Page 29 of No Rules
“Thank you.” Caroline’s tone softened as she leaned against the door of an empty stable. “It’s taken years of hard work to get it to where it is now, but it’s been worth it. These horses are like family to me.”
“How would you describe your relationship with Marilyn Vandervliet?” Ryan asked.
“Contentious, I suppose. I’ll tell you straight off the bat that I’m no fan of Marilyn. She’s always been a thorn in my side, and I’ve made no secret of it. We’ve been at odds ever since we first met. She always seemed to be one step ahead of me, no matter how hard I tried to beat her.”
“Did you ever have any conflicts or disputes with her?”
“It’s hard not to when you’re both vying for the same prizes and prestige. But it never got personal. It was always about the horses, the races.”
Alex studied Caroline’s face, looking for any sign of deception or evasion. He couldn’t detect any duplicity, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t concealing something.
“Can you give us an example of some of those conflicts?”
Caroline sighed, clearly annoyed. “There was this one time when Marilyn outbid me on a promising colt. We both knew he had potential, and I wanted him badly. But she had deeper pockets.”
“Must’ve been frustrating.”
“Damn right it was,” Caroline snapped. “But that’s the nature of the game. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. You move on.”
“Have you had any recent interactions with Marilyn?” Ryan narrowed his eyes. Was there more to Caroline’s story than she was letting on?
“Nothing noteworthy.” Caroline shook her head. “The usual run-ins at competitions and such. We’ve kept our distance from each other like we tend to do.”
So far, Alex found Caroline surprisingly open and honest. If she was hiding anything, she was doing an excellent job of covering for herself.
“Can I ask about your whereabouts during the week leading up to the race?”
Caroline’s expression remained stoic as she walked off, leading them outside. They crossed a gravel road and headed toward the fields. “I told you I have nothing to hide. I haven’t missed the Travers Stakes in over a decade, but Angel’s Wings, my horse that was supposed to enter, got injured two weeks prior, so I stayed home that entire week to take care of him. Never left the farm other than to run some errands. I watched the race on TV.” Her face tightened. “And when I saw that horse go down, my heart broke.”
“Can anyone else confirm your whereabouts?”
She chuckled. “This is a large business, so there’s always people around. Plus, I have security cameras. If you want, I’d be happy to turn over the footage so you can see me do exciting things like mucking stalls and hosing down horses.”
The sarcasm was strong, and funnily enough, she reminded Alex of Ryan. The two of them were like prickly cacti.
They’d reached one of the lush green fields where horses were grazing. They seemed to enjoy the beautiful fall weather as much as humans did, their coats shiny under the sun. When they stepped up to the white fence, the horses came trotting over, seeking out Caroline.
“They’re beautiful,” Alex commented.
“Thank you.” A genuine smile crossed Caroline’s face as she watched a playful foal nuzzle its mother. “They’re my life. My pride and joy.”
She took her time to greet the horses that had come up to the fence, offering gentle pats and scratches behind their ears as she spoke to them softly. The deep bond she shared with them was obvious, and it was hard to imagine someone so full of love for these creatures hurting one. Would a person who ran such a business be capable of harming a magnificent animal like Sam’s Promise?
“Marilyn’s success with Sam’s Promise must have been difficult for you, given your history. Did you ever feel jealous or resentful toward her?” Ryan asked.
“Of course I was jealous,” Caroline admitted, her eyes flashing with defiance and vulnerability. “But not to the point where I’d hurt her or her horse. I wanted to beat her fair and square. That’s how I am. I would never willingly cause a horse pain. And neither would Marilyn.”
That was a surprising statement, considering the dislike between them. “What makes you say that?” Alex asked.
“Because I know her. I may not like her, and that’s mutual, but Marilyn lives and breathes horses, just like I do. My guess is that the only thing she and I agree on is that we’re both strong advocates for treating horses well. We have taken a firm stand on that in the past, lobbying to get more protective measures during the races to prevent more deaths.” She shook her head, her face tight. “Every big race, one or more horses get into career-ending or even life-ending accidents, and many of those are preventable. Marilyn and I have tried to get stricter regulations passed, but unfortunately, we don’t have broad support. But that’s why I’m telling you she’d never hurt a horse. Ever.”
Wasn’t it interesting that Marilyn’s biggest rival was also her greatest character witness? To Alex, that made Caroline even more believable. Surely, if she’d been involved in all this, she would’ve cast doubts on Marilyn’s character.
“Can you think of anyone else who might’ve wanted to sabotage Marilyn’s success?” Ryan asked, his posture relaxed but his gaze sharp as a knife.
“Look…” Caroline sighed, her shoulders sagging a little. “Marilyn has no shortage of people who’d love to see her taken down a peg. But I can’t think of anyone specific who would go that far. We all have our disagreements, but at the end of the day, we’re a community. One that loves horses. For the most part, anyway. We have some rotten apples for sure, but I can’t see anyone doing something so cruel.”
“And anyone who resented Marilyn? Someone who’d want to make her pay for something?”