This is the third book in the Meg Sheppard Mystery Series.
Racehorse trainer Grayson is found dead in his office trailer and Meg's trainer, Neal, asks her to investigate. The members of a syndicate, who owned five horses trained by Grayson, are all under suspicion. But the list of suspects grows as Meg learns more about the horses' unexpected poor health and disappointing performances.
The series is set in the crazy world of thoroughbred horse-racing. Meg lives on a farm with her beloved border collie, Kelly, as well as horses and cats.
If you like cozies, you'll enjoy this series!
This is the excerpt from 'Pointed Attacks', which starts on page 126:
'
The condo doesn’t look as if it’s been lived in since
I visited last. We help Philippa to lower onto the soft sofa. She’ll need help
to get out of it too. Oscar has carbonated spring-water, with lemon slices,
poured out for us - so he’s proven that he can play host if needs be.
“Your eyes look puffy,”
Philippa says as she peers at me.
“I didn’t sleep well last
night. Don’t know why.” I give her a half-smile and sip some water.
“I’ve got no time for
chit-chat,” Oscar says. “Let’s get on with it. Meg, you’re the one who asked to
meet with us, so you can go from here.” He crosses his legs with a
flourish.
“Thanks for taking the
time to meet with me. I know you’re both busy. I’ll get straight to the point.
I need the truth about your dealings with Grayson and with Emma.”
“That’s easy,” says
Oscar. “The horses were doing so poorly that Philippa and I wanted to change
both the trainer and the vet, even though they were members of the syndicate.”
“How did you plan to do
that?”
“We hadn’t got a plan
worked out.” He shifts his gaze to Philippa. “I hoped you would buy them out,
Philippa.”
“Not a chance. Even if I
had the money, which I don’t, those horses aren’t worth it. I’ve always
believed that the quality of the horse is paramount. There’s only so much that
the trainer can do.”
“But I thought we agreed
that we needed to change things up because everything was going wrong. I spoke
to Bryce, you know the trainer who’s in the same barn where Grayson was. I
heard he’s a hard worker and would do a good job.”
“You talked to Bryce?”
Philippa squirms and lunges forward as if trying to launch herself out of her
soft nest. “He’s a no-good useless piece of shit. Didn’t you think to look at
his race record? Who told you he was good?”
“Emma.”
“So, the useless vet told
you that Bryce is a good trainer. This would be funny if it wasn’t so terribly
sad.”
“I thought we’d agreed.”
Oscar unfolds his legs and leans forward with his arms on his thighs.
“I don’t know where you
got that stupid idea from.” Philippa flops back on the sofa as if exhausted. “Bryce
would be my last choice. All he ever says is that he wants a level playing-field
and that he reports anything that isn’t fair. What it boils down to, is that he
has sour grapes because he can’t get results.”
“Philippa,” I say, “what
do you think is at the root of the problems? For one thing, I’ve heard that the
syndicate horses get ailments of all sorts, when other horses don’t appear to.”
“They seem to get
everything going, but I think the real issue is that the horses don’t have what
it takes to be runners. I blame Grayson for selecting those horses in the first
place. He obviously doesn’t have a good eye or good horse-sense. Useless.”
“They do get sick a lot,”
Oscar says as he puts his glass down on the table. “That’s why I wanted someone
else to look at them. I asked the vet, Edwin, to examine them, but he wouldn’t
unless I got Russell and Grayson to agree.”
“Now, that I’d agree
with. I respect Edwin,” Philippa says. “He’s the new vet now anyway, so that’s
good.”
“Have things improved?” I
ask.
“Not enough to satisfy
me,” Oscar says as he clasps his hands behind his head and leans back. “I want
out. I’ve had it with this business. It shouldn’t be called a business, it’s
just one big gamble and the owners usually lose while the trainers, vets,
jockeys and barn crew do okay. We take all the risk.”
“But if you have the
right horses…” Philippa says.
“You have to have the
right people too,” Oscar interrupts. “And we have nothing right. Rehashing all
this isn’t getting us anywhere. I just want out of the whole thing and, quite
frankly, I couldn’t give a damn who killed Grayson. I still think it was
suicide. He should have killed himself. It was the honourable thing to do.”
“Oscar, hang on,”
Philippa says. “That’s a terrible thing to say. While I’m angry and
disappointed and frustrated, I wouldn’t say he should have killed himself. I
don’t think that five under-performing horses is enough to die for, personally.”
“Well, I do,” Oscar says.
“It’s a disgrace.”
“I’m going to end this
with one last question,” I say. “Assume that Grayson was murdered, who do you
think could have a motive to want him dead?”
“Bryce,” says Philippa.
“He’s scum, and I know he didn’t like Grayson. Amy told me he hung around the
barn a lot. That’s not right. There’s something odd about that guy. I’d guess
he wanted to get rid of the competition that he had a hate-on for.”
“No, it was Emma,” says
Oscar. “My theory is that she was trying out new drugs that she made up
herself. Let’s face it, we got enough bills for medication. I think she thought
she was going to come up with some dope that wouldn’t be picked up in testing,
but would make the horses run faster. But all she managed to do was make them
sick.”
I thank them both for
their time. It’s just as well that I made notes since my mind is misty, as if
my silent tears have leaked into my thoughts. I lack the will or the energy to
do anything else today, so drive home with Kelly with no other ambition than to
make sure all the animals are looked after.'
Vicky Earle Copyright 2019
Thank you to blueheronbooks.com for stocking all three books in the Meg Sheppard Mystery Series on the shelves and having them listed on their website.
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Excerpt from draft of fourth book to be posted soon!
Happy reading!
