Blood and Roses (Holly Jennings Thriller) by A.K. Alexander Page B
Authors: A.K. Alexander
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and have a drug like that handy. And a vet may be against some of the practices on the track. Does Equine Health Systems sell this stuff, by chance?”
“They don’t. I checked that already. No pharmaceuticals through them,” Amar said. “But as I said, this drug is relatively easy to get and appears to be common in the equine world. It can be bought online, and proper dosages would be pretty easy to learn. Or, if the prescription was given by a vet, a fairly smart person could figure out how to dose a human. And we all know this guy is pretty smart. Frightening as it is, this guy may not have cared if he overdosed Tieg. He may have been irritated if Tieg was nonresponsive to his torture, sure, but his end goal was Tieg’s death. I believe the killer had some vendetta to satisfy.”
Holly liked Amar. He was smart, spoke his mind when he felt it relevant, and he also listened. He was a good cop, and she thought his theories prudent. “I think you’re right. There is a vendetta mentality going on here, which if we’re dealing with two killers widens things even more for us. Narrowing in on a vet with a grudge and abrain that has gone haywire is likely doable, but finding two people in this category might be like finding a needle in a haystack. No pun intended.” She smiled at her colleagues. “Okay, maybe a little.”
The men chuckled. Amar asked, “Did anything turn up in the jockeys’ systems like this Acepromazine?”
“No. He didn’t sedate either of them.” She walked over to the two jockeys’ files on a table and handed them to Amar. “I think we have to look at the possible connections.”
“Looks like Tommy Lyons rode one of Tieg’s horses in a race, but that’s it,” Chad said. “The race didn’t go so well. The horse, Stand by Me, fractured his cannon bone…” He glanced up from his notes. “His leg, or a part of it. Horse had to be put down on the track.”
“Was that this past meet at Del Mar?” Holly asked.
“Yeah, actually it was. Tommy rode more than one horse in that meet. I’ve learned it’s commonplace for jockeys to ride for more than one owner and trainer at each meet, which tend to last around six weeks or so.”
“And we didn’t question Tieg after the murders?”
Chad’s face flushed. “No. And Gershon was the trainer. We asked him if he knew Tommy and Katarina, and all he said was that he knew them in passing. Why not tell us that Lyons had ridden one of Tieg’s horses in a race?”
Holly sighed. “Good question, and one we need to address with Gershon.” It wasn’t her partner’s fault that they had dropped the ball on this one. She remembered the various interviews, but the case with the judge’s niece had been hanging over their heads, and they’d been pushed hard to solve that one at whatever cost. “Okay. And how about Katarina? Any connection between her and Tieg?”
“I don’t see anything there. Yet.”
Holly drew a line between Tommy’s and Tieg’s photos. She continued with the line and took it down to Jim Gershon’s nameand photo. “He was pretty open about his feelings on the pin firing technique. He claims it isn’t something he advocates or practices on the animals that he trains, but how long had he been working for Tieg?”
“I think he said a year,” Amar replied.
Holly nodded. “And we spoke with the trainer who Tommy Lyons had been riding for at the time of his murder. Her name is Elena Purdue. He’d ridden that horse of Tieg’s just the one time, and then Elena Purdue also owns and trains a horse that he rode a number of times. But not much turned up when I spoke with her. She seemed very happy with Tommy; didn’t know much about Katarina, other than she said that she was a good jockey. Elena Purdue seemed distraught over their murders but didn’t shed much light on any of it for us.”
“Scott Christiansen had mentioned another trainer,” Chad said.
“Right. Rafael Torres. Let’s come back to him. I want to
“They don’t. I checked that already. No pharmaceuticals through them,” Amar said. “But as I said, this drug is relatively easy to get and appears to be common in the equine world. It can be bought online, and proper dosages would be pretty easy to learn. Or, if the prescription was given by a vet, a fairly smart person could figure out how to dose a human. And we all know this guy is pretty smart. Frightening as it is, this guy may not have cared if he overdosed Tieg. He may have been irritated if Tieg was nonresponsive to his torture, sure, but his end goal was Tieg’s death. I believe the killer had some vendetta to satisfy.”
Holly liked Amar. He was smart, spoke his mind when he felt it relevant, and he also listened. He was a good cop, and she thought his theories prudent. “I think you’re right. There is a vendetta mentality going on here, which if we’re dealing with two killers widens things even more for us. Narrowing in on a vet with a grudge and abrain that has gone haywire is likely doable, but finding two people in this category might be like finding a needle in a haystack. No pun intended.” She smiled at her colleagues. “Okay, maybe a little.”
The men chuckled. Amar asked, “Did anything turn up in the jockeys’ systems like this Acepromazine?”
“No. He didn’t sedate either of them.” She walked over to the two jockeys’ files on a table and handed them to Amar. “I think we have to look at the possible connections.”
“Looks like Tommy Lyons rode one of Tieg’s horses in a race, but that’s it,” Chad said. “The race didn’t go so well. The horse, Stand by Me, fractured his cannon bone…” He glanced up from his notes. “His leg, or a part of it. Horse had to be put down on the track.”
“Was that this past meet at Del Mar?” Holly asked.
“Yeah, actually it was. Tommy rode more than one horse in that meet. I’ve learned it’s commonplace for jockeys to ride for more than one owner and trainer at each meet, which tend to last around six weeks or so.”
“And we didn’t question Tieg after the murders?”
Chad’s face flushed. “No. And Gershon was the trainer. We asked him if he knew Tommy and Katarina, and all he said was that he knew them in passing. Why not tell us that Lyons had ridden one of Tieg’s horses in a race?”
Holly sighed. “Good question, and one we need to address with Gershon.” It wasn’t her partner’s fault that they had dropped the ball on this one. She remembered the various interviews, but the case with the judge’s niece had been hanging over their heads, and they’d been pushed hard to solve that one at whatever cost. “Okay. And how about Katarina? Any connection between her and Tieg?”
“I don’t see anything there. Yet.”
Holly drew a line between Tommy’s and Tieg’s photos. She continued with the line and took it down to Jim Gershon’s nameand photo. “He was pretty open about his feelings on the pin firing technique. He claims it isn’t something he advocates or practices on the animals that he trains, but how long had he been working for Tieg?”
“I think he said a year,” Amar replied.
Holly nodded. “And we spoke with the trainer who Tommy Lyons had been riding for at the time of his murder. Her name is Elena Purdue. He’d ridden that horse of Tieg’s just the one time, and then Elena Purdue also owns and trains a horse that he rode a number of times. But not much turned up when I spoke with her. She seemed very happy with Tommy; didn’t know much about Katarina, other than she said that she was a good jockey. Elena Purdue seemed distraught over their murders but didn’t shed much light on any of it for us.”
“Scott Christiansen had mentioned another trainer,” Chad said.
“Right. Rafael Torres. Let’s come back to him. I want to
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