STUDS AND STILETTOS (Romantic Mystery) (28 page)

“There’s nothing up there,” Emily said. “The place is basically empty.” She waved the cup again, keen to demonstrate Barney’s ability. “Check this out.”

“I don’t have time for useless tricks,” Judith snapped. “Not when a groom has been missing for years. Why are you in such a good mood anyway? Never mind.” She blew out a resigned sigh. “Everyone’s talking about how Dan kissed you. No wonder you both are walking around with foolish grins.”

Emily stepped from the stall, rather guilty she was so happy. But Judith was right. For the last hour, ever since Dan had publicly kissed her, she’d been grinning in delight. She just prayed the kiss was as important as it had felt.

“It was just a little kiss,” Emily said, unable to wipe the smile off her face. “It doesn’t mean much. He probably does that a lot nearing the end of a shoot.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Judith said. “Not according to my Internet research. I’m going to try that lock.”

She stomped down the aisle to the apartment. Emily followed, hopeful that Judith would talk a little more about Dan rather than worry about a damp and deserted apartment.

“There’s really nothing up there,” Emily called. “The hot water doesn’t even work. I had to shower down here. Did you say Dan was smiling too?”

Judith glanced sideways at the last stall then jerked to a stop, so abruptly Emily almost bumped into her.

“What is it?” Emily asked.

“Look at the heart carved in the wood.” Judith pointed at the wall. “The T must be Tracey. Men don’t draw hearts. But who’s R?”

Emily stared at the crude heart carved on the side of the stall. She’d seen it earlier but hadn’t considered it important: T loves R.

“Probably Reckless,” Emily said, remembering all the hearts she’d drawn with Peanut’s name. “Girls love their horses.”

“Or maybe it was another guy,” Judith said, “and Hamilton was jealous. If he set up Tracey in the apartment but she fell in love with someone else, he couldn’t have been pleased.”

Emily nodded thoughtfully. Billy
had
been weird about the gate. He would have known if Tracey received any visitors. Maybe Billy had served as Hamilton’s watchdog. Maybe he’d been the one to tell Hamilton about Tracey’s new boyfriend. After all, he had said something to Emily about not telling Hamilton the night she was late. Had acted like it was a big favor.

“I only have another hour before my scene,” Emily said slowly, “but let’s stop by Billy’s cottage and try asking a few more questions.”

“Good idea,” Judith said, already turning toward the door.

However, forty-five minutes later they’d learned nothing about the possibility of a boyfriend. Billy barely responded to their questions, or their presence. He hunched in his chair and stared morosely out the window, his conversation reduced to grunts.

Emily shoved a strand of hair behind her ear and continued bagging old beer cans. At least she had the chance to clean a little more, with the security of Judith’s company. And today Billy didn’t seem to mind that they were removing his cans and bottles. The refund would pay for his groceries for at least a week.

She glanced at Judith who no longer pretended to clean, but instead was searching for more of Tracey’s belongings.

“Billy,” Emily asked, rather worried about the depleted contents of his fridge. “Have you had other visitors lately? Did anyone else bring you food?”

He looked up, blinking, as though surprised to see her. “Nope,” he mumbled. “No visitors since the snow melt.”

The expiry date on the milk carton showed that wasn’t true.

Judith kicked a box in frustration. “We better go. He can’t remember anything. Probably R was Reckless. Besides, you have to report to set.”

“I hate to leave him,” Emily whispered. “He needs help. Do you know if he has any relatives?”

“I did some poking on the Internet but didn’t find anything.” Judith pinched the bridge of her nose. “I put Tracey’s duffle bag in the hall closet. We’ll have to tell someone about it. I only wish we had found something else, something that would spark an investigation.”

“Yes, but at least his place is cleaner.”

“That’s not top of my priority list,” Judith said.

*

Emily smiled at Monty, recognizing the helpful wrangler. Today he led a very tall bay with a wide chest and thick black mane.

“Here’s your horse,” Monty said, stopping in front of her. “I’ll be close by, ready to take him back to the barn when you’re finished.”

“Thanks.” Emily gulped, staring up at the tiny saddle perched on the big Thoroughbred. The horse looked at least seventeen hands, and he was as solid as he was tall. “He’s sure big. Will he even fit in the starting gate?”

Monty nodded. “Dan had us lead them in and back them out twice already.”

“Where is Dan?” She glanced around for the golf cart.

“With the AD. They’ll be along once we’re ready. Lizzie is in charge right now.” Monty chuckled. “She picked this big guy out especially for you.”

“Isn’t that nice of her,” Emily said, unsurprised. The glare Lizzie had shot her when she assembled with the other gate riders had been noticeably hostile. “Does this fellow do something I should know about?” she added.

“Just watch your legs against the bars of the gate. He has lots of mane so you have plenty to grab when he goes up in the air. He knows his job. Just let him do his thing.”

“What exactly is his thing?” Emily warily tightened her helmet.

“He’s a copycat. He’ll probably be in the stall next to Bruno. They want to show how dangerous Reckless was in the gate, how his rearing affected the other horses. You know how it spreads when a horse freaks out.”

Emily nodded and squared her shoulders. “Okay. Can you give me a leg up?”

The obliging wrangler boosted her into the saddle. She guided the horse toward the four other riders. He had a lovely walk, alert and eager, and he veered toward the gate as though keen to do his job.

“Not yet,” she said, lifting a rein and turning him back toward the mounted group of riders.

The lady on Bruno was clearly a stunt rider. She slouched in the saddle, sipping on a bottle of water and studying the teenager on the gray with relaxed good humor. “Don’t you worry, sweetie,” she said. “This is a simple scene. You just stand in the gate for a minute or two and then we’re done.”

The girl on the gray didn’t seem at all reassured. Her eyes were huge in her pale face. She sat ramrod stiff, keeping a chokehold on her horse. Emily immediately felt better. She might not be the best rider today, but she certainly wasn’t the worst.

The stunt rider gave Emily a quick perusal. “Great. We have our fifth rider. Although we’ll probably have to wait another hour for Anthony.” She twisted in the saddle and hollered at an attendant. “Bring these riders some water. It’s hot up here.”

The girl on the gray declined a drink, choosing to keep both fists wrapped around the reins, but the other riders quickly accepted.

“Thanks for getting us the water,” Emily said, smiling gratefully at the stunt rider.

“No problem. It gets hot with helmets and vests, especially mid-afternoon. I galloped here when I was a teenager. Mrs. Hamilton made sure we had plenty of water. She was always doing nice things like that.”

Emily leaned forward in the saddle. “Did you know Tracey, Reckless’s groom?”

“Sure did.” The stunt rider tilted her head. The muscles in her arms and neck rippled as she drained the bottle. She swiped her mouth with the back of her arm and resumed talking. “Reckless should have won the Derby that year. Sad about Tracey.”

“Sad? But maybe she left with a boyfriend and is living happily somewhere.”

“No way. She wouldn’t have left Reckless. They had a real bond. That famous incident in the swimming pool really happened.” The rider looked at Emily, a knowing smile lifting the corners of her mouth. “And she didn’t have a boyfriend. Mr. Hamilton was the one who reported her missing. They were exceedingly close, if you get my drift.”

“No boyfriend? Well, do you think he—?” Emily paused, scrambling for a tactful word.

“Killed her?” The rider shrugged and flipped her empty bottle to a watchful wrangler. “I don’t know. There were always whispers but he appeared to adore her. And she seemed to feel the same way.”

“What about Billy, the caretaker by the stud barn? Did you know him?”

“Don’t remember him at all.” She gave another dismissive shrug. “I was a rider. That’s what paved my way into the movies.” She glanced toward the starting gate and straightened in the saddle. “Here
he
comes. Let’s make this good.”

Emily glanced over her shoulder. Dan strode toward them, followed by the assistant director and two men in a dolly truck.

“I thought they’d use a steady cam for this shot,” the stunt rider said. “Maybe the gate is going to open after all. The dolly can drive beside us but it leaves tire tracks.”

Emily nodded, not wanting to show her ignorance. She didn’t know the various camera names or methods, but it certainly was exciting to be in the middle of the action. There was even a fake horse with a moving head mounted on a truck. Obviously it was intended for actors, and simulated a galloping horse without the inherent danger.

One thing was apparent, the five horses chosen to enter the starting gate were all pros. They stood quietly, unfazed by the increasing commotion. It must have taken Dan a long time to find them, or maybe he had trained the horses himself.

“These animals are going to act a lot different in a few minutes,” the stunt rider said. “Dan does awesome work. It’s a huge boost to have his name on your resume. I bet he won’t let the director’s niece ride, even though Anthony ramped down this scene.”

Emily glanced to her left. The nervous young girl was the director’s niece; that explained a lot. Remarkably, the gray horse she rode didn’t seem upset, tolerating the hammerlock on his mouth with amazing grace.

“Hello, everyone,” Dan said, striding into the middle of the circle and looking at the stunt rider. “Good to see you on this one, Mitzie. We’re going to load the first three, then pick it up with you and Reckless.” His gaze shot to Emily and then to her horse. He frowned. “I had you on the gray, Emily.”

He walked closer, patted her horse’s neck then slipped his hand beneath the girth. “Your saddle is a little loose. Let’s tighten this a few holes.” His voice lowered. “We can switch you to the gray, if you’d like. He’s more seasoned and extremely quiet. You’ll be less likely to bang your legs too. ”

“This horse is fine,” she said, guessing the director’s niece would be even more terrified on a bigger horse.

Dan gave an appreciative nod, his eyes as brilliant blue as the sky. “Okay,” he said. “Remember, just hang on. And it’s okay to look scared. In fact, we want that. The gate crew will lead you in, Reckless will rear, the others will get upset and then we back you out. Simple?”

“Absolutely,” she said. His quiet confidence was infectious and she was eager to see Bruno’s imitation of Reckless. She already knew the horse could rear when led, but it would be much more dramatic in the narrow starting gate. And she’d have a front row seat.

“Your hands are okay in those gloves?”

She nodded happily. Her hands were healing well and with the riding gloves Dan had supplied, they didn’t hurt at all. He squeezed her boot, making her heart skip a beat, then turned and headed toward the director’s niece.

Mitzie frowned. “That’s weird. I’ve never seen him stop and personally check a saddle. Or are you a relative too?” The condescension in her voice was unmistakable.

Emily paused. Back at Three Brooks she’d openly flaunted her connections. Sure, people might resent it. But they tended to give preferential treatment once they knew the powerful Derek Burke was her brother-in-law. Here, she’d worked harder than ever before. She’d actually achieved more without Burke or Jenna’s help. And it felt good.

“No, I came on the background bus.” She raised her head. “But I stayed to clean stalls and do whatever work was available.”

Mitzie’s eyes narrowed. “Now I know why you look familiar. You were the non-union girl in that bolting scene yesterday. Why didn’t you say so?” She gave an approving nod. “I thought I was stuck working with a bunch of weekend riders.”

Emily gave a feeble smile. Weekend? She hadn’t ridden in years.

“You should ask Dan to get you a speaking line,” Mitzie went on. “That would get you in the union. He seems to like you and he has tons of clout.”

Emily glanced down, pretending to straighten her horse’s mane. Dan might like her and want to keep her safe, but unfortunately his goal seemed to be getting her off the set. And away from him.

“But maybe you don’t like cameras.” Mitzie shrugged. “I understand that. Not all beautiful people want to be in the movies.”

Emily touched her cheek, remembering she wore no makeup, but the outgoing Mitzie continued talking, apparently sincere. “I have a friend who worked as a wrangler for twenty-four years. She loved it.”

“I do like working with the horses,” Emily said. “They’re very relaxing. And Dan is…”

“On every woman’s top ten-to-do list.”

Emily flushed but Mitzie didn’t notice her discomfort.

“Dream on,” Mitzie said. “He doesn’t takes advantage of his looks, or his position. He wants a stay-at-home ranch girl. His mother craved the limelight. Wasn’t so happy about marriage and motherhood. Awesome rider though.”

Emily pushed her feet further in the stirrups, uncomfortable with the gossip. However, the chance to learn more about Dan was irresistible. “You knew his mother?” She sneaked a peek at Dan. Luckily he was out of earshot, still reassuring the frightened rider on the gray.

“A little.” Mitzie shrugged. “We worked together on some stunts before. She ended up in a chair.”

“A chair?” Emily gaped. “Executed?”

“No, stupid, a wheelchair. She’s in a bad way. Happens to a lot of people.” Mitzie jabbed her thumb at the girl on the gray, her expression darkening. “And Anthony should have known better than to saddle Dan with such a timid and inexperienced rider.”

Emily’s hands tightened around the reins, but Mitzie didn’t seem to mean anything personal about the ‘stupid’ comment. She seemed more concerned about everyone’s riding ability. “I’m not so experienced either,” Emily admitted.