Chapter 3: Fateful Ride
Later that night Tala lay awake in bed. It was well past 2:00 in the morning, yet sleep had eluded her the whole night. Her thoughts had kept turning to Jeff, and the fact that she would never see him again. She though she had put on a pretty good show for Mark and her parents that night. Going right back to work, and pretending that everything was alright, when in fact her heart was being torn in two by the loss of her best friend. Silent tears streamed down her face and onto her pillow. All jockeys knew the dangers of racing; it was an occupational hazard to ride a horse at full speed, surrounded by other horses doing the same thing, but the thrill was well worth it. Or so Tala had thought until today. If Jeff hadn't been the rider he was, then Tala would have passed it off as an accident, but because she knew Jeff as well as she did, there was no doubt in her mind that there was no possibility of an accident. She hoped that the guy she had met today could figure out what really happened.
As it turned out, at the time Tala was wide-awake thinking about "the guy" he happened to also be wide-awake thinking about the same thing. Grissom sat at his desk going over the case file on Jeff Robertson, looking for any clue that might lead him to the answer of why the man was murdered. Yes, murdered, the sample had come back as petroleum jelly; someone had made Jeff loose his stirrup. What Grissom didn't know was if they actually wanted him dead or just hurt. Either way, Jeff was now out of the picture, and so the first place he looked for possible suspects were the rivals of his current stable. There were over 20. 'Well we have to start somewhere' he thought to himself.
The next morning Tala got up and was out at the barn by 6:00. When she arrived she found Mark already there. He had his horse tacked and ready to go which surprised Tala, usually she had to explain every little detail of the riding schedule to the newbies, and this was something new.
"I see you deciphered the riding schedule.that's not an easy task," she said as she wheeled up to the stall that he was standing at. "Not too many people can do that. Just let me get my horse, and we'll begin."
She went over to the stall closest to the barn doors, and called Another Victory, a beautiful Bay yearling, who came with no hesitation. She led her down the isle to the cross ties, where she left her to go get her tack. When she returned she saw that Mark was already warming up his horse, a gleaming black bay named Melody of the Sky. Tala rode her horse out to meet him.
"Ok let's do just about what we did yesterday evening, start with a medium paced gallop at a mile to warm them up," She said as she turned her horse to the mile pole. Mark once again followed her. They lined their horses up, and when Tala gave the signal they took off with a jump. Rounding the first bend it seemed that it was going to be a repeat of yesterday, when Mark urged his horse on, in front of Tala. Tala was about to get Victory to catch up when Marks horse stumbled, caught himself and flipped out. First he threw a buck, then her reared. Suddenly he went down and Mark tried to jump free, but was caught beneath the thrashing horse. Legs flailed wildly and Tala saw that Mark was being kicked to death by the horse's rock hard hooves.
"SKY! SKY! STOP IT!" Tala yelled in vain to the horse still struggling on the ground. Then as suddenly as the attack had started Sky was completely still, he let out a shuddering breath, then lay still. "Mark, Mark? Are you ok? Mark?" Tala called over and over to the rider still trapped beneath the heaving horse.
"Hold on I'll be right back!" She turned Victory towards the barn, and hurriedly dismounted, and latched her own horse to the crossties. She wheeled frantically towards the prone form of the horse. When she reached his side, she pulled her cell phone out of her pouch on her chair, and dialed 911.
When the paramedics arrived on the scene, Tala was reasonably sure that Mark, as well as Sky, was dead. They confirmed her fears, and then the questions began. What happened? How well do you know him? Was there any reason for the horse's behavior? Has the horse ever done this before? Tala felt as if she was being interrogated. Then he showed up, the man from the racetracks the other day. Gil Grissom, she though she remembered his name being. He walked up to Tala.
"Is there some place we can talk?" He asked
"Uh, um, yeah the Tack room, in the barn," She replied.
"Good, let's go there" He said
Later that night Tala lay awake in bed. It was well past 2:00 in the morning, yet sleep had eluded her the whole night. Her thoughts had kept turning to Jeff, and the fact that she would never see him again. She though she had put on a pretty good show for Mark and her parents that night. Going right back to work, and pretending that everything was alright, when in fact her heart was being torn in two by the loss of her best friend. Silent tears streamed down her face and onto her pillow. All jockeys knew the dangers of racing; it was an occupational hazard to ride a horse at full speed, surrounded by other horses doing the same thing, but the thrill was well worth it. Or so Tala had thought until today. If Jeff hadn't been the rider he was, then Tala would have passed it off as an accident, but because she knew Jeff as well as she did, there was no doubt in her mind that there was no possibility of an accident. She hoped that the guy she had met today could figure out what really happened.
As it turned out, at the time Tala was wide-awake thinking about "the guy" he happened to also be wide-awake thinking about the same thing. Grissom sat at his desk going over the case file on Jeff Robertson, looking for any clue that might lead him to the answer of why the man was murdered. Yes, murdered, the sample had come back as petroleum jelly; someone had made Jeff loose his stirrup. What Grissom didn't know was if they actually wanted him dead or just hurt. Either way, Jeff was now out of the picture, and so the first place he looked for possible suspects were the rivals of his current stable. There were over 20. 'Well we have to start somewhere' he thought to himself.
The next morning Tala got up and was out at the barn by 6:00. When she arrived she found Mark already there. He had his horse tacked and ready to go which surprised Tala, usually she had to explain every little detail of the riding schedule to the newbies, and this was something new.
"I see you deciphered the riding schedule.that's not an easy task," she said as she wheeled up to the stall that he was standing at. "Not too many people can do that. Just let me get my horse, and we'll begin."
She went over to the stall closest to the barn doors, and called Another Victory, a beautiful Bay yearling, who came with no hesitation. She led her down the isle to the cross ties, where she left her to go get her tack. When she returned she saw that Mark was already warming up his horse, a gleaming black bay named Melody of the Sky. Tala rode her horse out to meet him.
"Ok let's do just about what we did yesterday evening, start with a medium paced gallop at a mile to warm them up," She said as she turned her horse to the mile pole. Mark once again followed her. They lined their horses up, and when Tala gave the signal they took off with a jump. Rounding the first bend it seemed that it was going to be a repeat of yesterday, when Mark urged his horse on, in front of Tala. Tala was about to get Victory to catch up when Marks horse stumbled, caught himself and flipped out. First he threw a buck, then her reared. Suddenly he went down and Mark tried to jump free, but was caught beneath the thrashing horse. Legs flailed wildly and Tala saw that Mark was being kicked to death by the horse's rock hard hooves.
"SKY! SKY! STOP IT!" Tala yelled in vain to the horse still struggling on the ground. Then as suddenly as the attack had started Sky was completely still, he let out a shuddering breath, then lay still. "Mark, Mark? Are you ok? Mark?" Tala called over and over to the rider still trapped beneath the heaving horse.
"Hold on I'll be right back!" She turned Victory towards the barn, and hurriedly dismounted, and latched her own horse to the crossties. She wheeled frantically towards the prone form of the horse. When she reached his side, she pulled her cell phone out of her pouch on her chair, and dialed 911.
When the paramedics arrived on the scene, Tala was reasonably sure that Mark, as well as Sky, was dead. They confirmed her fears, and then the questions began. What happened? How well do you know him? Was there any reason for the horse's behavior? Has the horse ever done this before? Tala felt as if she was being interrogated. Then he showed up, the man from the racetracks the other day. Gil Grissom, she though she remembered his name being. He walked up to Tala.
"Is there some place we can talk?" He asked
"Uh, um, yeah the Tack room, in the barn," She replied.
"Good, let's go there" He said