Give First Place to Murder Read Online Free PDF

should’ve seen his face when we got back to the barn. It was sort of purple."
    "Susannah," I said, warningly. I wasn’t in the mood for another frosty episode. It had been a terrible day and I wanted a smooth, peaceful evening. But privately, I thought I had some forgiving of my own to do. Dan had been furious when we all returned, triumphant. That was understandable, but he hadn’t had to treat me with cold hostility. By the time I was allowed to leave, I was livid. Some of my anger wore off as the afternoon passed. I started to think the excitement of Last Challenge winning the Championship and Dan’s unexpected behavior had pushed the real tragedy, the murder of a young man, into a back seat. I had never met the boy, and it seemed no one else really knew him, but still...
    Now, my old buddy Dan was back and everything was back to normal. Or was it? I thought Dan owed me an explanation, and later, when we were alone, I was going to ask for it. Or would I? Twenty years of marriage to Dr. Brian McKenzie had taught me to avoid personal confrontations like the plague. If I’d asked Brian for an explanation, no matter how carefully, I would have had to listen to an hour dissertation on how unreasonable I was, how selfish, how demanding. But Dan was different. Or he had been until today.
    "Bryce was the most interesting color." I shifted the conversation back to this afternoon. Awful as it had been, it was better than thinking about my ex. "He was the meanest shade of green I've ever seen."
    “ Who’s Bryce?” Carl asked.
    “ Irma’s horse trainer,” Neil replied. He looked like he’d just eaten a sour pickle.
    “ Why did he turn green?” Carl pressed. “You people are leaving gaps in the story.”
    “ Dan made him identify Rusty’s body.” There was a hint of a smile on Susannah’s face.
    "He spent quite a bit of time in the bathroom after he came out of the feed room," Pat confided to Carl. She looked a little amused, but she hadn't seen Rusty. I had, and Bryce had my sympathy.
    "Tell us, who did it and why?" I started to pour a little more beer into Dan's cup, but stopped in mid pour. "You are off duty?"
    "Now Ellie, you know “top cops” are never off duty.” There was a trace of a smile on Dan’s face as well, but more than a little sarcasm in his voice. “I’m delegating. As for our little problem, we don't know who or why, and you know I wouldn’t tell you if I did." He turned to Susannah. "Who hired Rusty? You or that Bryce?"
    "Bryce did. I don't think he was too happy about it, but he needed someone. Chovalo's nephew had been working for him, only he died in some kind of accident last month. I guess Rusty was all he could find."
    “ What’s her name. Stephanie. Why didn’t Bryce use her?” Dan pushed on.
    “ Irma wouldn’t let him. She, well, Stephanie gets in the way.” Susannah started to slowly twirl her Coke can.
    “ What do you mean?” asked Pat. “She seemed to know about horses.”
    “ It’s not that,” Susannah replied. “She thinks she’s in love with Bryce and won’t let him alone. It’s hard to get work out of him any time, and when she’s there, it’s impossible.”
    “ Did Bryce know Rusty had a reputation for drug use? Also for selling?” No sarcasm now.
    “ I think so. Stephanie sure did.” Susannah twisted her can faster, looking everywhere but at me.
    “ Drugs?” I didn’t care that alarm bells sounded in my voice. “What kind of drugs?”
    “ How do you know?” Dan pressed gently.
    “ I was in the grooming stall, rolling leg wraps,” Susannah started.
    “ Leg wraps?” Pat asked. No one bothered to explain.
    “ Bryce and Stephanie were outside, arguing. Stephanie kept saying the only reason Bryce had hired Rusty was to buy drugs, and that he’d promised her.”
    “ Promised her what?” Neil reached over and removed the now squashed can and held Susannah’s hand in his. She didn’t pull it away.
    “ I don’t know.” She shrugged but