“I checked them out myself,” Kate said. “They had swollen lymph nodes under their jaws. Looks like equine flu. They’ll need extra care for at least a week.”
Tiernan said, “We need to get them out of there before the rest of the herd becomes infected.”
“Already done,” Chase said. “Not that it’s any guarantee that more won’t get sick. The affected horses are in a corral near the barn. Let’s just hope this is it, that there aren’t more.”
Though she wasn’t a horse expert, Ella knew that equine flu could be a serious problem.
“We took Maggie over to the ranch. Mom is taking care of her,” Kate said. “Then we came back here to get you. I figure it’s going to be a long night. I can’t believe this is happening right before the big party for Quin and Luz.”
“An engagement party,” Tiernan told Ella. “Kate’s youngest brother is getting married, and there is going to be a big celebration tomorrow night at the ranch.”
As the others discussed treatments and precautionary measures, Ella tried to think of something happy—the engaged couple’s upcoming nuptials—but couldn’t keep a terrible memory out of mind. Picturing a raven’s track scratched on the post between refuge and rez pastures on the set, she could almost hear Jacob railing against her.
She felt nauseous.
This was the way her father’s downfall had begun all those years ago….
Hot bile filled Ella’s throat as she remembered how quickly the accusations surrounding Father had spread and escalated and wondered if fate had the same in store for her.
Chapter Eight
Tiernan suggested Ella stay at the house and try to get some sleep, but she insisted on accompanying him and Kate and Chase to the barn to help with the horses. Five of them were sick. So far. He’d seen influenza spread through a herd like wildfire, and he wouldn’t bet there wouldn’t be more equine victims by morning.
Being a veterinarian put Kate in charge. Even her husband deferred to her as she issued instructions on what she needed them to do for the horses.
“I want them in the barn, but let’s get the floors hosed down and fresh hay put in the stalls first,” she said.
From past experience with equine flu in Ireland, Tiernan knew they needed to keep the barn dust free and well ventilated. They all got busy, Ella working side by side with him. Apparently, she knew her way around horses and wasn’t afraid to put herself out.
A half hour later, the stalls were ready for their occupants.
“Make sure you clean your hands before touching any horse,” Kate said.
She started with the horse she brought inside, taking a nasal swab and a blood sample, then checking the horse’s temperature.
“How bad?” Chase asked.
“Only 100.”
Odd that the horse should be so symptomatic, then, Tiernan thought. Usually a horse with flu had a temperature between 103 and 106 degrees. Kate took samples and temperatures from each of the horses. When none showed the expected high fever, she grew thoughtful, ran her hand through the nearest horse’s mane and pressed her forehead into his cheek as if she were trying to read him.
“What?” Tiernan asked softly, knowing that Kate had a psychic bond to horses just as he did.
“I don’t know. I don’t see anything… nor sense anything. I simply have a weird feeling is all.”
Ella frowned at them but didn’t say anything as Tiernan narrowed his focus and concentrated on the nearest horse himself. He got nothing for his trouble.
“What do we do now?” Ella asked.
“Give them rest so they don’t pick up any secondary infections,” Tiernan told her. Kate added, “I need to be sure of what’s going on before deciding whether to give steroids to the pregnant mare. In the morning, I’ll run the blood and nasal samples to the lab to see exactly what we have.”
“Or don’t have,” Chase said.
Did Chase think the horses weren’t really sick? Tiernan wondered. If not, they were great actors if the hoarse coughs were any indication. As the humans left the barn, a couple of the horses were hacking away.
As they headed for the house, Tiernan looked to Kate and Chase. “I meant to tell the two of you, Ella and I had some trouble of our own tonight. Vehicle trouble.”
“So that’s why when we drove in from the ranch, I didn’t see the refuge truck,” Chase said.
“I am sorry to be telling you all four tires were slashed outside the casino.” Feeling guilty, he assured them, “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for them myself.”
“That’s not an issue,” Chase said. “But what the hell’s going on, Tiernan?”
“Nothing good. There is more.” He tensed as he remembered the harrowing ride from the reservation to the refuge. “Ella gave me a ride back here and we’re lucky we made it in one piece—someone tried running us off the road. Nathan Lantero’s truck, but he apparently reported it stolen the hour before.”
As they entered the house, Chase kicked back his hat and frowned. “I don’t like the sound of this. Who did you hack off and why?”
“Possibly a murderer,” Ella said.
“The track of a raven was left where the man was found dead yesterday… the same marking connected with Ella’s da, who was murdered by his own people fifteen years ago.”
“You’re that Thunder?” Kate sank into a chair in the reception area. “I remember hearing something about the shaman being killed… Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.” Ella sat on the couch opposite.
“The authorities think Harold Walks Tall had an accidental fall, and we do not agree,” Tiernan explained, sitting next to Ella but keeping a slight distance so she wouldn’t distract him. “We’re doing some investigating on our own.”
“And whoever is responsible is trying to discourage you. I can’t believe it’s Nathan Lantero.” Across the room in the work area, Chase wedged a hip on the desk. “I’ve known him too many years to believe something like this of him. He used to work for me.”
“He worked for the refuge before he became an activist,” Ella said. “I don’t like thinking bad things about him, either. I mean, he is my cousin and he did save my life once.” Looking as if she had a rock in her stomach at the thought of Nathan’s being guilty, Ella shook her head. “I hope you’re right, that it can’t be Nathan.”
Tiernan wasn’t so certain. Nathan had been in the casino, but by the time they’d left Leonard’s office, Nathan had vanished. Enough time for him to mess with the truck and plan how to scare the hell out of his cousin.
“I hope you and Chase don’t mind,” he said to Kate, “but I want Ella to stay here tonight. Her driving to the reservation alone isn’t safe.”
“Of course,” Kate said. “Though it won’t be any safer in the morning. Do you have someplace else you can stay?”
“No, not really.”
Kate looked to her husband.
“She can stay as long as she needs to,” Chase said. “We can scare up a cot—”