Derby Disaster

CHaPteR FiVE

Start with the confessor--that was Will's plan. Rory. He had to know something, even if it was next to nothing. A little bit more than nothing is still something. So...what did Will know about Rory? Not much. He was of average build, played soccer and went to school with one of the girls. Alright, not much to go on. That's okay, Will told himself. No more mishaps happened for the rest of the show weekend, so Will surmised that Rory felt guilty enough to stop the sabotage. Upon arriving home from a horrid show weekend of falls, missed classes, and misplaced items, Will made plans to go back to Dale Ridge and conduct an interview of sorts. He decided not to tell his Aunt Ava, guessing she would be quick to place all the blame on his person of interest. 

The drive to the neighboring barn was only about forty-five minutes on old country roads that twisted and turned. Shafts of sunlight pierced the green leafy canopy that covered the road and they made patterns on the inside of the old pick-up truck he was steering. The road had stripes of tar patching cracks in its asphalt, and potholes threatened to jolt him at least every half mile. The iron gates of Dale Ridge loomed off the right hand side of the road. Behind it were large pastures of rolling grass and barns sided in white sheet metal. Will Taggert drove up the gravel driveway, parking next to several other vehicles in front of the barn. He got out of the truck, slamming the door. Looking around for Rory, Will made his way into the barn. He spotted the stable hand cleaning stalls.

Roran McKenna was cleaning stalls in the same old jeans he always wore with a grey t-shirt. He heard footsteps and looked up, seeing Will, "Hey, can I help you find anything?"

Will couldn't help but smile at Rory's kind grin, "I was actually looking for you." Will wasn't sure if he recognized him as the kid whose classes he had scratched. He guessed not as Rory was smiling amiably. He hated to wreck the mood, but he had to. Sighing, he said, "You said you pulled my entries in the jumper rounds last weekend...why?"

The other teen lost his pleasant demeanor, "Oh...you're Will Taggert. I...I did it because...I...was jealous?"

Will raised an eyebrow, hearing the uncertainty in the boy's voice, "Jealous?"

"Y-yeah. I can't afford to show, or take a bunch of lessons...I get sick of seeing people be able to do them so I wanted to stop somebody from being able to compete."

Will mulled over the excuse. Like the one given when Rory had originally confessed, it sounded too cheap. Fake. Untrue. Rory was telling untruths, but how to prove it? Will had the gut feeling, but he had no evidence. He frowned heavily, thick blond brows creasing over his blue eyes. He looked up at Rory's uneasy face, and something about it reminded him of a childhood friend he had had. He took a breath, "I don't believe that. You just made that up, didn't you?"

The boy's expression crumbled into guilt laced with poisonous shame. Rory seemed to look around for an escape, but he did not find one. He didn't meet the eyes of his interrogator, "Um...I...Yeah. She paid me. I don't know why, I just needed the money." The words came out in a hot jumble full of regret. 

The blonde felt no anger, only confusion. He didn't know anyone who would want to do that to him, or to his family. He had an inkling that this bad horse show wasn't meant for him. It was too general; everyone on the team had been a victim. That took him off the table for being the intended target, leaving his family. Will knew Bailey hadn't done anything worse than steal a few of John's beers, the cousins being as thick as thieves. That left his aunt and uncle as the target. 

Turning to Rory, he asked, "Who is this lady? The one who paid you to do this. Can you help me find her?"

The asked shifted uncomfortably, feeling like a fish out of water. He put down his shovel, leaning against the stall's door. He pushed his hair off his face, "Uh...She didn't tell me her name, but she said if I needed her, I should email her." 

"Can I have the email?" Will asked quickly. 

Rory nodded, finding a scrap of paper in the barn office, and then writing it down for Will. He handed him the slip of paper: lj.ocallaghan at gmail.com. He looked up at the taller boy, feeling a hollow pit opening in the pit of his stomach, "Look, I never meant to get anyone hurt."

Will stuffed the paper into his pocket, studying Rory's face, "You don't strike me as a bad guy."

"Hey, if you are trying to find this lady, bring me. She used me, not you."

Will nodded, seeing the logic in that statement. Bringing Rory along and having him talk to this mystery woman would be less cause for her to be suspicious. He smiled with straight white teeth, "Good idea. Let me get your phone number too, and I'll let you know when we are going on a road trip."

After the exchange of numbers, Will departed from Dale Ridge. Sitting in his car seat, he read the email address at last--lj.ocallaghan. His strong jaw dropped; he knew an L. J. O'Callaghan. Leo James O'Callaghan, his childhood best friend. Surely, this couldn't be the same O'Callaghan. His deep set frown returning, Will started his drive back to Horseland with his old friend on his mind. 

                                                                                              ***

Tina Maddox sat at the plain kitchen table in the kitchen of an old brick farm house. Across from her sat a middle aged man with a greying red beard in a baseball cap. On her left, a boy of about thirteen, strawberry blonde and talking loudly of his soccer practice. And on her right, a skinny boy of sixteen with bright red hair, wearing a club wrestling sweatshirt and his breath whistling through the gap between his front teeth as he laughed along with his brother.

A/N

Hello, I have plans for Will. 

Leo is back, and evolved from my first horseland fanfic.

I am also very tired from finals week being soon.