Finding Trust (Centre Games) (33 page)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Wow, the day was roasting already, promising to be a scorcher. Not only was it hot, it was humid. The worst kind of Queensland summer day—sticky heat. Rihanna’s polo shirt was already sticking to her back and it wasn’t nine a.m. yet.

They’d arrived at the sale facility attached to the Gold Coast racetrack. A large facility, it could quite comfortably cater for several hundred horses. As typical with all racing facilities, there was a lot of activity: people moving around, horses moving around, trucks coming and going.

Tom had called an early-morning meeting to go over every last bit of planning and intelligence before they’d left the safety of Brayden’s property and headed here. Everyone was keyed up. The tension in the makeshift Situation Room this morning had been palpable.

Beta team was starting the day with a briefing meeting with Dr Terry Connors, the head veterinarian for the sale. They were all gathered in the sales facility meeting room. Her father had suggested he take point on this briefing. Not only had he worked with Terry for years, he’d also been best man at his wedding. They had history and it would hopefully help.

“Terry, let me introduce you to Brayden James, Rory Southall, and Quade Roston.” Each man shook Terry’s hand in turn. “I’m guessing you got the briefing note from the Department of Ag about the increased virus alert. They’ve upped surveillance and monitoring as a result of those last few cases just before Christmas. Essentially, they asked Rihanna and I if we’d mind overseeing these sales and the racing carnival. We agreed because I’m keen to collect a little more data and run some scenarios against our latest research. The department asked if these guys could come along and observe, take a few notes that sort of thing. I said ‘stuff it—they can bloody help.’”

Everyone laughed. It was going well; Rihanna knew Terry didn’t suspect a thing. She knew how this must be eating at her father. She knew firsthand how hard it had been to keep the truth from Jazz.

“Sounds like you guys are really close. Can’t tell you how much of a relief it will be to the whole veterinary community when you get the vaccine in production.” Terry’s support for their work was evident in his tone.

“We’re very close, Terry. I’d like to think a few more months and we can start full-blown trials with a potential launch late in the year.”

“Wow, that would be awesome.” Terry was evidently surprised at just how near the vaccine was to production.

“So getting back to the matter at hand, I’d like to evoke a few new protocols; these will help with testing data. Also, I think these protocols are pertinent given the increased virus risk at the moment. We can’t be too careful when we have millions of dollars of horseflesh here.”

“Okay, Peter, what did you have in mind?” Terry asked agreeably.

“I’d like you to turn off all the automatic waters in the stables. I want to avoid the risk of any major contamination through the water supply. Buckets only and I want the grooms briefed that they are to refresh the buckets every two hours. I’d like a no-feed policy during the hours that the public have access to the stables. I want all the hard feed and hay removed fifteen minutes before arrival.

“All travel permits, way bills, and health inspection paperwork need to be inspected before a horse is admitted to the facility and I assume your team is carrying out all the entry vet inspections.”

“Sure are. Anything else?” Terry was obviously supportive of the suggested new protocols.

“That should be enough to get up everyone’s nose without me coming up with a few more things, mate,” her father joked with Terry. The carrying water would annoy a lot of the grooms. Carrying buckets in this heat would be a major pain in the rear end.

“Well, that’s all pretty straightforward. I’ll go brief my team and if there’s anything further you need, just let me know.” Terry rose and headed to a cupboard at the end of the room. “I’ll give all you guys and lady”—Terry winked at Rihanna—“one of these bibs to identify yourselves. This should ensure you get the necessary co-operation you need, particularly from security. If you have any troubles, just let me know and I’ll sort it out.” Terry passed out royal blue bibs carrying the logo of the complex and marked with “Veterinary Staff.” It was the equivalent of giving them an all-access pass.

“Sounds good, Terry; appreciate you facilitating this at such short notice.”

“No problem at all, Pete. We’ve both worked with the department long enough to know they play by their own rules and we’re just expected to go along.”

History was a great thing, Rihanna decided.

“Oh, just so you know, we’ll all be in touch via a new incident management comms system the Department of Ag wants us to try out. So if you see us talking to ourselves or notice funny wires in our ears, that’s what it’s all about.” Her father paused and grinned at Terry. “I’m pretty happy about it, actually; that means I might not have to walk this old carcass as far.”

“None of us are getting any younger, mate.” Terry slapped her father on the back and headed for his staff briefing. “I’ll catch you in an hour or two for a coffee.”

Her father tipped his cap. “Look forward to it.”

Unbelievable, her father had just lied like a pro and Terry had bought it all. Lock, stock, and barrel. He’d even managed to explain away the communications sets they needed to remain in contact with one another and the other teams. Guess there was some truth in the adage—“Make it appear as if you’re supposed to be doing it and nine times out of ten, no one questions it.”

Rihanna went up and squeezed his arm in support. He had to be feeling lower than a snake’s belly right now. That’s how she’d felt about not letting on to Jazz what was really going on. Her father closed his hand over hers and nodded his head. He knew that she understood his pain at misleading a close friend. It wasn’t fun and it went against everything they stood for.

They all walked out of the building and headed for the shade of a nearby tree.

“That went well,” Brayden commented, coming to stand beside her. “These bibs will work a treat. It’ll be much easier to conceal a weapon under these.” Rory and Quade nodded in agreement.

Brayden turned to Peter. “So where do you want us to start, Peter?”

“We need to go and start doing some rounds. Checking temps, respirations, making observations, notes, stuff like that. Rihanna knows the drill. I think we should each start on opposite ends and work towards the middle.” Her father looked towards Brayden for confirmation of his plan. Brayden was, after all, the team leader.

“Okay, Quade you go with Peter—you’re more comfortable around horses than Rory. Rory, you take a wander through the middle section of the complex, nose around and get friendly with some of the staff. Maybe see if you can get any information on what’s happening around here.” Brayden checked his watch. “I want everyone to check in at least every fifteen minutes. If anything feels even the slightest bit off, I want you to report it immediately. We take no chances, guys.”

They nodded their acknowledgment of his orders and headed off to their assigned areas.

Rihanna picked up her backpack and pulled out a clipboard folder with a series of charts and tables on it. She also pocketed a thermometer in a container of disinfecting solution and placed a stethoscope around her neck. “Do you think Rory will be okay by himself? He’s not a vet and he might struggle if he runs into any serious questioning.”

“He’ll be fine. It’s Rory. That guy can talk his way out of anything. That’s exactly why I sent him by himself. He’s actually very confident around horses but it was easier to break it to Quade this way.”

Brayden was right, now that she thought about it. Rory was incredibly likable and everyone fell for his easy charm and wit. He’d be fine.

“He’ll fare a lot better than Quade if he runs into trouble. Rory will talk his way out of it and resort to more drastic measures if that doesn’t work. Quade, on the other hand, will take a much dimmer view of answering too many questions. He’s more likely to react a lot quicker, which is a bad thing when we’re trying to blend in around here.”

“You’re right.” She realised then what she’d done. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to question your authority. You know these guys and their skills better than I do.”

“Don’t apologise for that. I’m not offended you’re questioning me. I’m actually pleased that you’re thinking through this whole situation. Staying alert and questioning everything will be what flushes these guys out. Question away, especially when it’s just us.”

“Okay, I will.” She continued fiddling with a few more bits and pieces in her backpack.

“I’m just going to do a radio check.” He proceeded to check the radio comms with each member of Beta team and then both Alpha and Charlie teams.

“All set?”

“Yep, let’s start with this block.” She motioned to the block on the end, already filled with horses.

Rihanna took out a surgical glove and pulled it onto her right hand. The groom looking after these horses approached.

“Something I can help you folks with?” the scruffy young man asked.

“Just here to do some obs. We’ll be coming around periodically over the course of the sale. If you could just put a lead on each horse, it would be appreciated,” she said confidently, all business. The horses all had a lot number attached to the halters they wore. The number corresponded to the number in the sale catalogue that prospective buyers would use.

“Sure.” The groom took a lead from the hook outside the end stall. He slipped through the door and quickly clipped it onto the pretty bay filly who was dancing around, anxious at all the attention.

Rihanna and Brayden entered the stall, sliding the door shut behind them. The filly was fidgeting and humping her back. She was understandably upset at having three people, two of them strangers, invade the tight confines of her stall.

Brayden noted down the particulars of the horse, including the lot number and the stall. He moved to stand beside the filly’s shoulder and began stroking her neck. The filly immediately relaxed and Rihanna quickly lifted her tail and slid a thermometer into her anus. It seemed his efforts at her place that day with the caste mare weren’t a fluke. This filly calmed just like the mare had. He was definitely a handy addition to have around. It was a rare gift.

Rihanna called out the temperature reading, moved to the front of the filly and placed her stethoscope on the filly just behind her front legs. She had Brayden note the filly’s respiration rate, and then moved to do a visual check for nasal discharge. Rihanna then rolled back the soft velvety muzzle of the filly to check her gums. She was looking to establish a baseline of health with the initial observations. It would also be useful to compare a lot of horses in one location to see the general health.

After completing the observations, Rihanna moved to the rear of the stall and took a look at the automatic waterer. She pushed on the float and the receptacle failed to fill. It had been turned off. However, the remaining water in the receptacle needed to be emptied and cleaned.

She turned to the groom. “I’m not sure if you’ve been advised or not yet but all the auto waterers have been turned off. We’ll also need you to empty the remaining water and give it a clean out. Dr Connors is mandating that all water buckets are cleaned and refilled every two hours.”

“Bloody hell. What sort of dumb ass rule is that? You vets are unbelievable with your bullshit protocols,” the groom fumed, his hands clenching into fists.

Brayden’s moved his stance slightly to block Rihanna from the groom. He straightened to his full height and looked imposing. “You might want to check that temper, mate. We don’t make the rules; we’re just doing our job like you.” But it was the edge in his voice that the scrawny groom immediately recognised and knew pushing further here would not be to his benefit.

“Sorry, mate, just pissed that I’ve now got ten frickin’ buckets to fill up every two hours. Not to mention the extra ones that chestnut colt in the stall down the other end enjoys tossing around.”

“Can’t be helped. Let’s move onto the next horse so you can take care of the buckets and the waterers.” Brayden gave the filly one last stroke and moved to the door. She turned her head and moved to follow him. He ran his hand gently down her nose and dropped his head to blow gently into her wide nostrils. She softly whinnied and tossed her head.

The groom looked surprised. “She sure seems to like you.”

“He has that effect on women,” Rihanna piped up before Brayden could respond. She was on the move to the next stall. He had no choice but to follow. “Come on, Stud. More females for you to charm.” She gave him a sly wink and smile.

***

They’d been at it all morning. Between Rihanna and her father, they’d managed to carry out an initial observation on every horse. All the staff associated with the horses appeared to check out as well. Beta team had all met up for lunch under the large shady trees. Rheeba had sent Selena out with a couple of cold boxes full of food and drinks.

Brayden was currently chatting on his mobile. From what she could tell, the caller was Tom.

She turned to her dad. “So you want another run through with obs this afternoon?”

“Yeah, I think so. Let’s see if there’s any movement on the baseline.”

“Okay, you want to take the same blocks again?”