Unbridled Murder

Book 3: Carson Stables Mystery

by Leigh Hearon

Genres: Amateur Sleuth; Cozy Mystery; Female Sleuths

Synopsis

After horse trainer and rancher Annie Carson visits a feedlot in eastern Washington, she is determined to save as many horses from slaughter as possible before hightailing it back home—until she discovers the sleazy owner seemingly trampled in his corral. With the fate of the feedlot herd in her hands, Annie must navigate unfamiliar territory while trying to track down a killer and solve an increasingly tangled mystery. But unfortunately for Annie, returning to the Olympic Peninsula alive will be trickier than she ever imagined. Praise for Leigh Hearon: "Here's a new heroine after my own heart. Plan to stay up all night with this one because this mystery is a winner right out of the gate!" —Fern Michaels, #1 New York Times bestselling author on Reining in Murder "This strikingly polished first mystery is, quite simply, remarkable. Reining in Murder has it all: rounded characters, likeable protagonist, thrilling, perfectly paced plot and impeccable narrative style . . . Leigh Hearon masterfully maintains the suspense to the very finish line." — Mystery Scene Magazine on Reining in Murder “Leigh Hearon seems destined for high marks with what is shaping up to be a delightful new series in the mystery genre.” — Colorado Daily News on Reining in Murder “This murder mystery will be enjoyed by anyone who likes chewing hay and wearing riding boots.” —Fresh Fiction on Reining in Murder “The action-packed scenes are stellar, as well as the descriptions of the gorgeous and dangerous Washington wilderness. This third in the series presents a unique heroine, one whose devotion to horses is as admirable as her wit and intelligence.” — Kings River Life Magazine on Unbridled Murder

Release date: December 26, 2017

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 352

Sample

Annie’s face was infused with damp sweat. The bright fluorescent light overhead nearly blinded her, and it took all her willpower not to twist and squirm from its pitiless gaze. She scrunched her eyes and tried to breathe evenly. She vowed that she would not speak or cry out in pain, no matter what happened.

“Relax.”

The word floated above her, and Annie wanted to kick the speaker. She didn’t, and the speaker continued, in a gentle, soothing tone.

“If you squeeze your eyes like that, I can’t do my job. And you do want beautiful eyebrows, don’t you?”

Did she? Annie had never given much thought to her eyebrows. But apparently, her girlfriends had, and they had pretty much demanded that she do something about them before she saw that fabulously handsome man again.

Lisa Brunswell, one of Annie’s newest friends and her very first stable assistant, was the most adamant. It probably was her age, Annie thought. Lisa was at least two decades younger than she was, the time when things like waxed eyebrows and silky-smooth skin still mattered. Annie was about to turn forty-four, and aside from slapping on a bit of moisturizer before bed—when she remembered—she didn’t really think about her face. Her horses had never complained about her looks.

But then Marcus Colbert had entered her life, and everything had changed. Deliciously so.

And now here she was, lying on a massage table with her knees propped up and her hair pulled back into a plump white towel, and feeling extremely vulnerable. She’d felt more courage when she’d encountered a black bear on her property last autumn.

“Your skin might be a little red after the procedure, so we’re doing the eyebrows first,” the voice continued. “But by the time I’ve finished with your facial, you’ll look perfectly normal. Radiant, in fact. Now, hold still, please. And relax the eyes. That’s it.”

Annie breathed out and thought, not for the first time, that Marcus had seemed to like her just fine when he had first met her. She’d been wearing dusty cowboy boots and faded jeans.

Two hours later, Annie had to admit she looked remarkably better than any time in recent memory. Her skin was glowing, and somehow her green eyes looked more vibrant when unruly eyebrows didn’t take center stage. She’d initially squawked at the stylist’s insistence on trimming her long, dark brown hair and could barely watch as four inches of it languidly slipped to the salon floor. But looking at herself in the mirror thirty minutes later, she realized the shorter length gave her hair more bounce and shape.

She felt beautiful but had no time to revel in her new stunning self. Annie was meeting Marcus at Port Chester’s one French restaurant in two short hours, and she still had to go home to change and check on the horses before making the half-hour drive to the county’s most populated—nearly nine thousand at the last census—metropolis.

She ducked out of the salon while stylists from every booth were still oohing and aahing about her transformation. Rushing straight into the sunlit world, Annie didn’t see Deputy Tony Elizalde approach until he tapped her on her arm. Predictably, she shrieked, and reached into her saddlebag purse for her never-used can of Mace.

“Relax, Annie. It’s me, Tony. Glad I caught you. Boy, you look different.”

He was the second person who’d told her to relax today, and she was already tired of it.

“Try calling out my name next time. I respond to words.”

“Didn’t have time. You burst out of that salon like your hair was on fire. Looks nice, by the way. What’s the hurry?”

As if Annie were going to say anything about her date with Marcus. She’d endured enough snide remarks from Tony about her budding relationship to share any new information now.

“Nothing. What’s up?”

“I got a call from a buddy in eastern Washington this morning about a lead on some fine horses for sale.”

“Thanks, I have all I can handle at the moment.”

“Not you, Annie! For Travis’s new farm, Alex’s Place.”

She squinted at Tony, who was standing right in front of the sun. “I thought we’d decided at the last board meeting that we were going to look for horses at our local rescue centers.”

“We did, which is why I want to talk to you now. This is an opportunity to acquire good horses for all the right reasons. But it’ll take time to explain. And my keen detecting mind tells me you don’t have a lot of that right now.”

“You got that right, Deputy. I’m booked for the rest of the day. But stop by the farm tomorrow, if that works.”

“Will do. Morning okay?”

“Ah . . . let’s make it early afternoon.”

“Roger that.”

Annie nodded at Tony, climbed into her F-250, and started to make an illegal U-turn to head out of town. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she saw Tony still looking at her, his hands on his hips, his expression amused. And curious. Well, he’d just have to stay curious, Annie thought. Although she had to admit she was a bit curious herself about Tony’s new lead on adoptable horses. Her friend, Travis Latham, had recently acquired property to build a working farm for boys at risk. Tony and Annie, both members of the nonprofit board overseeing the project, had been tasked with acquiring horses.

Checking on her own horses was pretty much pro forma tonight. As she pulled into her stables, she saw Lisa’s yellow VW bug already parked by the tack room and heard her friend humming inside. Annie nudged the door open and slithered inside.

“Wow! You cleaned up good!”

Annie grinned back at her friend, who was stuffing two massive flakes of Timothy into Trooper’s hayrack. Trooper was a Thoroughbred and required more hay each day than her youngest horse, a fourteen-hand Saddlebred, consumed practically all week.

“Well, I did have a lot of help.”

“And they sure knew what they were doing. You look incredible, Annie! Marcus is going to think he’s met a totally new woman!”

Fat chance of that, Annie thought. Miracle workers might enhance her exterior, but she doubted anyone could change her personality, which had been described as stubborn, willful, and annoyingly averse to accepting advice. And those were her friends’ opinions. At least everyone stipulated to her fine sense of humor.

“Are you set for tonight?” Annie asked anxiously. Lisa had been Annie’s right-hand stable hand for nearly two months now and knew the horses’ schedules, needs, and personalities almost as well as she did. But this was the first time Lisa was going to spend the night in her farmhouse, alone, unless you counted the dogs, Sasha and Wolf, and Max the kitten.

“Absolutely. The dogs and I are looking forward to staying up late watching zombie movies and eating all your popcorn. And I don’t have to be back at my place until ten a.m. tomorrow, so I’ve got plenty of time to feed, muck, and make sure everything’s set for tomorrow night.”

Annie truly relaxed for the first time that day. She was certain everything would be fine and wondered why it had taken her so long to realize that, as her mother used to say, “many hands make light work.” For fifteen years, as long as Annie had owned Carson Stables, she’d summarily dismissed any suggestion of bringing help on board, even while her herd grew, and her horse-training business became a demanding year-round job. When Sheriff Dan Stetson, a friend from high school and now a close colleague, had convinced her to invest in a flock of sheep to bring in wool income, she’d still managed to do everything herself. After all, she’d had her horses’ help with herding and maintaining the flock’s fence line.

But with the arrival of Trooper, her newest horse and a gift from Marcus, plus a sudden surge in income when Marcus had asked for her help in divesting his late wife’s equine estate, there seemed no reason not to bring in someone to share the workload. Meeting Lisa a few months ago had been fortuitous, indeed.

“Thanks, Lisa. Well, I’ve got to go—I still have to dress.” Annie grabbed her purse and started to jog toward her farmhouse, fifty feet away.

“Go for it, girl! What are you wearing? Something slinky and easy to slip out of, I hope! And don’t forget your makeup!”

Laughter was the only answer her new stable hand was going to get.

Annie had never exactly understood what a “double take” was until she saw Marcus’s reaction as she walked through the crowded restaurant toward his table.

At six-two, Marcus could stand up remarkably quickly—and elegantly. In his haste this time, however, he managed to bump his knees on the underside of the table, nearly upsetting the bottle of red wine that the waiter was just putting down. Marcus didn’t seem to notice the waiter grab and steady the bottle. His eyes were entirely on Annie.

Unlike Lisa, he did not squeal with praise. He merely took her in, admiration and something a bit earthier gleaming out of his dark blue eyes. He held out his arms and Annie slid into them, mindful that other people were watching.

“You look good enough to eat,” he murmured into her ear.

“Later. At the moment, the tablecloth looks appetizing. I’m starving.”

He laughed and let her go. “Then let’s get to it. I’ve perused the menu, and I believe there are several items that will tempt you.”

The waiter poured a small dollop of wine into Marcus’s glass, but Marcus merely gestured for the waiter to fill both goblets. He raised one and cocked it and his head toward Annie.

“To you, Annie, a woman of infinite surprises.”

Annie smiled. They drank, and Annie felt the rich, warm liquid flow through her body. At that moment, she felt so happy that she could do nothing more than gaze at the man across from her. It seemed that her companion could only do the same.

Fortunately, a waiter came by to hand oversized menus to both of them discreetly. He apparently had the good sense to realize that this would not be the time to tell them about the specials.

Marcus glanced at the menu, then deliberately put it aside.

“Now then, you gorgeous creature, you, tell me everything that’s happened since I last saw you. And don’t leave anything out.”

“And then Patricia showed me what dressage horses can really do, which has opened up a whole new market for Hilda’s remaining horses.”

By now, Annie had worked her way through two appetizers and a sizeable slice of prime rib. The waiter was impressed. If Marcus noticed that his dinner guest had outeaten him, he didn’t show it. Annie’s appetite was legendary among her friends, who wondered how a five-foot-eight woman managed to maintain a slim figure while ingesting practically everything in front of her.

“I can see I handed this job off to the right person.”

“Well, I couldn’t do it without Patricia’s help. And I’m learning so much—that’s the best part.”

“I’m glad Hilda’s horses are going to good homes.” Hilda had been Marcus’s wife, who had been savagely murdered almost six months before. To some, it might seem unseemly that Marcus appeared to be courting another woman so soon, but Annie knew that the long-distance marriage had been rocky for years, and on the verge of collapse when Hilda died. Of course, the timing of Hilda’s death hadn’t helped Marcus, who had initially been charged with his wife’s murder. But that was all behind him now, and the equestrian center that Hilda had once reigned over would soon be known as Alex’s Place, the nonprofit farm Tony had alluded to earlier.

The sun was still shining brightly when they emerged from the restaurant at eight o’clock. August truly was the perfect month, Annie thought, and not just because her birthday happened to fall in the middle of it. It was the consistently long, warm, sunny days, when Peninsula residents could forget about the rain that would soon fall and the short days ahead of them. Annie wished it could be August the whole year ’round. She suspected her herd felt similarly.

They strolled down toward the marina, arm in arm.

“Annie.”

“Yes, Marcus?”

“I know your birthday is just around the corner. . . .”

“Don’t remind me.”

“I am reminding you. And I’m so sorry that I can’t be here on the given day. These meetings in London were set up months ago, before I realized . . . well, before I knew . . .”

Annie laughed. “It’s okay. Really. I don’t think I’ve had a proper birthday celebration since I was twenty-one.”

“Well, I promise you one when I get back. But I did want to give you a small token of my affection in advance, just so you’d know I hadn’t forgotten this important occasion.”

They had reached the main pier, a mass of wooden plank walkways that were surrounded by tourist shops and maritime stores. Marcus stopped in front of a tall bronze sculpture of two dolphins entwined together and reached into his inside blazer pocket.

Annie’s heart began to thud against her rib cage. Her mind flashed onto what he might pull out. It couldn’t possibly be a ring. Not at this early stage in the relationship, surely?

The piercing yelp of a police siren obliterated any thoughts she might have had. Both she and Marcus whirled around to see what heinous crime had brought the police so close to their own private zone. Annie watched a Suwana County Sheriff’s Office patrol car lurch into a business-zone parking space beside them and two officers emerge, the vehicle’s strobe lights still flashing.

“Annie! Where in the Sam Hill have you been? And what have you done to your hair?”

Annie groaned. Trust good ol’ Dan Stetson and his sidekick, Tony Elizalde, to break up a good party. The sheriff and deputy strode toward them, seemingly oblivious to the tender love scene that had been about to unfold.

“Marcus! Good to see you! Didn’t realize you were in town!” Dan stuck out his hand, and Marcus grasped it warmly.

“I’m here just today, and heading back to California tomorrow.”

“More of Hilda’s business to wrap up, I suppose?”

“Something like that.”

There was something in Marcus’s tone that made Dan look quizzically at him, then Annie, then clear his throat in embarrassment.

“Yes. Well. That’s good. But Tony and I have been looking for Annie all evening.” Wheeling toward her, he said petulantly, “You haven’t answered your phone.”

Annie dug into her purse and extracted her banged-up cell phone. She flipped open the top and looked askance at the list of missed phone calls on the screen.

“Sorry, Dan. It’s been acting up for weeks now. I don’t hear the calls and often can only salvage the messages days after they’ve been sent.”

“I will attest to that,” Marcus said drily. “She’s a hard woman to find even when she’s not riding one of her horses.”

Annie was not amused by any of them. “Well, you’ve found me now,” she said crossly. “What is so important that you need to put out an all-points bulletin?”

Dan put one of his enormous hands on Annie’s arm. “Now, Annie, don’t be getting cantankerous on us now. Especially when you look so pretty.”

Annie glared at him, and Dan hastily resumed talking.

“Tony had a new idea about how to stock Travis’s farm with horses and couldn’t wait to tell you, could you, Tony?”

Annie glanced at the deputy. He looked about as happy at the way Dan’s conversation was going as she was. She noticed he was holding a thick manila envelope in his hands, nervously turning it over and over again.

“What’s the hurry, Tony? I thought we’d agreed to talk tomorrow afternoon.”

Tony cleared his throat. “We did, Annie. But my timeline shifted, and I really need to clear it with you now.”

Marcus glanced around the group.

“Why don’t we go into that coffee shop across the way to talk about it? The sun’s going to go down in another fifteen minutes, and I have a feeling this conversation will take longer than that.”

Dan immediately turned and made to set off, but Tony shook his head slightly and cleared his throat.

“I don’t think that’s necessary, Dan. Why don’t I just give Annie the broad strokes and let her review what I’ve brought, when she has time?”

Dan looked surprised. “Well, she’ll have to do it pretty darn quick, because as I understand it, you’re leaving tomorrow morning at oh-six hundred on your buddy Rick’s private plane. That doesn’t give Annie much time to weigh in.”

Annie looked at her friend Tony with amusement. He knows this isn’t exactly how Marcus and I intended to spend our one precious evening together. Unlike Dan, the doofus.

“I’ll be blunt, Annie. I’m suggesting that we first look at horses that are bound for the slaughterhouse. A lot of them end up in feedlots in eastern Washington before they’re shipped out. After I talked to you, I learned that transport’s arriving any day now, maybe even tomorrow, at the Loman feedlot. There are a lot of young, relatively healthy horses there that are ripe for training, as well as a lot of seasoned horses that still have years of riding left in them. But we have to act fast.”

Annie’s mouth was hanging open, not that she noticed or cared.

“Headed for the slaughterhouse? What are you talking about, Tony? Equine slaughterhouses were outlawed almost a decade ago. They’re not allowed anywhere in the U.S., the last time I looked.”

Tony sighed. “Yes, but you can still transport horses to countries where slaughtering them for human consumption is still legal. Too many good horses end up on transports to slaughterhouses in Canada or Mexico. I thought we could save a few.”

Tears sprang into Annie’s eyes, and she could feel a deep-burning rage begin to churn in her gut.

“That’s deplorable! Of course let’s save a few. Let’s save as many as we can!”

She felt Marcus’s hand on her arm, and looked down. Her hands were balled into fists. She slowly relaxed them.

“Sorry, Tony. I just had no idea. I . . . I know we’ve got a problem with too many unwanted horses, but the thought of killing them for food is just too . . .” Her voice wavered. She knew she was close to tears.

Tony thrust the manila envelope at her.

“Take this. It’s a printout of all the horses currently up for sale in the feedlot I’m visiting tomorrow. You don’t have to look at it now. I’ll call you when I’m there and give you a rundown on what I see and we can discuss everything then. It’ll be a pretty fast trip. All I’m hoping to do is zero in on the best horses we can save, make a deal with the feedlot owners, and come home. We can arrange for trailer transport from here. They’ll have to be quarantined at first, of course.”

Annie numbly took the envelope extended toward her.

“I’d really hoped that we could talk about this privately tomorrow. And I don’t want to ruin your time with Marcus,” Tony went on. “But I’ve got to get to eastern Washington before the transport vans do, and I wanted to consult with you—and Marcus—first. After all, you’re both members of Travis’s board, and you’re our resident horse expert.”

Annie half smiled at him.

“Thanks. Although I think Jessica ranks a bit higher than I do. Have you told her yet?”

“Our large-animal vet already has told me she’d be happy to thoroughly check any horses we buy. But she said we’d have to find separate accommodations for them for the first thirty days. Jessica can’t risk bringing any new viruses or diseases into her own clinic.”

“Understandable. I won’t be able to board them at my stables for the same reason. But we’ll find some place to quarantine them, I’m sure of it. How about Travis? How does he feel about this?”

“Just what you’d expect. He’s totally on board. He’s authorized me to bring back as many horses as I want.”

Now Annie gave Tony a real smile. “I second that, Deputy. Go get ’em.”

“Will do. But there’s no need to look inside that envelope until I call tomorrow. In the meantime, Annie, my humble suggestion is to get a room.”

And with that parting remark, Tony and Dan practically scuttled away, leaving Annie with a bright red face that lasted long after Dan’s police vehicle headed out of town.

Marcus’s gift to Annie was the latest smartphone. She didn’t know if she was disappointed or thrilled at uncovering the box that bore the familiar logo. Not that Annie had even thought of the idea of marrying Marcus, or anyone, for that matter. But buying an expensive smartphone also would never have occurred to her. Paying someone to help muck the stalls was one thing. Spending money on a device that did everything except walk the dog was another.

“Do you like it?” Marcus asked anxiously. They were seated in the bar of Marcus’s hotel, small snifters of brandy before them. Hordes of tourists were yakking it up in every available corner of the room. The noise level, bolstered by the high ceiling, was close to deafening, but Annie had tuned them all out. Her eyes eagerly took in all the brightly colored icons on the screen. She then gazed up at Marcus, beaming.

“It’s beautiful. But you’re going to have to teach me how to use it.”

“With pleasure. I took the liberty of signing you up under my plan and playing with a few of the apps.”

He looked a bit embarrassed as he admitted this.

“Like what?”

“Well, your list of contacts, for starters.” Marcus punched an icon that looked like an address book and a list of familiar names came up.

“I notice your name tops the list.”

“Only because my last name starts with C, and I couldn’t think of anyone you knew whose name starts with A or B. Or C, for that matter, other than your own.”

“Aha.” Actually, there was one person whose name would supersede Marcus’s—Lavender Carson, her nutty half sister. But so far, Annie had mentioned Lavender to Marcus only in passing and no opportunity for the twain to meet had occurred. May it ever be so, Annie fervently prayed to her Good Angel.

She glanced down at the list, and saw, in addition to Marcus’s name, Dan, Tony, Jessica, and Travis—every board member of “Alex’s Place,” named for Travis Latham’s late grandson.

“They were the only people whose phone numbers I knew,” Marcus said sheepishly. “I do realize your circle of friends and acquaintances extends far beyond this small group. Let me teach you how to add them to your list of contacts. I know you’re friends with Deputy Kim Williams, right? Let’s use her as an example.”

Annie put her hand over the screen and looked directly into Marcus’s blue eyes.

“Marcus, this is the best gift I’ve ever received. Besides Trooper, of course. But doesn’t your plane leave in just a few hours?” She tried her best to look seductive. “Isn’t there anything else you’d like to . . . show me?”

Marcus nodded, a slow grin creasing his face. Annie slipped the phone into her purse and stood up from the table, cognizant that her blue dress clung quite closely to the contours of her body. She accepted the hotel key that Marcus handed her and, hand in hand, they walked toward the elevator.

Annie smiled beatifically at every person she saw the next day, starting with the nice server who arrived at 7:30 AM with coffee and croissants. Her smile extended to all the people in the elevator with her on the ride down to the lobby, and continued as she walked down the street to the lot where her F-250 was lodged. Passersby might have described Annie as definitely having a spring in her step. In fact, it was all Annie could do to stop from skipping her way out of town and back to her stables. She couldn’t remember being this happy, ever.

Marcus had left before dawn in order to catch his early morning flight back to San Jose. Before leaving, he had awakened her, gently, and bestowed on her such a long, lingering kiss that she’d wanted to grab his lapels and hold him in place. She resisted the urge, but he got the message.

“I’ll be back before you know it” was his whispered good-bye. And then he gently shut the door behind him.

Marcus’s kiss had made sleep impossible. So Annie snuggled up in a very large, very comfortable wingback chair in the hotel suite and thought about her wonderful and totally unpredictable new relationship.

Annie had wanted Marcus from the very moment she’d seen him, and she s. . .