Tuesday Teaser 1/20/2026

1/20/2026

Wyatt nodded. “But Charlie realized partway through he needed a different plan. So, he turns violent. Not a lot, just enough to make sure Janelle’s six-foot-three computer geek of a best friend is sticking close to watch out for her. You already had known past relationships with men who abused you, so you’d be especially watchful. Charlie and whoever he’s working with would know that, having checked out people associated with the targeted jockeys. He grabs Janelle, takes off with her and her car, and then along the route, with you following, he turns off into a field in the direction of some woods. My guess is there were a few accomplices waiting to snatch you or hurt you or do something to force Janelle to throw races in payment for you. However, his plan had a flaw.”

“A horse carcass?” Val asked. He glanced at the door and felt a sudden chill. “Someone was watching me all that time?”

“Probably. It also probably means one crime had nothing to do with the others. I called those detectives yesterday before I left. They’ll let us know what the necropsy report shows on the filly. If there is a connection, that’s likely the only place to find it,” Wyatt said. “With a broken leg, both Janelle and you were worthless.”

“Except I was there and saw Charlie. I didn’t see anyone else.” Val thought for a minute, then added, “But if Charlie and Marcus Paulle are the bad guys, and the Nottings are involved somehow, and they’re all dead, who killed them? The mother?”

“She’s got Alzheimer’s and has been in a home for about two years. Carol and Marcus were in the process of selling everything. It was mostly her possessions at the estate sale.”

“Okay, so back to my question. If the bad guys are dead, who is running around killing people?” Val asked.

“Yeah, that’s the flaw in my theory,” Wyatt said.

“How do you even know this stuff? I work in the racing industry and I don’t know how to do these things.”

Wyatt chuckled. “To catch them you have to think like them. Insurance scams, major art theft, forgery, and smuggling often involve complicated and long-term schemes. These people are hard to catch for a reason. Oh, did you look at those pictures I e-mailed?”

“Yes. I printed them out.” Val went to his bedroom, retrieved the pictures and returned to the kitchen, and added them to the collection on the table. “This is Allen Stein, but years ago. He’s older now. The guy with him I feel I should know, but I can’t put a name to the face. And this is Charlie, but he looks like a kid.”

“They’re from when Charlie lived in California, so ten or so years ago,” Wyatt said. “Now to figure out if Stein is involved.”

“What do we do?” Val asked quietly.

“We pack all this up, and after I drop you at work in the morning I’m meeting with the detectives and turning everything over to them. You should be safe at the track?”

Val nodded. “There’s good security—they’d have to storm the place to get into where I work. But whoever it is already knows I live here.”

“Maybe not. Things were disrupted, but it would have been just as easy to break in. Marcus Paulle, the Nottings, and Charlie Mills weren’t killed by a pro. They were hit with a blunt object to the head. It’s effective but messy—and makes many people ask many questions. I’m going to say this was done by someone who knew them, and to the killer it was very emotional, it was personal. It might have been a way to flush you out or let you know you can’t hide.”

Val shivered. “At least when the threat was from a guy I was dating, I knew where it came from. No looking over my shoulder and wondering.”
“Hey,” Wyatt said softly. He stood and moved closer to Val, took his hand, and pulled him out of the chair. “If they wanted in, they would have gotten in, but they didn’t. I’ve been dealing with this sort of crap, in one job or another, since I left college. You’ll be safe, I promise.”
“How can you be so sure?”

Wyatt took Val’s face in his hands and kissed him before saying “Because I intend to keep you that way.” He kissed Val again, with more urgency and intensity this time. “Now, I know you were looking at some items online, and I had some time to kill—no pun intended.”