Death By Derby 8 (Josiah Reynolds Mysteries) (11 page)

I noticed that several buttons on her blouse were undone. Egads! “I’ll have the pink ones.”

Liam filled a plate with little frosted pink cakes and baby biscuits filled with sliced ham.

“Lovely,” I replied, taking a sip of my tea. “I needed something.”

“To what do we owe this visit? Not that I’m not thrilled to see you anytime,” cooed June, looking smug. Liam handed me a napkin.

“I need some information that only you can get for me, and perhaps you too, Liam.”

June leaned forward. “I’m intrigued.”

“For some reason the ATF is still making Shaneika’s life miserable. They searched her home and office today.”

“But why?” asked June, her hand on Liam’s thigh. “I thought you said that Charlie wasn’t in the gondola. It seems like they should be looking for Charlie. He has no connection with Shaneika other than they are in the racing business and committed a social gaffe at my party.”

“It was terrible that those two ruined your Derby party, my Lady,” interjected Liam before popping a baby cake topped with blue icing and sprinkles into his mouth.

I noticed that he had had some extensive cosmetic dental work done. No doubt a gift from June. She could not abide the European tendency for having bad teeth, one of her few American prejudices.

June smiled at Liam. “Charlie ruined it. Shaneika was just being Shaneika.”

“I think Charlie specifically targeted Shaneika to make it look like they were having a feud.”

“For what purpose?” inquired June, taking a sip of tea.

I reached for another biscuit. “To create smoke, a diversion. Besides scrutinizing Shaneika, the ATF also searched Charlie’s house and office, taking everyone’s computers. They are systemically going through all their leads.”

“How do you want me to help?” asked June, looking adoringly at Liam who returned a wondrous smile, displaying his new teeth.

“First, put a cap on it both of you, will ya? Sober up. This is serious.”

“Party pooper,” replied June. “Whatever, go on.”

“June, I need you to use your connections to find out if there was anything fishy with Charlie. Was he about to go bankrupt? Did he have a gambling problem?”

“That should be easy enough to do,” mused June. “I’ll make some calls and also ask some of the barn hands if they know something. They are huge gossips.”

“What do you want me to do?” asked Liam, also intrigued.

“I’m sure you have made many nefarious acquaintances since you’ve been here. Make contact and see what they know.”

“I’ve quit my bad ways, haven’t I, Luv?”

I looked at June. “How many watches did he steal at the Derby?”

“Six . . . and two wallets . . . and one pair of ruby earrings.”

“And I gave them all up, I did!”

June laughed. “Yes, after his day of fun, we turned everything in to the Lost and Found.”

Liam looked earnestly at me. “Got to keep my hand in.”

I nodded while rising. Without thinking, I checked to see if my watch was still on my wrist.

“Look, my Lady, she doesn’t trust me.”

“Neither do I. That’s what makes you so irresistible, you bad, bad boy,” cooed June.

Yuck!

I couldn’t wait to get away from those two . . . but not before I pinched some more of those little cakes . . . and some biscuits . . . and some raspberry cookies that I hadn’t tried. I was so laden down I could barely make my escape.

T
wo days later, Shaneika, Asa, and I were seated in the Big House’s music room, sucking down bourbons.

It was eleven in the morning.

The three of us had spent those two days threatening, cajoling, snooping, and bribing anyone who could give us any information on Charlie Hoskins. Basically, we came up with a big fat zero, so we were drowning our sorrows.

Charlie’s business was in okay shape–not great but solid. There were no sordid stories of messy love affairs. He didn’t have an interest in women. And Franklin checked the other side of the fence for Charlie’s love inclination. There was nothing. Charlie’s big love was work.

He had no close friends as he had been an ass to everyone, but Charlie was respected in the community, if not liked, and seemed to be honest.

A big dead end.

June entered the library with Liam, her sidekick. Everywhere June went, Liam was right behind her.

It irritated me. Don’t ask me why. It just did.

I scooted over on the couch to make room for June, but she chose to sit in a leather armchair.

Liam sat next to me. He smelled like expensive cologne and horses.

“We came up with zip,” Asa said. “Charlie has simply vanished off the face of the earth.”

June smiled. “In a week or so, I think you should start having your men check all the international flights, either to Switzerland or to the Caribbean, especially the Cayman Islands.”

“That is where banks don’t ask questions,” replied Asa, “and all accounts have only numbers, not names.”

“So you believe that Charlie is alive and on the run,” I stated, looking between Liam and June.

Liam nodded.

“Why?” asked Shaneika.

“Everything Charlie did those few weeks leading up to and on the day of the Derby was to provide an alibi and focus wrong-doing on others such as Shaneika. Harassing Shaneika was done to provoke her into a public display of anger,” commented June, studying Shaneika.

“Which I fell for,” uttered Shaneika, looking sheepish.

“And then there was all that silly business with the two crews, two balloons, the explosion, and on and on,” continued June. “It was the explosion that really interested me. No person or horse was hurt. Just a few cars dented here and there. The explosion was all smoke and mirrors. A big, loud boom to divert people’s attention from what was really going on.

“What nailed the explosion for us was that most of the metal used in hot air balloons was replaced with plastic or rope. The gondola itself was wicker.”

“Exploding plastic can cause damage,” countered Asa, frowning.

“Yes, but not as much as metal,” replied Liam. “It was the lack of metal that pointed to the explosion as a setup.”

“How did you get a copy of the ATF report?” asked Shaneika. “Even Asa couldn’t finagle a copy.”

“Simple,” stated June. “I didn’t. I just had some of my workers talk with the ground crew at the Downs. I’m telling you that house, hotel, and ground staff are all gossips. They certainly know more about the people they serve than the other way around.”

“Yes,” jumped in Liam, “we had our people talk with workers who were doing cleanup and searching for injured people before the police got there. They told our people that no one was hurt and there was very little debris. They were puzzled about the lack of detritus. The explosion turned out to be a very loud bang and some smoke, but that was all. They never saw anything that remotely looked like human remains.”

“So what are you saying?” I asked, somewhat impatiently. I already knew that stuff. I wanted to move on to something I didn’t know.

“I’m not finished,” fussed June. “I sent some of my groomers and hot walkers up to Pimlico. They found out that Persian Blue is still running in the race, even though Charlie is not around. Apparently Charlie was not the only owner of Persian Blue. There were several silent partners who have now stepped forward. But now, the crux of the matter.”

“Yes, let’s get to the point,” encouraged Asa.

June smiled. “You’re going to love this, Shaneika. My guys took Charlie’s men out to a bar and got them stinking drunk. One of them said that he had overheard a vet tell Charlie that Persian Blue had a serious problem.”

“What was it?” asked Shaneika, leaning forward in her chair.

June smirked. “It seems that Persian Blue had a very low sperm count.”

Liam, positively twitching with glee, interrupted, “In other words, ladies, Persian Blue was shooting blanks.”

Shaneika, Asa, and I looked at each other and muttered together, “Ahhhh.”

I
n the Thoroughbred business, the real money is made from breeding your horse to other horses. The races are a way to increase the breeding fees. Winning more important races with larger purses is the way to increase a horse’s stud fee.

A champion may race for only two or three years, but may live to be twenty years old. He may breed for ten to fifteen years, depending upon his health. And if that horse produced offspring that were winners too, the sky’s the limit for the breeding fee. That sire would stand to make a fortune.

But if the horse’s ability to reproduce is limited, then the horse is basically worthless after he stops racing. He is not worth anything to anyone even though he’s a champion.

If it were true that Persian Blue was sterile, then we understood why Charlie flew the coop. He had already sold breeding shares to Persian Blue, which he would have to refund. Besides that, Charlie would be the laughing stock of the horse industry and the butt of many tasteless jokes.

Charlie’s erratic behavior was beginning to make sense.

Asa looked at Shaneika. “Either Charlie has run off with the money or the money is no longer available to refund.”

Shaneika poured another bourbon while directing a question at June. “Why did you say to look for him in a week or so?”

“That’s when the bandages would need to come off,” answered June.

Asa half-rose from her seat in excitement. “Plastic surgery!”

“You got it, kid,” replied June. “His face is plastered on every agency’s WANTED board. He could never get out of the country with that ugly mug of his.”

Shaneika nodded in agreement. “So he would have to have his face altered. Why didn’t I think of that?”

June waved for me to pour her a drink. “If I were you,” she said to us all, “check all flights out. Also I would start looking in Miami. He would need to be close to a port. At this stage, it might still be uncomfortable to travel long distances, even with pain medication.”

“And a cruise ship would be an ideal hiding place,” I concurred. “They wouldn’t be so strict about boarding as an airplane.”

June looked rather pleased with herself. “I think sometime during one of the day trips, Charlie is going to jump ship and get on a little island hopper to some place where his syndicate buddies might not think to look.”

“That still doesn’t explain why the ATF is still after Shaneika,” I said.

June looked at Asa. “I think Shaneika was used by Charlie as a smoke screen and Minor used them both to
smoke
out Asa. I think he wanted to see her again. Minor knew of Asa’s close relationship Shaneika and used it to get Asa here.”

“I am so tired of being used by people,” snapped Shaneika, glaring at Asa. “You owe me, girlfriend.”

“I acted exactly as Minor wanted,” complained Asa. “As soon as I heard that Shaneika was in trouble, I got on a plane. I can’t believe I was so stupid.”

“You weren’t. Remember, I called you. It’s my fault,” I remarked. “But you should have left when I wanted you to.”

“You all figure this out,” muttered Shaneika, rising from the couch. “I’ve got to get to Baltimore for the next race in the Triple Crown. Let me know how this works out.”

“Thanks for letting us hold the bag!” shouted Asa after her.

“That reminds me,” June said to Liam. “We need to be in Baltimore too.”

Liam rose and helped June out of her chair. “All arrangements have been made, my Lady. Charles and Amelia are ready whenever you are.”

June turned to Asa and me. “You two lock up when you finish here. See you in a couple of days, Josiah. Asa, I hope you’re in London when I get back. Get that dreadful man out of your life once and for all.”

Asa rose and went across the room. Kissing June on the cheek, she said, “Thank you, Lady Elsmere. That’s sound advice.”

I sputtered, “I’ve been telling you that. How come June gets a kiss and I get the kiss-off?”

June laughed. “Oh, Josiah, it’s so easy to push your buttons. Stay well, my darlings. I love you both.”

Asa saw them to the door where Charles, Amelia, and the Bentley waited for them. She watched until the car went down the driveway and out of sight.

She found me in the kitchen with Bess, packing food in a basket. “Mom, what are you doing?”

“Bess is closing the kitchen while June is gone and we both are taking perishables out of the fridge, so they won’t go to waste.”

“Do you really need two pies?”

“I don’t have two pies. I have slices from two pies.”

Asa looked in the basket. “Look at all this ham. You’ve got country ham and city ham both.”

“No one said you had to eat any of this,” I replied while spooning broccoli casserole into Tupperware. “You’re just creating a fuss to avoid seeing Minor.”

“Minor?” said Bess sharply. “Is that rat in town?”

“You’re behind on your gossip, Bess,” I said.

“Must be. No one told me about Minor.”

Asa grabbed several oatmeal cookies as she went out the door. “I’m going. I’m going. I’ll get this settled with him for once and for all.”

Bess watched out the window as Asa left. “I hope she doesn’t end up shooting him.”

It just slipped out of my mouth. “Some rats deserve to die.”

It was then that I knew I needed to see Goetz again.

I needed to set things straight.

G
oetz opened the door to his apartment. “This is a surprise.”

“May I come in?” I asked.

“Sure,” he replied, stepping out of the way.

I entered his apartment and sat in a chair.

“Can I take your coat?” he asked.

“No, thanks. I’m not staying.”

“Oh, I see. Are you going to tell me to get lost?”

“I’ve been thinking about what you told me and I wanted to assure you that is one secret I’ll carry to my grave.”

“That’s nice,” replied Goetz, taking a chair across from mine. “It would be hard to go to prison at my age . . . and a cop at that.”

Goetz’ face remained stoic, making it hard to read him. I continued, “I wanted to thank you for saving me. I am truly grateful.”

Goetz nodded. “It sounds like there is a ‘but’ coming somewhere in this.”