Captain Courageous

By Cher Griffin

Marla Mesconti, amateur sleuth and top-notch horse trainer has stepped into it deep. While attempting to help the Manchester Mounted Police Department find an appropriate horse for their program, she inadvertently becomes the prime suspect in a murder. As the mystery unfolds from the hills of New Hampshire to the forests of New York, Marla and her crew help solve the murder and uncover the real identity of the horse that was purchased by the Department. A rollicking good read from the horse shows to the horse farms and all the mystery in between.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781631922879

Book preview

Courageous!

Chapter 1

Whoa…whoa…WHOA! Officer Daniels cried out as he desperately tried to control 2000 pounds of pissed-off Percheron. Already deseated and slipping off the side, the officer flailed at the reins and grips of the saddle, just before the prancing black gelding did an electric slide to the right and dumped him on his backside. The horse gleefully trotted off to a patch of grass in the middle of Military Park and nibbled while giving the un-mounted police officer the evil eye.

Officer Pete Daniels lay out on the grass like a bum on a three-day drunk, a stark contrast to his usual six-foot-one, tall, dark, and handsome visage. He rolled slowly to his side and stared over at the black menace he’d been trying to ride.

You miserable prick, he seethed.

His partner Jake Colby rode up to his fallen buddy and climbed down off his own Percheron gelding, Maximillian.

Are you OK? he enquired.

Pete groaned as he rolled onto his back again, ugghh….no, not really. I think I hurt my hip. What do you suppose is wrong with that bonehead?

Jake stared at the black beast as if expecting the answer to come straight from the horse’s mouth.

I don’t know, Pete. I think we got taken on this guy. He’s nowhere near as quiet as the guy said he was. What got him going? I was standing over at the sidewalk with the group of girls and didn’t see what happened.

The truck went by with the landscape trailer on it and hit a pot hole. That big metallic clunk you heard? I think that’s what he doesn’t like because he bolted forward with no warning and then bucked me to the moon. I wasn’t really paying attention enough and he came right out from under me, Pete replied.

Jake approached Duke slowly and gathered the reins. Can you walk? he tossed over his shoulder at Pete.

Pete rolled to his knees and crab-walked his way up to his feet. He couldn’t put weight on it, so there was no way for him to ride back to the police stables, more than a mile away.

I don’t think I can get back on him. My hip really hurts, Pete replied while checking out all the body parts to see what else was missing.

Stay over there on that bench. I’ll lead him back and call for a cruiser to pick you up and get you to the hospital. Will you be OK, or do you want me to call for an ambulance?

NO! No ambulance ride for me, just call for back up and I’ll ride in with Unit 12, they aren’t that far from here. I landed on my damn radio when I fell, Pete dangled what was left of his microphone for the portable radio.

Jake smiled a little out of the corner of his mouth, Nice job, numb nuts, you couldn’t just land on your feet. Not just breaking the radio, but probably broke your ass, too. Take it easy and Unit 12 will be along in a minute. I’ll get Duke back to the stable. I’ll take care of putting him up but you owe me big time!

Pete just groaned and hobbled toward the park bench at the edge of Military Park, a beautiful green oasis in the middle of one of New Hampshire’s biggest cities. As he made his way out of the park, he couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing wrong with this horse. Why does he always bolt when he hears a loud noise? Not just any noise, but it seemed like certain noises. The Manchester Police Department purchased the horse a month ago, and Duke was painted as the perfect candidate for crowd control. Pete couldn’t imagine what would happen if Duke bolted in the middle of a parade crowd. He shuddered at the visual.

Unit 12’s black and white sedan rolled into view and stopped in front of the bench. The driver rolled the window down and said, You need help, Granny, or can you get in the car by yourself?

Pete just shook his head as he creaked up slowly off the bench. No sympathy from these guys. It was well known that most of the police crew thought the mounted unit was all rainbows and chocolates.

Meanwhile, Jake rode back to the stables at a brisk walk with Duke in tow. His own horse, Maximillian, Max for short, was a tried-and-true veteran of riding the city streets. He loved schmoozing with people, being a goodwill ambassador to thousands of school kids, and a he was a formidable presence during crowd control situations. Max seemed to resent Duke tagging along at his hip and occasionally did a look back to make sure Duke stayed where he was.

Jake hooked the two horses to separate cross ties and began the untacking process. Each horse had bridle and saddle removed, then, vigorously rubbed down with a curry comb. Once the post-ride massage was finished, each horse was wiped down with a fluffy towel and then turned out into a pasture for the rest of the day. Jake locked the gate behind him after he turned out both horses and stopped to watch them roll in the dirt. He also wondered what was wrong with the horse, and why he was such a miserable brat. Finding no answers, he got into his car and headed for the hospital to check on his best friend and PD partner.

Chapter 2

Jake entered the hospital and inquired where Pete was. The nurse brought him to the ER cubicle and told him to wait in the chair until Pete returned from x-ray.

While he waited he called in to his supervisor and brought him up to date on the accident.

Do we have a problem with this horse, Jake? the supervisor asked.

Yeah, we do. He’s a dink, plain and simple. He’s been here a month and we still can’t get him to settle down. We can’t trust him in a crowd for sure, but even everyday things seem to set him off. I’d like to get him up to Marla’s for a month or so and see if she can evaluate him. She’ll be able to tell whether he will ever be a service horse or not.

Get it done, were the super’s final words on the subject.

The squeaking rubber wheels of the gurney announced Pete’s arrival back at the cubicle.

Hey, buddy! What’s the good word? Jake asked in as upbeat a tone as he could muster.

I hurt like hell. They just rolled me around on a table as hard as your head, Pete grimaced at the thought.

The nurse rolled the gurney into place and immediately was replaced by the ER doc. In his hands was a small laptop. The digital x-rays that would foretell the future for Pete played out on the screen.

He rolled the mouse around and the zoomed in to the socket area of Pete’s hip.

Hmmmmmm….that doesn’t look good.

Pete just grumped louder, That’s never good when they say that.

Well, it looks like a fracture to the hip socket. That in itself isn’t too bad of a problem, but it’s where it cracked that concerns me. You’re a big guy and it’s at the top near the edge. That means you will have to be off your feet for at least 6 weeks. If you behave yourself and heal well, you’ll be back in the saddle in three months tops.

Pete scrunched his face into a pretzel, Gawd, no. Are you saying off my feet like in bed, or just sitting in the car while my partner does the grunt work?

No cars for you other than the one that takes you home. Bed for the first week, walker to get you to the bathroom, and someone to wait on you hand and foot. After that we’ll see how you are doing, pain wise, then I’ll let you up more, the doctor began jotting the notes.

This is a mild fracture so no pins will be necessary if you let it heal correctly. I will have a list of things you will need to do to keep your legs limber and not stress the joint at all. It will take a while to get everything written up. In the meantime, one of the nurses will fit you for a walker and show you how to use it. Be sure you use it heavily; don’t try to tough it out. You’ll heal faster and better if you follow our protocol. If you don’t do things right, you’ll be back here for surgery, OK?

Pete nodded his agreement. Jake watched his partner’s face slack as the realization set in.

Don’t worry, Pete, I am going to have Duke sent to Marla’s at Reach For The Stars Stables for a complete overhaul. If you’re down for three months, that will give her plenty of time to figure out what’s wrong with him.

That sounds like a great idea. I’m at a loss as to why a 7-year-old Perch that has been ridden for five of those years is such a jerk when you get on him. Get all the info on him so Marla can check out the whole picture. If anyone can figure out a horse, she can, Pete said as he laid his head back on the pillow in resignation.

Jake watched his friend close his eyes, awaiting his fate, and he slowly backed out of the cubicle with his hat in his hand.

Chapter 3

In the low hills of Andover, NH, tall, blonde, and strong, Marla Mesconti looked out over her pastures, admiring the horses she currently had as projects. Her Reach For The Stars Stables was a very popular destination for children and adults alike. The farm sported a beautiful indoor arena, grass pastures lined with white rail fencing, and miles of gorgeous mountain trails. Marla was a prolific trainer and instructor, as well as an admired horse woman. She kept an eclectic group of horses to show. Friesians, Saddlebreds, and dressage horses of varying breeds were her favorites. She had a barn full of them at the moment as the summer show season was in full swing with shows every weekend, and lessons the rest of the time.

At her feet, enjoying the slight break in the action was Aggie, her red and white Pembroke Corgi. Aggie peered up at Marla to see if she was ready to get going when Marla’s cell phone whinnied.

Reach For The Stars, Marla speaking.

Hi, Marla, this is Jake Colby from the Manchester PD. I have a horse here that is becoming a problem. He’s a seven-year-old Percheron that we bought a month ago to use in the city and he’s not what we thought he was. Today, he bolted out from under Pete and cracked Pete’s hip. He’s going to be out of service for three months, so we thought you might be able to take Duke in and evaluate him as a service horse, and see what his problems are.

Wow! Is Pete going to all right? Marla exclaimed, What’s this horse doing?

Pete spent several minutes going over the laundry list of bad behaviors and vices that plagued the horse.

Phew, that’s quite the list. He was sold to you as a riding horse? Marla asked.

Yeah, I went to this guy’s place in upstate New York. Pete was with me and he was this big, docile horse that seemed to go anywhere and do anything. We paid a bunch of money for him, too.

Marla’s mind was already spinning a web around these facts. OK, I have a stall available at the first of the month so bring him by then.

Thanks, Marla, I’ll be up there next Saturday, Jake promised as he rang off.

Marla stuffed the phone into her back pocket and went into to the barn. Her barn manager, Jorge Vintana, was just rolling up the hose after filling the buckets to the brims.

Ola, Miz Marla, everytheeng OK in the pastures? Jorge grinned his signature, South American smile.

Yup, everyone is happy to have the afternoon off and graze. It’s so peaceful out there I almost went into a trance, until the phone rang. Looks like we’re going to have a big boy come to visit, Marla relayed the conversation concerning Duke the Percheron.

I guess we’d better switch some horses so Duke can be in the big stall at thee end, yes? Jorge was already switching them in his mind.

Yes, that’s the ticket. He’s a big one and will be glad for the extra room the foaling stall offers. It looks like he’ll be here Saturday, so let everyone know. He has some behavioral problems so I don’t want Marissa handling him.

With that settled, Marla took her brief respite back to the house to catch up on paperwork. Aggie bounced her way up to the house, running circles around her master.

Chapter 4

Early on Saturday morning the big white trailer and truck rolled into the farm yard with Duke aboard. Aggie pounded down the path to be the first to announce the arrival. Jake stepped out of the pickup truck and squatted down to Aggie’s level to give the friendly pooch a good scrubbing behind the ears.

Hey, Aggie! How are you? Bouncy as usual I see.

Marla strode up to the rig and extended her hand, Hi Jake, good to see you again. Aggie! Lay off now!

Jake opened up the tail gate of the trailer and Duke’s mighty rear end towered over the butt bar.

Yikes, he is a big one, Marla’s eyes already going into scan mode.

"Well, let’s get him into the barn and settled so we can go to the office and talk him over.

Jorge appeared around the corner of the trailer with a lead in hand. I’ll take him in if you want to take care of thee paperwork, Miz Marla.

Thanks a million, Jorge.

Jake backed the big black horse off the trailer and handed him off to Jorge. He’s kind of a dink, Jorge, so watch yourself when leading him. He’s been known to jump sideways a little and we’re not convinced it isn’t on purpose.

Oh, one of those devils, eh? Jorge shook his finger at Duke. We’ll keep an eye on you, big boy.

Jorge led the horse to the barn while Marla and Jake went into her show office. The office carried a homey look with Berber carpets, wooden walls and an electric fireplace. Large-paned windows looked into the barn aisle and beyond into the arena. The walls were adorned with dozens of photos of her successful show horses as well as favorite students, customers, parties and more. It was a pictorial wall of fame. She sat down behind the big oak desk that her friend and mentor had left her in his will. She offered Jake the overstuffed leather chair.

So, tell me about this guy, Marla started.

"We bought him from this guy in New York, Gus Beecher. He’s a seven-year-old Percheron that was used as a trail horse on a dude-type ranch out in the Catskills. We were told he was used as a sleigh horse in the winter, so he supposedly saw a lot of different people and situations. We rode him in the riding ring out there and he was quiet as a kid sneaking cookies.

About an hour into trying him out, with both Pete and I riding him, Gus told us to try him on the trails. We rode right out of the ring into the woods onto one of their marked dude trails. Pete was riding another trail horse and I rode Duke. He seemed at home in the woods and we stayed out about another hour. I did notice that he seemed to perk up a bit as we came back to the farm, and was jigging a little. I would have thought he would be tired after two hours of riding but it seemed the opposite. By the time we got back to the ring he was chewing the bit and dancing in place. I also noticed he swished his tail a lot. Gus told us it was feeding time and that sounded plausible so we un-tacked him, gave him a quick rub down, and put him in his tie stall."

Jake thought about the ride for a moment before continuing.

We went into his office and talked money, came to an agreement at $5000 and made arrangements to go and get him the following week. He told us the horse would be perfect for us, blah, blah, blah, and if not we could bring him back for something else. I talked to him yesterday to see what he might have that would be better and he said he had nothing that big at the moment. He won’t refund our money, but we can exchange him. Only thing is he doesn’t have anything to exchange so we’re out. My supervisor is really ticked but we’re hoping you can give us some insight into this horse and get the brass off my back.

The whole time Jake was telling the story, Marla’s mind was whirring.

You said he’s seven? What kind of things is he doing that has caused this much concern?

Jake continued his description of Duke. "He does that side-step thing I warned Jorge about. Just walking along and he suddenly hops up and jumps into you. He knocked me on my ass twice in the first week! Then, he doesn’t seem comfortable getting saddled. He fidgets a lot, cranks his ears back when girthed and won’t stand still at all when you try to mount up.

On top of that, or maybe his biggest flaw, is when we are attempting to get him to stand still. If a noise happens behind him he bolts forward. Just certain noises, sharp noises. He never goes far, just bolts with no warning and then stops. That’s what dumped Pete. He’s got a cracked hip now and he’s still in a lot of pain because of it. He landed on his microphone and it cracked his hip socket.

I think he’s very unhappy about something but I don’t know what."

The frown on Marla’s face deepened with each additional item to his list. She scribbled madly through the dissertation.

OK, Jake, I think I have the gist of it. I’m going to give him a couple days to settle in and graze some, and then I’ll start evaluating him for what he is, and what he could be. Sound good?

Sounds great. I hope you can find some answers. When do you want me to come back again?

Let me call you when I have some improvement. Can you get me copies of his sale papers and Gus Beecher’s info? I may have had dealings with his customers before, you never know. And why is he called Duke if his registered name is Captain Courageous? Marla shook Jake’s hand firmly before showing him out to his truck.

The whirring sounds continued in her brain even after the big white rig crackled out the gravel drive. Marla looked down at Aggie, I think there’s a yeti in the yogurt, Aggie, and we’re going to find him!

Chapter 5

The evening sun