AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Bert does care about the horses. Robbie says so.”
“The question is, was Bert upset enough over his involvement in doping Panther that he killed Rigg-Lyon? Or did someone else kill him after finding out Rigg-Lyon was cheating at polo?”
I wished we could prove Panther was being doped, but he wasn’t here today. None of the horses from the Polo and Gun Club were. Their teams weren’t in the day’s competition. “Why bother, though?” I asked. “Floyd says there are no wagers placed on the outcome of polo matches.”
Harry scoffed. “Even if they’re so-called gentlemanly arrangements, I’d bet my fee that gambling exists. Not only that, but there’s also a lot of pride involved. Winning is everything to some.”
For men like Broadman and Rigg-Lyon, whose identities were so closely linked with their athleticism, losing would be soul-crushing. Perhaps enough that they’d kill if they learned they’d lost because the opposition cheated.
We couldn’t see the polo field from where we stood, but my gaze wandered in that direction anyway. “Perhaps that’s what Rufus Broadman and Vernon Rigg-Lyon argued about on the day of the murder. Perhaps Broadman found out about the doping and confronted Rigg-Lyon.”
“Do you know what’s in your aunt’s tonic?”
“The label doesn’t say.”
“It sounds like cocaine. The stimulating effects, the withdrawal symptoms…” Harry leaned a shoulder against the wall. “I’ve seen addicts before. Something should be done to limit its sale.”
Cocaine could be found in a number of tonics, lozenges, and gargles available from pharmacies to cure everything from toothache to lethargy. Although Aunt Lilian was the first person I’d met who was addicted, I’d read about its dangers before, in journals and even in fiction where characters used it. Harry was right. Now that the negative effects of addiction were better understood, the sale of cocaine should be controlled.
Any controls would come too late for Aunt Lilian. We had to wean her off the tonic somehow. It wouldn’t be easy, given she didn’t want to stop. She’d been prescribed the tonic for melancholia, a disease that had afflicted her for years, apparently. She believed herself to be dull without it. She’d once told me that my mother was known for her wit and intelligence, and she felt inferior to her in their youth. It saddened me to hear it. Aunt Lilian had so many wonderful qualities, yet she couldn’t see them. Until she realized how wonderful she was, she would not give up the cocaine tonic.
This was the first I’d heard about it being administered to horses, however. “I can see how doping a thoroughbred with cocaine would help it win races. It’s not against the rules?”
“It’s not illegal—yet—but it is unethical. It’s not just cocaine. Racehorses are doped with caffeine, too. The substances are often mixed together, and the concoction is injected into the horse before a race. It seems polo isn’t immune to doping. So much for it being a gentleman’s sport. If horses are being doped, then wagers must be made on the outcome of matches, after all.”
“Poor Panther.”
Harry’s jaw hardened. “He was Rigg-Lyon’s horse, and yet he was actively doping him. Rigg-Lyon blackmailed Bert into injecting Panther before the match, but Bert didn’t want to.”
“It seems so. It was Robbie who mentioned Panther’s symptoms, not Bert, and it was Robbie who said Bert was assigned to Panther. Bert kept that detail to himself. He was afraid he’d be a suspect if we knew.”
“So Rigg-Lyon threatened to expose Bert’s secret if he didn’t administer the cocaine to Panther, something that went against his horse-loving nature. If Bert was angry about that, he might have killed Rigg-Lyon in retaliation.”
“Or he killed Rigg-Lyon because Rigg-Lyon revealed that he knew Bert’s secret. A secret Bert apparently couldn’t risk getting out.”
Harry indicated the stables. “He’s here today.”
“He’ll run off again the moment he sees us.”
“We’ll avoid him. I want to look around the stables, see if I can find any clues, but I’ll have to wait for the grooms to leave.”
That would be some time away, and I had to leave with the others at the end of the match. Mrs. Hessing would never allow me to stay behind. “You’ll have to do it alone. But there is something we can do now. Look, Robbie is leaving the stables. We should speak to him again.”
Harry pushed off from the wall and strode towards the groom. I picked up my skirt with one hand, and clutched my parasol in the other, and followed. Robbie was heading to the outbuildings, his head down so he didn’t see us until we were directly in front of him.
“You two again! Does the major know you’re here?”
“Panther was being doped with cocaine,” Harry began.
“Bloody hell.” Robbie frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Rigg-Lyon forced Bert to inject the horse.”
Robbie shook his head vigorously. “Bert wouldn’t. He loves horses.” He removed his cap and scratched his head. “Are you sure Panther had cocaine in his system? I’ve heard of racehorses being injected, but polo? Seems a bit excessive.”
“You described Panther’s symptoms to us yourself,” I said. “They all point to signs of an addiction to a stimulant like cocaine.”
“And you reckon Bert injected him?”
