Toni Petti - Horse Girl Homicide

Chapter Twenty Nine

"Arrgh! Help!" I shout at whoever is holding the flashlights on the hillcrest above.

It's all too much for Prince. The thoroughbred whinnies and rears-up on his hind legs. He's frightened by the motorbike, I'm sure, but he's also afraid of the bright lights that shine down and the powerful voice that commands us to 'Stop right there!'

Bernard doesn't stop. He seizes his last chance to silence me. He grabs my backpack and holds tight to wrench me off the horse.

Prince rears on his hind legs and I'm ripped from the saddle and my feet leave the stirrups. I'm falling . . .

Will I be crushed?

Will I soon hear that paralyzing crunch?

I fall backwards, pulled off Prince by Bernard.

I'm hauled down and I drop right on top of the barn manager, on top of the motorcycle. And not for long. The dirt bike flies out from underneath us both and careens over the incline. Mr. Delany hits the ground and I pancake him. We tumble together until I roll free. The wiry curmudgeon is not so lucky. His leg is bent crooked below the knee and he holds his ribs and gasps for breath. He's broken.

"What's going on?" Terrence Brummel calls down from atop the ridge. The mustached horse breeder stands with his wife beside the granite monument. Both are dressed in their bed clothes, brandishing flashlights.

Prince runs past them and neither make any attempt to stop him. Terrence looks astounded, and Candace has her eyes on me, as though I've just been caught.

"Help. . ." I gasp for breath and clutch my backpack. I've sprained my left wrist but I'm otherwise unhurt.

Bernard wants to choke me but can't manage. I can only guess what thoughts race through his brain. He mouths words he's too weak to speak.

"Toni?" Mr. Brummel stares down at us from atop the ridge in disbelief. "Hang on. Both of you. I'm coming."

The scene goes dark as the Brummels come around. Mr. Delany tries to rise, but his leg is so badly broken, he can't stand. He can't manage any kind of escape and so I don't have to lift a finger to prevent him from getting away. He glowers at me in the moonlight.

"Why...?" The old man rasps. "Do you care? About. Horse girls?"

What a strange question. He's deranged. Only someone with no moral compass could ever steal from a family farm and poison horses to cover-up the crime. Now he implies it's because of their lifestyle? I'm disgusted by him, and maybe a little frightened because I understand exactly what he's suggesting. I remember feeling inferior, envious, and resentful of the girls because of their status as equestrians. Deep down, whether I admitted it or not, I wanted to be Tanya's friend and ride a beautiful horse. Their blue jackets, tall boots and white gloves are throwbacks to a different era. They harken to a time when aristocrats were mounted and enjoyed fox hunts. It makes the girls seem like elitists today, and I guess that's what broke Bernard's brain. His passion for equestrian tradition, its culture, and even the millinery is all part of his dysfunction.

"You're sick Mr. Delany. You need help." I tell him that sincerely because I believe in rehabilitation.

"You wrecked it. Ruined me."

"You did this to yourself," I stand-up and find I'm perfectly intact. My wrist is sore, and may be sprained, but my backpack with my camera is secure and there's no damage to the device. I power it up just to make sure everything works.

"Bernard? What's happened?" Candace arrives and consults with her hired man before glaring accusingly at me. Terrence hobbles along behind with a cane and arrives thirty seconds later.