Gargantuan_ A Ruby Murphy Mystery - Maggie Estep [75]
A few moments later, Layla’s got the filly going full steam, working alone close to the rail. As they breeze along the backstretch of the track, my eyes play tricks on me. I see the filly suddenly crumble and go down sideways.
“What the fuck!” I hear Henry say nearby and I realize my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me. The filly is down.
Chaos breaks out as riders pull their horses up and both the equine and human ambulances speed over to the site of the accident. I follow Henry as he goes running onto the track.
It’s not a sight anyone should have to see. The filly is on her side, the whites of her eyes are showing and she’s panting horribly. Layla’s entire body is pinned under the horse.
Someone standing near me throws up. I feel my knees get weak and I slowly sit down in the dirt.
I suppose I’ve gone into some sort of blackout and lost track of time because suddenly Attila is sitting next to me, saying something.
“Huh?” I say to him.
“Never mind,” he says somberly.
I look over to where the disaster was but now the filly has been moved into the horse ambulance and there’s no sign of Layla.
“Where’s Layla?” I ask Attila.
“She’s gone, Sal. Her skull was crushed. You saw.”
“I did?”
“That’s what happened to me first time I saw a rider down like that. I can’t remember it to this day. But Layla’s dead, Sal. The filly might make it though.”
“What?”
“Someone shot the filly. Missed her heart though. She’s alive. But she crushed Layla and killed her.”
“Oh my God.”
“We gotta get up, Sal. Gotta get off the track.”
Attila is standing now and he reaches down and takes my hand. He pulls me to my feet and puts a hand on my back, forcing me to walk forward.
THE NEXT HOUR goes by in a blur of cops and officials. I make my statement to the cops, telling them that no, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. They ask me what I’m doing here at the track and I tell them I’m thinking of buying a horse. One cop scoffs, the other looks interested. They finish with me and I start walking. Not even sure where I’m going. Eventually, I find myself back at Henry’s barn. I don’t know where Henry is, but I find Attila there. He looks terrible. I probably do, too.
“We have to talk,” he tells me.
“Talk,” I say.
Attila looks around nervously. “Let’s take a little walk,” he says.
We walk away from Henry’s barn, veering down a muddy path near a manure pile. Attila starts talking, telling me he’s sure it was him the shooter was after. Of course I knew this on a subconscious level but didn’t want to think it. The guy is responsible for that lovely young woman’s death.
“We were wearing the same thing, Sal,” he tells me, “she was on the filly I was supposed to ride. It was me they were after.” He’s not looking me in the eyes. Probably knows what he’ll see there.
“You tell the cops this?” I ask the jockey.
“Course not.”
“Why the fuck not, Attila? An innocent girl is dead. I’m gonna tell them,” I say, restraining an urge to grab him by the shoulders and shake him.
“You don’t have to, Sal. I’m quitting.”
“Quitting what? Being a target?”
“I’m not gonna ride anymore. It’s too fucked up. I’m gonna ride Jack Valentine in the fifth race today and that’s it. I’m out.”
“Good,” I say, feeling disgust for the man, “but I’m still telling the cops.”
“Just let me ride this race, Sal. Then you tell anything to anyone. But I promised Violet I was gonna win this race for her. You gotta give me that.”
I stare at the small man. I still feel contempt for him but, for some reason, I feel like I have to grant him this. I don’t know why. Truth is, I should fucking kill him.
I don’t say anything else to the guy. I just walk toward the parking lot to get my truck. I don’t know where I’m gonna go. Doesn’t matter.
I slip a CD of Bach concertos into the machine and turn the volume