it in ice trays and microwave a cube for him. He's
positively addicted to it. He turns up his piggy nose at mealworms,
which is what all his hedgehog friends love. I suppose Hayden's an
iconoclast, which doesn't surprise me in the least. Do you want to
say hello?"

"What?" Valerie asked. "You have him with
you?"

"Of course, darling," she replied. "He's
right here in Mummy's pocket." With one hand she reached down into
one of the large pockets in her smock and carefully lifted Hayden
out, holding him for Valerie to see.

"He loves my pocket," Colette said. "So he
travels about the house with me."

Valerie reached over and carefully stroked
the pygmy hedgehog's quills, surprised once again at their
sharpness. He quivered for a moment, but then settled down as he
seemed to recognize her through his excellent sense of smell.

Elvis stirred on the floor when he heard that
particular cooing sound of Valerie's voice.

"Oh, ho," Valerie said. "Maybe we'd better
put Hayden back in your pocket before Elvis gets too
interested."

"I do let Puff Puppy have a little sniff,"
Colette said, "but I can't honestly say that Hayden really enjoys
it half as much Puff Puppy does. Perhaps I should tuck him back
in." She carefully replaced Hayden in her smock pocket, then
stroked him for a while with a single finger. "It's odd, isn't it,"
Colette said, "the things that can give us pleasure?"

Valerie nodded in agreement. "It never ceases
to amaze me. Especially in the animal—"

The telephone on the table rang loudly, its
shrill man-made sound slightly unnerving them both in the
quiet.

"I have to get that," Valerie said. "It could
be the service calling."

"Of course, darling," Colette said. She
picked up her wineglass and took a sip.

Valerie lifted up the receiver. "Hello?" she
said.

"Dr. Rochelle?" a familiar voice asked.

"Yes?" she replied.

"It's Dotty at the service. Sorry to bother
you, but there's been an emergency call from a place called
Stonelair."

Valerie felt an involuntary chill go up her
spine.
Uh-oh. Can I handle a call out there tonight?
she
wondered.
But of course, I can
, she told herself.

"What seems to be the problem, Dotty?"

"Something with a horse," the operator
answered. "I didn't get it all. Something about swelling and
bleeding. The man sounded very upset, and I do mean very
upset."

"You don't remember anything else?" Valerie
asked.

"Sorry, Dr. Rochelle," she replied. "He was
talking so fast I just couldn't get it all."

"Okay, Dotty," Valerie said. "And thanks a
lot. If he calls back, tell him I'm on my way."

"Will do," the woman said and hung up the
phone.

Valerie let out a sigh and turned to Colette.
"I've got to go out to Stonelair on an emergency," she said.

Colette's eyes registered alarm. "Nothing
serious, I hope?"

"I'm not sure at this point," Valerie said.
"Whoever called the emergency in was very distressed, and Dotty
didn't get all the details. Anyway, it's a horse, so I'd better get
cracking."

"Indeed, darling," Colette said. "Hayden and
I will vanish in the bat of an eyelid."

"Why don't you sit and finish your wine?"
Valerie said. "You know you don't have to leave just because I
am."

"Well, perhaps we will sit a tad longer and
keep Elvis company," she said. "Then we'll toddle along home."

"Be right back," Valerie said. "I have to get
some things." She dashed through the open French doors and into the
kitchen, then on into the hallway, where she grabbed a clean lab
coat from out of the closet. Then she sat down and quickly laced on
a pair of sneakers. There, she thought. That will do it. She
already had on jeans and an old T-shirt, so none of her good
clothing was in danger of being ruined, and there was always that
possibility when going on an emergency call. She grabbed her
carryall and dashed back out to the porch.

"Ready?" Colette asked.

"Ready," Valerie replied. "But you and Hayden
stay as long as you want," she added. "Elvis will love the
company."

"Fine," Colette said. "Off you go."

Valerie dashed through the screen door, down
the steps, and around to the gate that led to the front yard and
her car.

Colette heard her start the Jeep and spew
gravel as she pulled out of the driveway, rushing off to help a
horse in some sort of distress. She took another sip of her wine
and reached down and gave Elvis a few strokes. "Valerie will be
back soon, Elvis," she said. She looked at her watch then and saw
that it wasn't that late, around ten-thirty, if her eyes served her
correctly.

The telephone shrilled again, and Colette
stared at it.
Should I answer it?
she wondered. She reached
over and picked up the receiver.
What's to lose?
she
thought.

"Hello," she said. "Dr. Rochelle's
residence."

"Who's this?" a man's voice demanded.

Colette did not appreciate the edge she heard
in the words. "This is Colette Richards, Dr. Rochelle's
neighbor."

"Oh, you."

Colette listened and heard nothing but heavy
breathing.

Then the man spoke again. "Where's Val?" he
demanded.

"She's on an emergency call," Colette
replied, thinking that she recognized the voice now.

"Jesus!" the man exclaimed. "She's always on
an emergency."

"Is that you, Teddy?" Colette ventured.

"Yes," he said, his voice almost a snarl.

"Oh, how nice to speak to you," she said. "I
haven't seen you in forever, it seems."

"I've been busy," he said imperiously. "Very
busy. What's the big emergency tonight?"

"Stonelair," Colette said. "There's an
unfortunate horse in distress of some sort."

"Stonelair!" Teddy almost shouted. "I told
her not to go out to that damn place. That guy's some kind of
mobster or something."

"I think Valerie is old enough to take care
of herself, Teddy," Colette said calmly. "This is a professional
call, and she is highly trained to handle it."

"Yes, well, maybe so," he snapped, "but she's
not trained to handle trash like Conrad."

"Oh, I think you underestimate our Valerie,
Teddy," Colette said. "I think she's capable of handling a lot more
than you can imagine, and I think she should be respected for
it."

"What the fuck do you know?" Teddy spat.

Colette was shocked by his language.
He's
been drinking
, she thought.
Or using some sort of drug.
Whatever it was, he was quite obviously in an altered state. His
words were rushed, clipped, and at the same time breathy. He
certainly wasn't the ever-charming and proper young man with the
perfect manners everybody seemed to love.
Why am I not
surprised?
she asked herself.

"I think I know Val," she finally said. "And
furthermore, I don't think you know her very well at all." Colette
clapped a hand over her mouth after her last statement and rolled
her eyes.
Oh, dear
, she thought.
Now, I've gone and done
it. But I don't care. The little weasel deserves it.

"You don't know what you're talking about,"
Teddy said. "Are you drunk or something?"

"Not yet," Colette said in an amused
voice.

"Just crazy," Teddy said.

"Maybe," Colette said, "for having this
ridiculous conversation with you."

"You . . . you . . . never mind," Teddy spat.
"You'll be sorry." Then he slammed the telephone in her ear.

Colette carefully replaced the receiver in
its cradle. For a moment she felt a bit giddy.
I guess I got
that brat's goat
, she thought.
And a brat he most certainly
is
.

Colette took a long swallow of wine and set
the glass back down.
I'm going to have to find out as much as I
can about Teddy and what's going on with him. Yes, I need to stay
on top of this if I'm going to be of any help to Val. And help, I'm
afraid, she's definitely going to need.

Chapter Thirteen

Valerie clipped along the dark highway at a
steady pace, driving fast but not recklessly, her mind torn between
the conversation she'd had with Colette and the emergency call she
was on. When she reached the gates to Stonelair, she pulled over to
the intercom post and slammed on the brakes. She reached out the
open window and pushed the intercom button.

"Dr. Rochelle?" the man's voice asked. It was
not Santo, of that she was certain. Was it Conrad himself?

"Yes," she replied.

"Through the gates and down to the stables,
where the driveway veers off to the left," the man said. "I'll be
there."

"Okay," she said.

The gates began opening at once, and when
they had fully opened, she sped past the big stone piers and on
down the drive until she could see the well-lit parking courtyard
in the stable area. Racing to it, she pulled over and parked the
Jeep. She gathered up her big canvas carryall and her heavy medical
bag.

No one had come out to greet her, so she
headed toward the office where she'd been the first time she was
here. She could see that lights were burning in there and in the
stables, too. When she reached the office door, it was open, and
she went on in. There was no one about.

How strange
, she thought,
especially with an emergency going on
. Often in an emergency
situation, the whole family and staff, if there was one, would be
on hand, letting her know what had happened, offering to help. But
there was an unearthly quiet here, as if nothing were amiss at
all.

"Mr. Ducci?" she called.

There was nothing but silence.

"Mr. Ducci?" she called again, louder this
time.

Still there was no response.

She walked on through to the tack room, where
the lights were burning brightly, but there was nobody in there
either.
Must be in the stable
, she thought. The main
overhead lights in the stable weren't turned on, but she could see
that the lanterns on the outside of each stall were lit, as was the
small overhead in one of the stalls down toward the end of the
stable. But she could see no one about in there, either.

"Mr. Ducci?" she called out again.

"He's not here, Doc." A man's voice, Conrad's
obviously, answered from somewhere farther down the length of the
stable. "You're going to have to deal with me."

"Gladly," Valerie responded. "But who are
you, and where are you?" She knew who it was, of course, but
couldn't resist making him tell her.

"It's Conrad," the voice replied, oddly quiet
and noncombative, "and I'm down here at the tenth stall on your
right. Where the light's on."

"I'm on my way," she said, and began walking
down the length of the stable. When she got to the tenth stall, she
set her medical bag down, then her carryall, and stepped into the
stall.

"Oh, God," she whispered, looking at the
horse that stood before her, tethered to the stall. The first thing
that caught her eye was the horse's profusely bleeding nose. She
very carefully felt its neck. It was quite obviously swollen, as if
the horse had the mumps. She stroked all around the horse's neck,
studying it.

As she took her hands away, she looked down
at them in consternation. They were covered with a secretion from
the horse's coat, the likes of which she'd never seen. She wiped
them off on her lab coat, wondering what on earth was going on.