At Risk by Kit Ehrman Read Free Book Online Page B

of the trunk of his car. Dressed in a
suit and tie, he looked as incongruous rooting around in the trash
as he had earlier walking through the barn.
    He taped the mouth of the bag shut, scribbled
on a label, and chucked it into the trunk. When he noticed my
expression, he said, "If Mr. Wade hasn't emptied them since the
theft, it's worth a closer look."
    I nodded and tried to smother a grin as I
followed Ralston back into the indoor. When he asked to see where
I'd collapsed, I pointed out the spot alongside the bleachers.
Ralston unhooked his flashlight and flicked it on. He scanned the
ground and angled the beam under the bleachers near the metal
uprights. I pulled my cap off and yanked my coat open. At the sound
of the snaps popping apart in quick succession, Ralston glanced up
from where he was crouched. I crossed my arms on one of the planks
at shoulder level, rested my head on my arms, and wondered what was
taking him so long. My skin felt clammy, though the air temperature
was close to freezing.
    "What happened next, Steve?"
    I squinted at him, then reluctantly lifted my
head and told him the rest.
    Ralston folded his arms across his chest.
"And you don't--"
    A sharp crack split the air and echoed off
the metal walls. I jumped as if I'd been shocked with a cattle
prod. It was just one of the horses rapping the top rail of a
jump.
    Just one of the horses.
    I rubbed my forehead.
    "Okay," Ralston said. "I think we're done in
here. Let's finish up in the car."
    "Finish up?" I mumbled.
    "Yes. I have a few more things to go
over."
    Back outside, the white metal siding glowed
pink as the sun neared the horizon. It wouldn't be long before it
disappeared behind the tree line, and as so often happens, the wind
had died down with the sun's descent. I climbed back into Ralston's
car and wondered when I'd be getting back to work.
    He slammed his door and flipped through the
ever present notebook. "I have a list of the owners of the stolen
horses. I want you to tell me what you know about each one,
okay?"
    I nodded, and he started checking off names.
I hesitated when he got to Sanders.
    He looked over at me, his pencil poised,
waiting. "What's the deal with him?"
    I shrugged. "Nothing. I just don't like him
much."
    "Why?"
    "No particular reason. It's more a
personality conflict than anything." I sighed. "I don't really know
why I don't like him. . . . He's not a good horseman."
    "What do you mean?"
    "Oh, stuff like not cooling out his horse
after he's worked him, being too aggressive when he rides. Things
like that. It's more like he uses his horse, treats him like an
object instead of a living, breathing animal."
    Frowning at my explanation, Ralston switched
on the engine and slid the control levers into position for maximum
heat output. I listened to the purr of the engine and thought about
how Sanders used his horse as a bizarre sort of aphrodisiac.
    Ralston must have seen something in my
expression because he said, "What are you thinking?"
    "Nothing. . . . Nothing to do with this."
    "Tell me anyway."
    He'd said it like I didn't have a choice.
Like I wouldn't be getting out of his car if I didn't tell him what
he wanted to know, which kind of pissed me off. But it wasn't any
big deal, so I told him.
    When he checked off the last name, he said,
"The evidence clearly shows they were familiar with the farm's
layout and routine."
    "Um."
    "Tell me about the employees. Anyone have a
gripe with management?"
    I thought about Brian and decided that his
grumpy attitude didn't make him a suspect. "No. They're a pretty
good group."
    He shifted in his seat and leaned against the
door. "And you didn't recognize their voices?"
    I shook my head. "The guy with the ball cap,"
and a whine in his voice I thought but kept to myself, "I've never
seen him before. I'm sure of that. As for the other two, far as I
remember, they always spoke in a whisper. I don't know whether I
could have recognized them under those circumstances."
    "Maybe you do know them,