Death by Equine by Annette Dashofy (booksvooks txt) 📕

to hold her voice steady. “Did you—” She failed, and it cracked. “Did you kill her?”

The heartbreak in Daniel’s eyes cut deeper than any scalpel could. “I thought we had something. I thought you trusted me.”

She wanted to. More than anything. But she couldn’t block the picture of Doc mangled in Clown’s stall or Sherry floating in the pool. She couldn’t afford to trust anyone right now.

Daniel didn’t blink. “I guess this means you’re canceling our raincheck for dinner.”

Heat singed her eyes, but she wasn’t going to let him see her cry. “I guess so.”

Both Daniel’s phone and the phone Greg had given Jessie rang at the same moment. Daniel picked his up and swiveled his chair away from her. She yanked hers from her pocket, brushed an arm across her face, and answered.

“Dr. Cameron?” She recognized Trooper Popovich’s voice. “I need you to come back to your clinic.”

“Why?”

“We’ve found some evidence, and I’d like your input on it. Now.” The line went dead before she could protest.

Daniel was hanging up his phone too. “That was security. A cop just called.”

“Popovich?”

“He thinks they have the murder weapon. They found it at your clinic.” Daniel gazed at her with the same accusatory expression she’d used on him a few minutes earlier. Only he didn’t come right out and ask if she’d done it.

Twenty-Five

Wearing gloves, Popovich removed a pair of hoof nippers from a brown paper evidence bag and waved them in front of Jessie. “Do these look familiar, Doctor?”

“They’re mine.” Blacksmiths weren’t the only ones who owned farriers’ tools. On occasion, she needed to pull a shoe from a lame horse.

“You’re sure?”

“I’m positive.” She had run a band of red electrician’s tape around each handle to keep her tools from being mixed up with anyone else’s. Now it felt like a damned stupid thing to do.

“Can you explain the blood on the end of them?”

“No.”

Popovich squinted as if to study the dark reddish-brown stain. “The crime scene boys got a strand of long blonde hair from them too.” He eyed her. “Your hair isn’t blonde.”

The comment didn’t require an answer.

Daniel stood next to her in the dreaded spa. “If you’re accusing her of something, I think she’d better have an attorney present before she says anything else.”

Jessie looked at him. Why was he standing up for her after what she’d said to him mere minutes ago? She half expected him to shove her into Popovich’s vehicle, maybe help slap the cuffs on her wrists.

“Did I say I was accusing anyone of anything?” Popovich’s innocent routine didn’t work, but that didn’t stop him from using it. “We’re simply having a conversation. We don’t know what the blood and tissue samples we got from these—what are they? Some sort of pliers?”

“Nippers,” Jessie said. “Hoof nippers.”

“Ah, nippers. Thank you. As I was saying, we don’t know what the blood and tissue samples we got from these nippers will show.” Popovich returned the tool to the evidence bag. “May not even be human. But I believe we’ll find a match to Miss Malone. And I believe our murderer used these to knock Miss Malone into the water. Any thoughts on that, Doctor?”

If she’d learned anything from Greg, it was that she had the right to remain silent. For once, she decided to invoke it.

“Any idea who, besides yourself, might have access to these...nippers?”

Daniel stepped between them and looked up at Popovich. The state trooper stood several inches taller than the track CEO, but at that moment Daniel’s presence overpowered the officer’s. “Anyone could have grabbed those from that bucket.” He motioned to the white plastic pail Jessie used to store her farriers’ tools. “This isn’t a conversation. It’s an interrogation. And you need to put an end to it until she has a lawyer present. Do I make myself clear, Trooper?”

Popovich looked down his nose at Daniel. “Fine.” He pointed the bagged nippers at Jessie. “I want to be able to find you at a moment’s notice, you understand? Do not make me look for you.”

He sauntered out of the clinic, motioning for the remaining Crime Scene Unit guys to follow him.

Alone with Daniel, Jessie restrained an impulse to throw herself into his arms for making Popovich go away. When Daniel turned to face her, his expression made her wonder if Popovich should’ve stayed.

“I told you they suspected you.” His voice took on a hard edge. “You know damned well the blood is Sherry’s. He may not have arrested you today, but it’s only a matter of time.”

Her gaze drifted to the black, glassy surface of the pool, the reflections of the overhead lights, uninterrupted this time. But the memory of that blue balloon gave her a chill, intensified by the cold reality in Daniel’s words. She took a step toward the passageway. “Let’s get out of here.”

He caught her arm. “You need to get a lawyer.”

“Don’t suppose you can recommend one?” She offered him a conciliatory smile.

“Yes, I could.” His expression didn’t look very forgiving. “However, I’m going to need him myself, considering what you’ve accused me of. You’re on your own.”

Her headache was back, but sinusitis had little to do with it.

“There’s something else.”

She pressed her fingers into the space between her eyes and squinted up at him.

He lifted his chin, looking down at her with an expression she couldn’t read. “I want you off Riverview property.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re a suspect in a murder that took place here at my track. Pack your things. I’ll have someone from security come by at seven and escort you out. The guards will be given orders that you are not to set foot through the gate again. At least until things are settled.”

Jessie took a lurching step to the wall and reached out for it. “But—but what about my patients?”

“There aren’t any races tonight. I’ll arrange to get someone qualified in here tomorrow.” Daniel studied her in silence for a moment before speaking again. “I’m sorry, but you haven’t given me much choice.” He reached