Midfifties. Five foot ten. A hundred fifty pounds. Mostly muscle. A tiny limp on the right side—probably an old knee injury. Threat level open, depending on how fast she could draw that gun strapped to her hip.
She wiped her hands with a towel as she approached and gave us a nod.
“It’s been a long time,” she said.
“Years, I think,” Ida Belle said. “This is our friend Fortune. She moved to Sinful last year.”
River’s eyebrows went up. “The lady spook?”
“That’s me,” I said.
“Well, I’m just dying to know what you three could want with me,” River said. “One of you looking to buy a horse?”
“Not exactly,” Ida Belle said. “I’m sure the police filled you in about what happened in the park the other night.”
River nodded. “Kinda had to as some ass—body used my horse Shadow for their stunt. I was mad as heck. That horse is worth a mint in breeding rights. If he’d been injured…”
“I don’t blame you,” Gertie said. “My bird isn’t even worth anything but I’d shoot someone who tried to hurt him.”
“So what’s your interest in this?” River asked, looking directly at me. “The police already asked everything they could think of. Not that I had any answers. You don’t work for the cops now, do you?”
“Nothing like that,” I said. “My interest is more personal, I guess you could say.”
“How’s that?” River asked.
“The head fell off in front of us,” Gertie said. “Actually, I caught it.”
River frowned. “That’s horrible. But I still don’t see what that has to do with me or Shadow. Or why you’re here asking about it.”
“We’re just nosy,” Ida Belle said.
River stared at her for a moment, then let out a laugh.
“I like direct,” River said. “And truth be told, if that had happened to me, I might be asking some questions myself. But I don’t think I can help you. The last time I saw Shadow was when I turned him out in the front pasture around noon. I didn’t know he was gone until I went back to collect him that evening and couldn’t find him. I scoured every inch of that fence looking for a break and couldn’t find one. Then I figured he’d gone over and started to panic. I saddled up and rode myself into a frenzy trying to find him, and here he was running through the park with a dead man strapped to him.”
Ida Belle nodded. “It does seem a bit surreal.”
“A bit?” River asked. “It’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard in my life, and that’s saying a lot for someone who was born here.”
“I’ve only been here a little over a year and I get it,” I said. “I assume there was a gate that someone could have taken Shadow out of?”
“Sure,” River said. “Can’t have this much pasture without plenty of gates. You never know when you’ll need to access a sick animal or have some other emergency. Don’t have time to go cutting and rewelding fences all the time.”
“I notice you have a good security system here,” I said and pointed to the cameras on the barn and house. “But you don’t have any in the fields?”
“No,” River said. “Never thought I had to. I only turn the horses out during the day. They’re all inside at night and the security for the barn is top-notch. Now I’ve been rethinking everything. Might have to shell out some cash to get more cameras installed.”
“Why put such a valuable horse in that front field in the first place?” I asked.
“Space,” River said. “He’s a stallion. If he doesn’t get to run out some of that energy and attitude, he will tear my barn down. The other pastures aren’t big enough for him to get in a good flat-out run. And he needs to—for his physical and mental health.”
I nodded. “Seems brazen to take him in broad daylight.”
“Brazen doesn’t begin to describe it,” River said. “I don’t go anywhere that I’m not strapped. Hell, I carry this thing into the bathroom when I shower. If I’d caught someone stealing that horse, there’d be one more body in the morgue and I’d be in jail.”
“Is Shadow trained?” I asked.
River shrugged. “He’s green broke, but I don’t spend much time on him. Shadow is here for one thing and that’s making more little Shadows. I ride him just enough for him to remember the process.”
“So whoever stole him was taking a huge risk that he would even cooperate or not run and hurt himself,” I said.
“Which is exactly why I’m so mad about it,” River said. “I already told Carter if he figures out who took that horse, I’m not responsible for what I do. Now, if you ladies don’t need anything else, I’ve got stalls to clean.”
“I think that’s it,” I said. “Thanks for talking to us. And I’m glad Shadow is all right.”
She nodded and headed for the barn. We trailed back to the SUV and drove off.
“Why that horse?” Ida Belle asked. “Who steals a stallion who’s barely under saddle and uses him for a stunt like that? The number of things that could have gone wrong is astronomical.”
Gertie nodded. “True, but he did look the part. Are there any other solid black horses around?”
“Probably not that look like Shadow,” Ida Belle said.
“I assume River knew Gil, right?” I asked.
“They were in school together,” Gertie said. “But they ran with completely different crowds. Or I should say Gil ran with a different crowd. River preferred crowds of one.”
“Did they ever have any beef with each other?” I asked.
“Not that I saw,” Gertie said. “More like they didn’t know the other existed. The only people I ever saw River talking to were a couple of guys who did rodeo and Judith. I figured that was because they were both girls working their fathers’ businesses. It wasn’t exactly the norm for women to take over farming or ranching. They caught a lot of flak for it—‘manly girl’ and all that crap.”
“I wonder if River and Judith still talk,” I said.
Gertie shrugged. “She’s talking to someone, because she knew about you. But I don’t know that they hang out. Neither has the time. I know Judith hires some locals to help when things are really busy, but for the most part, she does it all herself. I’ve never known River to hire someone, and the care alone of that many horses is a ton of work. Then add the breeding, raising and training so she can sell them, and you’ve got another two full-time jobs.”
Ida Belle nodded. “River’s always been an independent cuss. Walter said she’s ordered parts for machinery and her vehicle but she never lets Scooter fix anything. Always says she’ll do it herself.”
“How much money is in horse breeding?” I asked.
“Not nearly as much as people would imagine,” Ida Belle said. “It’s hard to make a living, so River handling things herself doesn’t surprise me. One good stud, like Shadow, can keep you in the black, but I’ve never known anyone who got rich off of it. Honestly, unless you just love the work, I can’t see why anyone would do it.”