Page 72 of No Rules

Ryan repressed a triumphant smirk and glanced over at Alex, whose face lit up, then back at Baxter. “That’s because she’s innocent.”

Baxter snorted. “You’re allowed to say ‘I told you so’ because you did.”

“I’m not interested in playing games for the sake of being right. All I want is justice for Marilyn and for her horse. You have tools at your disposal we don’t, like the ability to check for financial transactions between Jeffries and Thornfield.”

“You think they’d be stupid enough to send a payment like that?”

Ryan shrugged. “They were stupid enough to show up at the scene, Jeffries especially. And Dr. Simmons said the amount of EPO was ridiculously high. So high that anyone with two brain cells would’ve known it would kill Sam’s Promise and not merely boost his performance.”

“That was one of the reasons the DA sent the case back to me. She didn’t like that either. Said it made no sense for someone with Ms. Vandervliet’s experience to use that much. She said it either had to be a mistake made by someone else or a deliberate dose to kill the horse. I argued that Ms. Vandervliet had done it herself, but the DA disagreed…and I have to admit my evidence was weak.”

Wow, there was a first time for everything, wasn’t there? Ryan rarely encountered cops who admitted they’d been wrong, but he had now. “It’s to your credit you admit that.”

“Look,” Baxter said, “I never liked Ms. Vandervliet as a suspect, but my boss was convinced it was her. He’s tight with some hotshots in the NYRA and at the racecourse, so I had my orders.”

“Gotcha. I’ve been in similar situations, and it sucks.”

“Sure does.” He took a deep breath. “I’ll cross my t’s and dot my i’s by digging into the truth of that animal abuse report Ms. Vandervliet made against Jeffries and how that affected him, since that would establish motive.”

“That would be a good start,” Ryan agreed.

“And I need to check the security footage from that day again and see if Thornfield was near Sam’s Promise at any time. We reviewed it before and didn’t see anything suspicious, but we didn’t know to look for him, so hopefully, we’ll be able to see more now.”

Ryan nodded.

Baxter jotted something down on a notepad. “We can also confirm Jeffries’s betting activities, since that area has cameras. We should be able to see if he’s cashing multiple tickets.”

“Yup, and once you have that evidence, it should be enough to convince the judge to get a warrant for both their financial records and, in Thornfield’s case, his purchases as a vet. He must’ve bought the EPO, either legally or illegally, so that should somehow show up in his records.”

Baxter wrote some more down, then leaned back and steepled his fingers. The overhead light cast a harsh glow over his features, emphasizing the lines of concentration etched into his brow. “The money problems they had should be easy enough to confirm if you were already able to do that, and a payment from Jeffries to Thornfield should stand out.”

Ryan held out the file they had put together. “Here’s everything we’ve found on Jeffries and Baxter. I know you’ll need to confirm it, but it’ll give you a solid head start.”

Baxter took it and flipped through it. “Thank you. Looks like you did a thorough job.”

“Alex compiled the file,” Ryan said, which earned him a huge smile from Alex.

Baxter’s mouth pulled up in the corners as well. “Looks like Alex has a talent for this job then.”

“He sure does.” Ryan’s heart swelled with pride, one of the many new emotions he was experiencing lately.

“I’ll start digging.” Baxter narrowed his eyes. “If you find anything new, keep me updated, and I’ll do my best to follow up on it.” His gaze flicked to Alex, then back to Ryan. “But remember, this is still an open police investigation. Don’t do anything reckless or illegal. Got it?”

“Understood.”

“Good.” Baxter stood, signaling the end of the meeting. “I’ll be in touch if anything comes up on my end. And like I said, you do the same.”

“Will do.”

“Appreciate your time, Detective.” The chaos in Baxter’s office was getting to Ryan, and he was eager to escape the police station.

“Thank you, sir,” Alex said.

Detective Baxter gave a curt nod, then turned back to his cluttered desk.

The moment they stepped out of the office, Ryan breathed out with relief. “All right, baby boy, let’s get the hell out of here,” Ryan said. Alex fell into step beside him as he strode down the corridor. The fluorescent lights overhead flickered, casting eerie shadows on the linoleum floor.

As they pushed through the heavy double doors leading to the parking lot, the bright afternoon sun momentarily blinded him. Squinting against the harsh light, Ryan took a moment to inhale the crisp air.