Saddled With Trouble by Michele Scott

was defrauding these people?”
    “ You think Uncle Lou would hide money from you and steal from people?” The words coming from Cynthia sounded completely incredulous.
    “ No. Not really. It sickens me to think about and now we can’t figure it out together. The only other explanation that might make sense is that Lou was having memory problems.”
    “ He was?”
    “ I noticed it about a month ago, and then when he showed me these papers the other night, he said that he’d been to see his doctor, because he felt like he was losing his mind. He was practically in tears.”
    Michaela took a deep breath, feeling like all the air had been sucked from her lungs. This was unbelievable. Could that have been why he didn’t sound like himself the other night? “Are you talking something like Alzheimer’s or senility?”
    “ I have no idea. I’m hoping his doctor will speak to me about it. I’m the one now who will have to deal with these suits, and they’re asking for over a million dollars in damages, claiming that the foals they expected from Loco’s bloodline could have profited them greatly.”
    “ You think that any of these people who filed these suits could be responsible for Uncle Lou’s murder?”
    Cynthia shrugged. “It’s a crazy world. After looking over all of this, and wondering what was going on with him, I don’t know what to think. But they’re all located in Ohio. So, if someone from this core group of people is behind it, they would have had to hire someone, and that really doesn’t make a lot of sense, because with Lou gone a lawsuit such as this can become even more convoluted.” Michaela put the papers back inside the folder. “I hate to ask you this because I know you’re in pain, too, but would you mind taking these papers with you and seeing if you can’t find out where the checks were deposited? And, what’s going on? I don’t think I have the strength right now.”
    Michaela hesitated for a minute. She wasn’t sure she wanted to get herself involved in any of this. Seeing the sorrow in Cynthia’s eyes and the grief tightening her face, she said, “I’ll see what I can find out.”
    “ Thank you.”
    “ What about Dwayne? Doesn’t he handle some of the AI transactions, or Sam?”
    “ No, not really. They’re involved in the training and that’s pretty much it. It’s mainly been Lou. Of course they’ve helped at times. Everyone has, even me. And Ethan has also helped out when he was here. Lou was about ready to start looking for some more help, and then he received the lawsuits and thought he better wait until things were cleared up. But no one else handled the paperwork. Lou was the breeding manager, after all. I mentioned this all to Dwayne this morning and he was as floored about it as I was.”
    “ Maybe these lawsuits do have something to do with his murder. Or maybe not. Say this is true. I mean . . . I can’t believe that it could be, because Uncle Lou was so ethical in everything he did. But if by some chance there was a mix-up with the DNA?”
    “ I don’t think that’s likely. We’re dealing in large amounts of cash. People want to be assured of protection in case this exact thing were to happen. I’m sure you’re aware that the American Quarter Horse Association maintains DNA samples of all the stallions involved in AI, and for the foals to be registered they also have to be DNA typed, if they’re bred via AI. And, the claim is the DNA doesn’t match. The plaintiffs have all contacted the AQHA and they’re backing these people, saying that their claims are valid. I think they could even force us to shut down the operation.”
    Michaela frowned. She didn’t have a clue what to make of any of it. “Do you know if the owners know who the real stallion is to these foals? There were three other studs here at the time these people would have received the product and had their mares inseminated, weren’t there?” It could be as simple, albeit, a