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“Thoroughbred racing is worth, conservatively, hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide. If you can breed horses less likely to break down from the inherent stressors of racing, each horse would be a better investment and more likely to make you money. ”
“Holy shit,” said Bill.
Alice shook her head. “So, it’s definitely worth it just for a fraction of that money, and if your sister had the proof and could tie it to individuals…”
“We now have a definitive motive,” agreed Spence. “Do the files indicate who the horses in question belonged to?”
“One thing about my sister, she was thorough. They all belonged to the Crescent Star Racing Syndicate, which is run by Noori al-Rauf. He represents everything Dulcie thought was wrong with the sport. She truly despised the man.”
“But why go all the way to Dubai?” asked Spence.
“Far less scrutiny. It would be easier to fake tattoos and forge registration papers. Dulcie was convinced they were stealing mustangs with draft horse blood in them, taking them north into Canada and shipping them to Dubai and classifying them as to be used for food.”
“Doesn’t the major religion there forbid horse meat?” asked Bill.
“No. It is to be ‘avoided’ but is not ‘forbidden.’”
“But it doesn’t matter as they aren’t being slaughtered for their meat, but to be used in breeding Thoroughbreds who are not pureblooded. After all, why ship a live horse to slaughter when you can just buy the meat?” asked Spence, shaking his head. “It’s kind of ingenious. All right, let’s start looking at the cargo flight manifest for horses leaving Canada and the States headed for Dubai.”
Bill and Alice each grabbed another muffin and headed out.
“I’m going with the team, but the deputies will be here to keep you and Dusty safe. I think once they know we’re on to them and are coming after them, they’ll close shop and scurry back under their rocks.”
“I should come with you.”
“No, you’re going to stay here. I need you to decipher the parts of the code we need to make our case to a judge if we need to. We can get our tech people to do the whole thing if we need it for trial, but you need to get the info to the Jockey Club, as well. That’s what your sister would have wanted. Did you figure out which ex-flame she was meeting?”
“She wasn’t. I thought that phrasing sounded weird for Dulcie. Once I deciphered the testing lab she used, I figured out what she was up to. She was going to their main office to pick up the certified results of the DNA testing. I suspect they’re pretty damning.”
“What was the name of the lab?”
“Flamico out of Toronto.”
“Flamico/flame? Subtlety was not your sister’s strong point.”
“No, but I think she thought if something happened to her, I would have all I needed to put these bastards away.”
“She was right,” he said, pulling her into his arms and holding her close. “I’ve got to go. I’ll keep you updated. Stay here and stay out of trouble.” His cell phone buzzed, and he answered. “Alice?” [PAUSE] “Got it.”
Spence looked down at her. “There’s a relatively large group of horses in an abandoned feed lot not far from Yellowstone. In fact, when Bill looked at one of the possible trajectories of Dulcie’s hike, she could have been headed right for them.”
“I should go with you. We could load up Tank and Mattie and drive them to Yellowstone.”
He shook his head. “No way. We’re running a check now to see who owns the place and who might be connected. We’ll get search warrants to secure them for evidence. Alice also said we’ve located a private airport that has just posted a flight plan for Halifax in Canada. From there we believe they’ll refuel and then make their way east to Dubai. This thing is starting to move fast. I need to know you’ll be safe here at the ranch.”
Harper stepped back and gave him a jaunty salute. “Sir, yes, sir,” she said.
“Seriously, Harper, behave yourself.”
She leaned against the kitchen island and watched him leave.I’ll leave the apprehending of criminals to Spence and his team. I have a group of mustangs to save.
Harper stretched her body and headed back up to her office. She opened her own laptop and entered a chatroom used by the Fantastic Four, so named by one of the Appaloosa magazines as being the four most successful competitors in the breed: herself, Morgan Shepherd out of North Carolina, Etta Jensen out of Texas, and Devon Gutherie out of Canada. The article noted that not only did they share a highly talented and competitive spirit, but a dedication to keeping the wild horses of North America safe. It looked like they were all online. Now to see if she could gather them together.
FeedTheFire: Etta, Morgan, Devon: Anyone lurking around?
PornWriter: Here, Harper, what’s up?
Reining4Oly: Me, too.
