Relax. Read. Rewind.

5/22/2025

Wyatt put his arm around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “That’s what con artists do, sweetie.”

“Show me all this evidence you found,” Janelle said.

They left the barn and went to the house. Wyatt pulled out all the data he’d collected. “Val says this man is Allen Stein.” He pointed to the picture he’d e-mailed Val.

“This guy looks familiar to me, like I feel as if I should know him, but I can’t put a name to this face,” Val said. He stood behind them, looking over Janelle’s shoulder.

Janelle picked up the photo and studied it. “I have to say the same thing. I know this guy. Do you think Stein and this guy were in it with Charlie?”

“I don’t see how they couldn’t be,” Wyatt said. “The only problem is, other than the fact Marcus Paulle co-owned some of his horses, I can’t find a direct link. Yet. None of his horses’ race records fit the pattern, and he doesn’t gamble enough. Stein is probably the guy that keeps the clean image, gives him more chances to find marks. I think they were just getting set up in this area. Shopping jockeys. Stein gets to know some, then picks one or two to work with his scheme. Their pattern was, run their gambling scheme, then drop off the grid for a while, probably when someone was catching on to them. Then they’d show up somewhere else and start over. Allen Stein is the only one with a consistent presence. Personally, I think his job was only to target the horses and jockeys they could use. That’s not what concerns me. It’s what is going on now that worries me the most.”

“What did the cops say when you met with them?” Val asked.

“They had the pieces, but not all the connections yet. Exactly how Val fit in was a glitch, and that’s one reason they haven’t released your name,” Wyatt said.

“One reason?” Val asked.

Wyatt shrugged and smiled. “There are people who will confess to anything. It’s pretty standard to hold back some information to confirm confessions.”

“So only the people involved would know Val was the real target,” Janelle said.

“Yes,” Wyatt said. “Which is why the scare tactics. These guys were thieves, not killers. I’m still missing something.”

“Maybe whoever was here wanted to find out how much Val knew?” Janelle suggested.

“How would stealing my gas do that?” Val asked.

“Flush you out, make you go to the cops, and if the cops in turn went to our killer they could find out if they could continue in this area or would need to move on. Except…?” Wyatt scratched the back of his neck as he spoke.

“Except who is doing the killing?” Val asked. “There is one simple way to find out. Let people know I was there when Janelle’s car crashed and that I saw who was there and what happened.”

“That’s pretty damn risky and I doubt the police will go for it. I’m very sure I don’t want to agree to that plan,” Wyatt said.

“Someone was already here. It’s only a matter of time before they come back or catch up to me somewhere else. At least this way there will be some control over the situation,” Val pointed out. “And whoever it is doesn’t know about my secret weapon.”

“What’s that?” Wyatt asked.

Val smiled at Wyatt. “You.”