Toni Petti - Horse Girl Homicide

Chapter Twenty

I follow Teodor Brummel through the stables, around the riding arena and into the staff-only section where he keeps his horses. Prince Tut and Scissor King both come to their gates to smell me on arrival. They bury their muzzles in my hair, one on each side of my face. Scissor still sports a saddle on his back and is amped after his wild run. He's ready to ride if anyone dares try. Prince has been washed and groomed and seems relaxed after his less-than-successful sperm donation. He wears no tack and smells soapy.

"They sure do trust you," Teodor enters the storage room and slings a heavy saddle over his shoulder. He emerges with straps, stirrups and all the gear required to ride.

"What are we doing?"

"They need more sunlight. Fresh air. More exercise," Teo says. I agree, but that doesn't explain why he brought me here.

"Why do they have to stay inside?"

"Medical reasons," Teo says.

"Huh. Wouldn't they'd be healthier outside?" I ask, and then wish I hadn't. Teo casts a sharp glance. I'm talking too much. Shut it Toni. The young man doesn't reply and the silence hangs. He lays out leather rigging on the front of Prince's stall to get everything straightened out. Then he moves to Scissor, his two-year-old who's already tacked-up.

"I work with King. Every day. Training him," Teo rubs his young horse's head, "but he's still dodgy-fitsy."

"Does his dad ever get out for exercise?" I pet Prince and the big horse shakes his head and moisture from his bath goes airborne.

"Every morning," Teo sorts through the straps to hold up a bridle, "Bernard rides him for an hour at dawn."

At dawn? Such a ride would require prepping around five am, and that corresponds with the times recorded in Tanya's notebook under the title Bernard Deal. Now what about the money? And why did she say the Bernard Deal was off?

Teo holds out a leather harness with the name Prince Tut stamped on a copper plate. In his other hand, he holds a chrome metal mouth-bit with rings and chain links.

"Let's see you put on a bridle and bit."

"Okay." I handle the rigging, and the very item Ainsley's documentary labeled as being cruel to horses.

"Unsnap the crown piece," Teo demonstrates on Scissor. I watch him unfasten the halter strap that goes behind the horse's ears which opens-up the rig. I emulate on Prince, gently raising the band over his nose so I can slip the top over his ears. Teo fastens it again on Scissor and I copy him. Then he clips a fresh lead rope to the ring at the bottom of Scissor's noseband, and I do the same on Prince. Teodor checks the fit and for a moment I'm contained in the space between his arms. Unaware of our proximity, or unaffected by it, he opens the stall door which means he approves of my work. I duck under his arm and out of his way as he leads Prince into the aisle.

"Take him to the crossties," the man surprises me again when hands me the lead.

This is only the second time I've ever led a horse, the first being an hour earlier on the lawn. I don't know what I'd do if he balked. I've seen how the others put a hand on the bridle, and so I give that a try, and Prince is very accommodating.

"It's best when they see each other," Teo brings Scissor around to face us and uses straps to crosstie his halter in place.

"Do they know they're father and son?"

"Of course. And they like each other."

"How do you know?"

"Put them together in a wilddock with ten miles of pasture and a dozen other horses, and they'll run off by themselves."