“If the numbers play out like they did in your example,” Aunt Peg said, “Billy will sink more than half a million dollars of his own money into a pair of horses for you, having every intention of selling those horses back to you the very next day at a substantial profit.”
“Precisely,” said Daniel. “Except that shortly before the sale begins, I am going to receive a phone call from my financial advisor informing me that my stocks have tanked, or my ships have sunk, or some other financial calamity has occurred. With great regret I will inform Billy that it has suddenly become impossible for me to make such a large investment in the horse industry at this time. I will thank him profusely for his help and offer to pay him a day rate for his services. And of course I will promise that the very minute my finances are back on track, he'll be the first person I call.”
“Miss Ellie's plot is genius,” I said. “You'll have beaten Billy at his own game. He'll be on the hook for all that money but he won't be able to say a thing, since what he intended to do to you was illegal in the first place.”
“That's not all,” said Daniel. “The coup de grace was what Miss Ellie planned to do next. As Billy realized the precariousness of his position and was casting around frantically for a solution, she intended to step in and offer to cover all his lossesâin exchange for a piece of Green Gates Farm. Poetic justice, wouldn't you say?”
“The perfect revenge,” Aunt Peg said with admiration.
“Especially since if Billy refused, Miss Ellie could threaten to take evidence of his duplicitous activity to the authorities,” I pointed out.
As usual, Aunt Peg was concerned for the animals. “What will happen to the horses Billy bought before the sale?” she asked.
“I'm guessing that he'll start scrambling to try and undo the deals he's put in place. If that doesn't work, he'll probably go ahead and send the horses through the auction ring as scheduled. Best case for him, they'll both sell to new owners. But even so, Billy will lose money, perhaps a great deal of money, because don't forget he paid a premium for those horses above and beyond what they were worth.”
“There's just one last thing I don't understand,” said Aunt Peg.
“What's that?” Daniel asked.
“Why are you doing this?”
“What do you mean? I thought I just explained that.”
“No,” Aunt Peg said firmly. “You explained why Miss Ellie had a grudge against certain members of her family, and why she wanted to get even. You even explained why you wanted to help her.”
All at once I realized what Aunt Peg was getting at. “But what you didn't tell us is why you are going forward with Miss Ellie's plan now that she's gone,” I said. “What do you hope to gain?”
“I would think the answer to that is obvious,” Daniel replied. “Especially to the two of you. In the absence of any official consequence for Miss Ellie's dubious
accident,
I'm seeking my own form of retribution. She deserves justice and I'd like to see her get it. Isn't that the same thing we all want?”
Chapter 24
I
parted company with Daniel and Aunt Peg in the lobby after we'd finished our nightcap in the bar. While the other two said their good-byes, I raced back to the room where Faith was waiting. I owed her a long romp and plenty of undivided attention and Faith obviously agreed with that assessment.
Instead of greeting me at the door eagerly, the big Poodle remained lying down on the bed as I came barreling into the room. She merely lifted her head and stared at me balefully. Her expression was easy to read.
“What, you again?”
The knowledge that I deserved every bit of that rebuke only made me feel worse. I'd brought Faith with me to Kentucky because I couldn't bear the thought of leaving her behind. And yet once we'd arrived, all too often events had conspired to make me do just that.
I sat down on the edge of the bed and ruffled her silky ears. “I'll try to do better,” I said.
Faith just sighed. She rose to her feet, slipped off the bed, and gave her body a good hard shake. Before the pom-pon on the end of her tail had even finished lashing back and forth, I was already slipping a looped collar over her head. Faith padded with me to the door. I opened it a crack and looked both ways before slipping us out into the corridor. We quickly made our escape through the exit at the end of the hallway.
Across the road from the hotel was a large, grassy plot of land that hadn't yet been developed like its neighbors on either side. Faith and I spent nearly an hour there, walking, talking, and taking care of business. We both had a great time; Faith becauseâunlike a humanâit never even occurred to her to hold a grudge, and me because I had missed the steady comfort of her constant presence during this last hectic week. It was wonderful to finally have the chance to relax and reconnect again.
When we got back to the room, Aunt Peg hadn't yet returned.
That
was interesting. But not enough to make me desert Faith again in order to go in search of my errant relative. Instead I plopped down onto the bed, pulled Faith up into my lap, and called Sam.
Even though only a day had passed since we'd last spoken, it seemed as though a lot had happened. It took a few minutes to bring him up to speed. I finished by telling him about the deluge of surprising revelations that had come to light during Aunt Peg's and my dinner with Miss Ellie's long-lost boyfriend.
“So you see,” I said at the end. “We can't possibly come home yet. We have to stay until
after
the horse sale and see how it all turns out.”
“Remind me again whose idea it was to send you to Kentucky?” Sam asked. I could picture him shaking his head.
“I'm quite certain that was you,” I said. “As I recall, I tried to object but you insisted.”
“Was I out of my mind?” he wondered aloud.
I figured that was a rhetorical question and stayed mum.
“Kentucky seemed like such a safe place,” Sam mused. I was pretty sure he was still talking to himself. “Serene . . . pastoral . . . Just farms and bluegrass and happy horses. Who could possibly find trouble in a place like that?”
Another rhetorical question, unless I missed my guess.
I looked at Faith and shrugged. She flicked her tail up and down on the quilt. Any minute now, Sam would remember that I was actually on the other end of the phone line and start directing his comments back to me.
“This horse sale you need to attend,” he said, finally tuning back in. “When is it?”
“Monday afternoon.”
“You're supposed to be back in school on Monday morning.”
I'd already thought about that part.
“I'm never absent from my job,” I said. “And we'll drive all night after the sale ends, so I'll only miss one dayâ”
“One day at the end of spring break,” Sam pointed out. “Do you think anyone's going to be fooled when you call in sick?”
“Maybe I should say we had a flat tire,” I considered. “That might go over better. Besides, I won't be the only one who's out. Half the kids won't be back from their skiing and beach vacations yet either.”
Sam chuckled under his breath. “Don't try selling that excuse to Russell Hanover,” he advised.
Mr. Hanover was headmaster at Howard Academy. He was a man of dignity and discipline and he was a stickler for the school's rulesâmany of which he'd put into place himself.
“I'll make it work,” I said. “I'm more worried about you than Mr. Hanover. Is everything all right at home?”
“Peachy,” Sam replied. “I'd put the boys on to tell you themselves but they're already asleep. I can coast through a few extra days . . . except for one thing.”
“What's that?” I asked, even though I was pretty sure I knew. Sam's voice had dropped into that husky register that always makes my insides melt.
“I miss you,” he said.
I sighed softly before replying. “I know. I miss you, too.”
“Here's a thought,” said Sam. “Instead of letting this all play out, why don't you and Peg just drag Daniel down to the local Sheriff's office and get him to tell them everything he knows?”
“Aunt Peg and I suggested that,” I said. It was the last thing the three of us had discussed before leaving the bar. All to no avail. “Apparently Daniel's already had a conversation at the police department in Versailles. He didn't get any farther with them than Aunt Peg did with the Sheriff. The Gates family wields a sizable amount of influence around here and the consensus among law enforcement seems to be that the three of us are outsiders looking to stir up trouble.”
“I'd say that's rather short-sighted of them.”
“I agree, which is why Aunt Peg and I want to lend our support to Daniel. He's determined to go through with the plan that Miss Ellie put into place. At this point it seems as though we may never know the truth about whether or not her death was an accident. Bearing that in mind, Daniel believes that the best tribute he can offer Miss Ellie is to finish what she started.”
“It sounds like you and Peg feel the same way.”
I thought about that for a few moments before answering. “I only knew Miss Ellie briefly, but one thing I know for sure is that she didn't deserve what happened to her. I have my suspicions what might have taken place, especially now that I've heard Daniel's story about the acrimony her whole family seems to thrive on.
“But in just a few days Aunt Peg and I will leave Kentucky for good. Our suspicions will remain just that. In all likelihood, no one will ever be arrested, or charged, or punished in connection with Miss Ellie's death. So I guess I agree with Daniel that financial retribution is better than nothing. I think Miss Ellie would have appreciated that.”
“Then it's settled.” The provocative timbre I'd heard in Sam's voice earlier was gone now. Darn it. “I'll expect you back early Tuesday?”
“That's the plan,” I said.
“Stay out of trouble.”
“I'll certainly try.” It wasn't my fault that I always found that easier to say than to do.
“And keep Peg out of trouble, too,” Sam growled.
“No promises on that score. You know Aunt Peg.”
We were all well aware of Aunt Peg's propensity to make a bad situation worse. Even Faith.
“In that case, watch your back,” Sam said. “I need you home safe.”
“Always.” My thumb brushed the screen to disconnect. I lowered the phone from my ear.
“Always,” I said again. It was a promise.
* * *
With time to kill before the works at Keeneland on Thursday morning, Aunt Peg and I spent most of Wednesday playing tourist.
“I refuse to leave central Kentucky having seen nothing more than horse farms and dog shows,” Aunt Peg said emphatically over breakfast. She was brandishing a guidebook she'd brought to the table with her. “You have no idea how many things we've been missing out on. There are all kinds of interesting sights to see around here.”
“Like what?” I sectioned off a large wedge from my stack of pancakes and popped it in my mouth.
“For starters, the University of Kentucky is right here in Lexington.”
“Go, Wildcats!”
Aunt Peg looked up from her book. “Who?”
“The Wildcats. They're U.K.'s basketball team. Coach Cal?”
She shook her head.
“Aunt Peg, they're huge. They're
famous
. March Madness? Final Four? None of this is ringing a bell?”
“You're the one whose bells are ringing,” she said. “What are you going on about? The university is a
school
. Quite a good school.”
Okay, then.
Not a fan of college basketball.
“Right,” I agreed, deflating. “U.K. is a bastion of higher learning. What else have you got?”
“Mary Todd Lincoln's house.” She peered at me over the top of her guidebook. “You
do
know who she is, don't you?”
“Of course.”
“Because suddenly it occurs to me that perhaps you spent your entire educational life thinking about team sports.”
“No such luck,” I told her. “Mary Todd Lincoln was born in Lexington, wasn't she?”
“Indeed. Her family home has been restored and it's available to be toured. Along with”âAunt Peg flipped through several pages until she found what she was looking forâ“Shaker Village.”
“I remember the Shakers,” I said. “Aren't they extinct? Wasn't there some problem with sex? Like they weren't having any?”
Aunt Peg's chin elevated slightly. “I do believe that they adhered to a life of celibacy, yes.”
“Which accounts for the lack of Shakers today. Nice furniture, though. Clean lines, built to last. Under the circumstances, that seems ironic, doesn't it?”
Aunt Peg let an eye roll serve as her reply.
Undeterred, I plowed on anyway. “So the Shakers have an entire village here in Lexington? Who lives there?”
“It appears to be more like a museum, actually. Or a historic center.”
“Cool. Put it on the list.” I took a break to gobble down more pancakes, then said, “I notice you haven't mentioned Keeneland. Since it's one of Lexington's premier tourist attractions, that seems like a curious omission.”
“Not at all. I'd imagine we'll be spending much of the day there tomorrow, watching horses run around the track.”
“Daniel called it a works show,” I said. “And speaking of Daniel, where did you disappear to last night?”
Aunt Peg slid the billfold holding the check over in front of her and signed the meal to our room. “I have no idea what you're talking about,” she said.
When pigs took flight, I thought. But just to avoid any confusion, I laid out the facts.
“You didn't come back to the room after we left the bar. And when Faith and I returned from our run and went to sleep nearly an hour and a half later, you
still
hadn't shown up. For all I know, you might have stayed away all night.”
“Honestly.” Aunt Peg sounded exasperated. She pushed back her chair and stood. “Sharing a hotel room with you is like staying with my mother. Are you keeping tabs on my whereabouts now?”
“I'm merely curious,” I said primly.
She stalked out of the dining room. I hurried after her.
“Plus,” I added, “Sam told me to keep you out of trouble.”
Aunt Peg stopped suddenly and spun around. “I'll have you know that if I want to get into trouble, I shall do so. With or without your permission.”
I was pretty sure I'd told Sam much the same thing.
“But . . .
Daniel Nash?
”
“Oh please. Nothing happened with Daniel Nash. He and I simply started sharing fond memories of Miss Ellie after you left. Eventually we found seats in the lobby and talked for several hours. It was all the more interesting because each of us had known the woman at two such very different times in her life. We were rather teary by the end, both of us regretting that we'd ever let our connections to Miss Ellie fade away as we did.”
“I'm sorry,” I said. “I shouldn't have pried.”
Aunt Peg continued down the hallway toward our room. “For heaven's sake, don't be such a weenie,” she snapped.
“Excuse me?”
“If you're going to start apologizing for asking personal questions, you're going to spend the rest of your life feeling sorry about things. And what a colossal waste of time that would be.”
Trust Aunt Peg to put things into perspective. And manage to make me feel like a whiner at the same time. Just another example of her rare and unusual talents. If only I could persuade her to use her powers for good rather than mischief, imagine what we might accomplish.
Aunt Peg slipped her keycard into the lock. She checked to make sure the hallway was empty and then opened the door. “Now grab Faith and let's go. The day isn't getting any younger and we have sights to see.”
Aunt Peg drove. I navigated. Faith supplied the occasional commentary from the backseat. We walked around the expansive U.K. campus, spent several hours at historic Shaker Village, and toured the downtown home where Mary Todd Lincoln had been born. And as if that wasn't enough running around for one day, Aunt Peg decreed that we would end the afternoon by visiting the sumptuous Woodford Reserve Distillery.
It was almost dinnertime when we got back to the hotel. I was tired and slightly sunburned. And I'd devoured more bourbon balls in the previous hour than any sane person should eat in an entire lifetime.