Flamethrower - Maggie Estep [62]
“Not a whole lot I can do for you at this stage,” the sheriff said.
“That sounds ominous.”
“Not meant to. Just that the individual hasn’t actually harmed you yet.”
“He tried to run me over!” Ruby protested.
“Right. You should have reported that when it happened. It’s a little late now.”
At that point, the pregnant cop waddled in.
“The car was reported stolen three weeks ago,” she said.
“He’s been driving a stolen car all this time?” Ruby asked.
“Apparently,” the pregnant cop shrugged.
The Honda’s being hot seemed to stir their interest a little, and by the time Ruby left the station, she knew that they’d put out some sort of bulletin on the Honda and that the creep probably would be stopped at a tollbooth soon. This was reassuring.
Sort of.
18. LOST
Ruby knew that Delaware Park got a big facelift when slot machines started bringing money to the old track, but she pictured the place as grim, something like Aqueduct, with lots of cement and few trees. Instead, Delaware Park was lush and nearly as lovely as Belmont. Dark green barns stood in orderly rows, and handsome old trees shaded horses and back-stretch workers as they went about the business of early afternoon chores.
Violet had asked Ann Julian to leave Ruby’s name at the stable gate. The guard there directed Ruby to Ann’s barn. As Ruby nosed the Mustang into a spot, Spike started wagging his tail and looking all around. Ruby had no idea how he’d be around horses, so before getting out of the car, she scooped him into her arms.
Ruby had taken only a few steps toward the barn when Ann Julian materialized. She scowled at Ruby.
“Hi, Ann,” Ruby said brightly.
“That a dog?”
“This is Spike,” Ruby said defensively.
“Mind he doesn’t bark or get underfoot,” Ann said, barely relaxing her scowl.
“I’ll hold on to him,” Ruby said.
“How you been? You look different,” Ann commented as she led the way toward her barn office.
Ruby was always flummoxed when people told her she looked different. She figured it was a euphemism for older, or fatter, or something generally unflattering.
“I mean you look fit,” Ann added. “I hate when people tell me I look different. I always think they mean ugly.”
Ruby laughed, “Thanks for clarifying. I was actually just thinking you meant something less than flattering.”
They were walking past horses stalls now, and Spike was trying to struggle out of Ruby’s arms, presumably to go sniff at the baffling enormous animals. Ruby held him tightly.
Ann’s office was crammed with crap. File cabinets, a desk, and a sad-looking green couch all jammed inside a small, windowless room that smelled of Murphy Oil Soap. Two broken bridles were dangling from a hook. A large feed supply store calendar hung over the desk. Ann closed the door and told Ruby she could put Spike down. The puppy eagerly explored the small room, carefully sniffing everything.
Ann glanced at a corner of the calendar, squinting as she tried to make sense of what she’d written there.
“So, your guy is working for Nancy Cooley,” she said, sitting down in an office chair. “She’ll hire just about anyone, that one.”
“Oh?” Ruby shouldn’t have been surprised that Ann had tracked Elliott down so quickly. The backstretch seemed vast to outsiders, but it functioned like a small village where secrets were few.
“Barn seventeen,” Ann added. She was resting her large call used hands over her knees, looking down at the tops of her hands as if they displeased her.
“And yeah, there’s a woman with him,” Ann added. “City slicker type. Heard more about her than about the guy. Good-looking woman they say.”
Ruby asked after Ann’s string of horses. They were almost all claimers, but she talked about them as if they were stakes horses. Ruby made the right noises for the right amount of time then told Ann she needed to go find Elliott and Jody
“Yeah. I got a lot to do too. Good luck with whatever the hell it is you’re up to,” Ann said.
Ruby picked Spike back up for the walk to the car. She didn’t want to, but she’d have to leave the puppy in the