Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Encounter by chance

The next morning, before Vi woke up, Kelly slipped out of the house and hurried to the stable. Jeff Crombie, the Tarrytown blacksmith, just jumped out of his pony cart. "Oh, Miss Sean." He took off his hat, held it in his hand, and rubbed it with his always black fingers, "I just came to see you. I heard that you fell down yesterday." "It's okay, Jeff." Kelly said with a smile on her face. "I feel I'm partly responsible for this, Miss Sean," said the blacksmith. "Your groom told me on the phone that the horse's right forefoot nearly fell off. I gave the little horse my hand yesterday morning. A mare's paw, I don't know how—"

"Well, Jeff, it wasn't your fault. Just forget about it." "But I want to see the horseshoe, Miss Sean." "Such a small matter is too worrying for you! It must be that the right front hoof of the 'tycoon' got stuck in the crevice of an invisible stone buried in the soil. At that time, it was running so fast, and the hoof was twisted like this, and it was almost twisted. down." "Oh," said the blacksmith, "I don't want you to think it's my carelessness, Miss Sean. Are you all right?" "Totally normal, nothing wrong, Jeff."

"I'm so sorry for the filly. She's absolutely top--" "Yes, Jeff." The blacksmith suddenly showed a surprised expression: "You killed it? I thought it would survive, poor little guy, it would get better—" "Dr. Pickens told me that there is a veterinarian in Canada who is said to be able to reattach a broken leg of a horse. He said that he used a new method to heal the leg of the horse, and in the end he was able to recover like a good leg that had not been broken. So , I'm going to transport the 'tycoon' over there today." Hearing this, the blacksmith happily pressed two oily fingers to his brows, then shook them off again and again, then shook his head again and again.

Kelly went into the stable.The filly was lying on the soft straw, her broken front leg temporarily held in place by a pair of splints.The local veterinarian, Pickens, also padded the other three legs, from the hooves to above the knee joints, and then wrapped them in gauze. Tycoon's big, tearful eyes showed a sad, sullen expression. "How is it?" Kelly asked the groom. "Well, ma'am. Not too kicky. Dr. Pickens came in again this morning and gave him some medicine to keep him quiet. I don't know how long he'll stay like this, though." "Poor little baby." Kelly knelt on the straw, stroking its smooth neck, "I have already booked a car with the New York Railway Station yard, and let them come here as soon as possible. They will drive to the tower at eleven o'clock." Wait for us on the inner side of the city."

"The doctor said he would follow, miss." "Yes, and I want you to go too, Henry. We've got to get it over with." "Yes, miss." Henry didn't seem too optimistic. Kelly stood up, dusting her knees.She seemed to ask casually: "By the way, Henry, did you see Miss Cole this morning?" "Well, no, miss. She told me yesterday, after she brought in the 'Lord Bahurst', that she would not ride today." "Oh, did Miss Cole ride yesterday?" Kelly muttered. "When, Henry? I didn't see her on the road." "She predates you, Miss Sean. Miss Cole is a real rider. She even unsaddled 'Lord Bahurst' herself when she came back from her ride yesterday—she wouldn't let me touch that." horse."

"True," Kelly smiled. "She's very keen on the horses. How's she doing at the groom--not bad?" Henry scratched his head: "To tell you the truth, miss, I didn't see it. She asked me to go into town in her car to pick up something—a new product, leather soap. When I came back, 'Lord Bahurst''s The saddle is off, and all is well, and Miss Cole is gone. In a little while, you'll be leading Tycoon and the stallion." Kelly's heart was pounding.So Margo was alone in the stable before... that.There are all kinds of tools here, and she is a strong woman.It wasn't too hard for her to loosen most of the nails on Tycoon's shoe...that was Margo!

"Henry," Kelly said, trying her best to keep her voice from revealing what she was feeling, "I don't want Miss Cole to think I'm—yeah, you know, that is, checking her up. How would you feel about that kind of thing." She smiled at him, "So don't mention that I asked you about her, okay?" "No, ma'am," said Henry, looking puzzled, "if you don't want me to do it, I won't. It's just, I think it's interesting, what you're saying to me now, Mr. Quinn just said the same to me." "Mr. Quinn?" Kelly asked sensitively, "Did he come here this morning? Asked you something too?"

"Yes, miss, also about Miss Cole. He told me not to tell her anything, and not to--" Henry stopped talking, and showed a very embarrassed expression. "Don't tell me either, do you?" "Oh—yes, miss. I didn't mean to say that, but I slipped." Henry's hand in his breeches pocket tightened his grip on the five-dollar bill that Beau had given him. "I'm sure you didn't mean to say that. Where is Mr. Quin then?" "He told me to saddle 'Duke' and he rode off down the road." Kelly strolled out of the stable.After walking a few steps, she casually turned her head to see if the groom was still staring at her.Seeing no, she immediately ran like a female antelope.

Kelly walked quickly along the road. She was wearing sneakers, and it didn't make much noise when she walked on the soft dirt road. So it looks like he is spying in the dark!He must have known that something happened to her! There was only one person who could possibly tell him this, and that was Margot.He wasn't here yesterday, but before dinner yesterday, Margot answered the phone, and as one could imagine from her beautiful voice and coquettish manner, it might only be from... Kelly trying not to. Think of his name.Margot whined into the phone and said something telling him to come back at night or something.She must have told him about it at night.

No, he just came here.And it's sneaky. Kelly was at the bend in the bridleway, and a little further on was where she had fallen the morning before.She heard the characteristic snort of "Duke", and stopped vigilantly. She dodged and hid in the woods beside the driveway, and crept until she was close to where Tycoon fell, stopping behind a large barrier of trees and bushes, looking out through the leaves of a huckleberry bush. wait and see. "Duke" is moving slowly, sniffing the delicious grass leaves in the grass and bushes beside the road with his nose. And he... he was crawling on the road on all fours, and he kept sniffing hard, like a police dog.He smoothed the dirt on the ground with the palm of his hand, scratching away some debris.He just crawled past her, his eyes fixed on the ground all the time.

Maybe he's already starting to suspect?How is this possible?correct!He knew about the first attempt in her bedroom.That's right.So when he heard that she had had an "accident," he immediately suspected that it might not have been an accident at all.Either... but Kelly didn't want to think about the "either...".There is a terrible possibility here— He suddenly let out a cry of joy, which startled her.He arched his back and carefully looked at the two twisted small metal pieces on the ground.It was the other two spikes—he found it. He jumped to his feet and looked around suspiciously.Kelly tightened her body and pussy.Then he put the two nails in his pocket, jumped onto the Duke, and galloped off in the direction of the stables. either... Kelly pondered as she slowly emerged from the bushes.Either that or he knew it wasn't an accident.Or...he is Margo's accomplice, so he sneaked here so early in the morning, trying to find those twisted hoof nails that could explain the truth, because he wanted to destroy...he wanted to destroy the evidence! Kelly stood quietly on the driveway.This is unlikely.He shouldn't be like that... but he and Margo are so close, like—yes, glued!And why is it impossible to murder people?She had seen and kissed Margot that morning in the garden.They were always inseparable.They still whisper their ears together all the time.They often slipped into dark corners and stayed for a long time... Then when they came out again, Margo always showed a contented expression like a tigress who had just had a full meal, purring and dancing; The cheeks that had been white were pink with emotion; the eyes of the squinting Egyptian still shone with such repulsive triumph. And he... He thinks money is everything.He had said it himself, and he had said it then with an honesty that must have been rare for him.Kelly felt that was understandable as well.She also experienced that kind of life. At that time, money was also the most important thing to her.He wasn't rich, and Kelly knew that well.It doesn't seem so unusual for a poor man, captivated by a cruel and beautiful woman like Margo, to help her--kill--some-- Kelly yelled, "No!" She was awakened by the sound of her own voice.She regained awareness of her surroundings and realized she was alone deep in the woods. She walked back immediately.At first I walked slowly, then my steps became bigger and bigger, then I trotted, and then I really ran.Until finally, like a frightened rabbit being closely pursued by a group of hounds, she galloped like a 100-meter sprint on the horse path sandwiched by dense trees on both sides like high walls. Kelly arrived at the train station a few minutes after eleven in her convertible.The horse-carriage she had reserved was parked on the branch line over there.Henry, the groom, was talking to the station master on the platform. "How's the Tycoon all right, Henry? You got it all right in the car?" "He's very comfortable lying there, Miss Sean." "Where's Dr. Pickens?" "He'll be here in a minute. It's a little to eleven fifty. Don't worry about the filly, miss." "I guess I gotta go say goodbye to him," Kelly said gently. "No, you don't have to worry about it, Henry." She walked slowly along the track towards the siding.Walking to the section of the carriage, she stopped and waited for a moment, and could not help frowning.There are people in the car. She walked gently to the open carriage door and looked into the carriage. - It's him again! She couldn't see his face, but his broad back was unmistakable. He squatted in front of the "tycoon", doing something quickly and vigorously on the left front hoof of the filly, as if the situation forced him to hold on tightly.Some bandages and padding were thrown on the floor of the car. Kelly watched in surprise, holding her breath nervously.What is he going to do again? Beau grunted contentedly, straightened himself up, and she saw what he was doing.He pulled the iron paw off the filly's left fore hoof. Taking a quick look at the shoe and some spikes, he stuffed them into the bulging pocket of his jacket.Then he stooped again and put the padding and bandages on the horse's legs again.The filly lay there still, and his big hands worked nervously and nimbly. Kelly leaned against the wainscot, feeling sad.is not that right?Margo must have loosened the hoof nails on the left and right forefoot of the filly just to ensure her success.she thought bitterly.No one would think of checking the left forefoot unless...unless Margot told him, how would he know? Not to clear her evidence! Kelly regained her self-control.At least she knew what she knew, and she still had a card in her hand.He—or she—neither of them knew that she knew it already.She had dismissed her fall as an accident.They did not think she was suspicious at all.Let them think so!Right now, this is the only thing that can protect her. She walked away quietly for a few steps, and then approached the carriage noisily.She called out, as indifferently as she could, "Dr. Pickens! Are you in the compartment?" Bo immediately appeared at the door of the carriage. "Oh! Hello," Kelly said, "I thought the vet was in there. What are you doing?" Bo jumped to the ground: "I heard that something happened to you, so—" "Just come to care about this horse?" He asked hurriedly, "Are you all right?" "Excellent, thank you." "Okay." He stood there, frowning. "I guess I've got to go first. Hope the filly gets better." He strode away.She didn't look back to see him off, but stepped into the carriage and looked out from the carriage.He was pacing up and down that side of the station house--beside her car! She said good-bye to Tycoon more than ten times.Finally, both Henry and Dr. Pickens arrived.It seemed to them that she had said all those reassuring things because she was too worried about the filly, and they kept reassuring her that Tycoon would be all right. Finally, at eleven fifty, she had to get out of the carriage.Still, she stood there, watching as the car docked with the northbound train. The train started, and with no reason to stay any longer, she plodded toward the platform, trying to look preoccupied. "Well, you're still here?" she said. "I thought—" He took her by the arms. "Kelly! Listen to me—" "You hurt me!" "You know what happened that night," he said in a low, hurried tone, "you must—" "Leave--get--me," Kelly said breathlessly.She wriggled out of his grasp and slapped him, hard, on his bluish stubbled cheek.All the pain of the past few weeks had found its outlet in this pathetic frenzy. "I don't doubt that you're used to roughing women," she cried, "but that doesn't mean you can Treat me roughly!" Oddly enough, his tone of voice seemed soft: "Kelly, I just wanted to remind you to be careful. Nothing else." "Careful?" It is careful.He wants her to be careful! It was an incredible miracle that he missed and cared about her.After all the fear she had endured, Kelly was filled with joy at this miracle.So, what she thought was not true!He was not Margo's accomplice at all! "What I'm trying to say," he went on, however, with a tone of contempt in his voice that suppressed and almost extinguished the burgeoning joy in her heart, "you've been on a damned path. Lu, you're going to get in trouble. You troublemaker!" Kelly jumped into her convertible and drove off with a whoosh.She didn't see his shoulders slump in frustration, and the lines on his face deepened.She drove into town. With the police's permission, she bought a revolver and felt some wicked comfort.It was a beautifully crafted 22-caliber revolver with pearls inlaid on the handle, and the bullets were smooth and moist, and they shone deadly.