Toni Petti - Horse Girl Homicide

Chapter Twenty Five

After more pleasantries and promises to call, Ainsley and her dad climb into their Suburban and get whisked away down the drive.

What have I done? I want to cry. My stomach churns and I feel like I'm going to throw-up. No man can ever love me. Teodor trusted me and look where it has got him. I'm just another Marjorie Swansea in his eyes. He let me get close, and I betrayed him.

My phone beeps to remind me of many waiting voice-messages and texts. Correspondence from other important people has built-up in my inbox for two days. I should sit and sort through my mail. I should apologize to the folks I've ignored and tell others not to worry. My mother is among the likely callers, and she's probably getting anxious. I'll send her a text, but otherwise, I'm too bent out of shape to act responsibly for anyone else. I'm far too emotional to call anyone back.

At my car, I scan the scratches again in the daylight. I'll have to sell this vehicle now as those marks will always remind me of how this moment feels. In the driver's seat, I can't bring myself to turn the key in the ignition. Leaving here means accepting failure. Everyone thinks it was my sleuthing that exposed the perpetrator, but I know in my heart it wasn't Teodor who poisoned those horses. The cops have the wrong person.

I can feel myself being watched. I look about and see her; Candace stares out at me from inside the Premier Barn. She stands in the stable window which is Charlie's stall. I can see the fjord horse behind her. That pen is at the end of the aisle, right by a wall which is a concealed door. It's where I first saw Mr. Delany when we parked here yesterday. The grass is still bent from where he pushed through the hinged panel. That must be for adding hay or maybe it was the original entrance. I remember how irritated he seemed when we first arrived. Was he being sneaky?

I turn the key, start my car, and hear the dash camera ping to life. A new entry is being recorded now as I putter across the lawn, and down the asphalt drive. The camera records my retreat and descent into extreme depression. I know some serious brooding awaits. I probably shouldn't even be driving as my mind swirls in a prolonged maelstrom of unsorted emotions. Tiger lilies by the roadside wave goodbye, or are they begging me to stay? Ten miles of wild country at sunset. Ten miles of breathtaking scenery and fresh country smells. And then I find pavement again on the outskirts of a medium sized town.

It's seven o'clock at night and once I find Hwy 404, I'll only be an hour from home. I could disappear back down into the city and mope about in my apartment. I could get drunk and cry my eyes out. But instead, I type 'York regional' into my phone and study the route to the local police station. I haven't given up yet.

York Regional Police station is a two-story building on the corner of Prospect and Gorham in the sleepy little Town of Newmarket. The modern looking structure is surrounded by green space. Teodor Brummel is in there and probably feeling miserable and hating me for all that has happened. Or maybe I have this all wrong. Maybe I'm blinded by my own feelings and he's guilty and confessing all his crimes? Either way, what do I hope to accomplish here?

Honestly, I don't know. I must be going crazy to think I can reason with these detectives. Because of all that's happened to me over the years, I hate cops, and being near police stations for any reason gives me the heebie-jeebies. But I must do this. I caused this mishap, and now I must endeavour to free Teodor and put things right.

I park on Doug Duncan drive opposite the entrance to Fairy Lake Park. The road parallels a single line railroad track which runs through town. A moment later, I'm ringing the buzzer on the front of the station. I can see two O.P.P. cruisers parked out front, and so I'm not surprised when Sgt. Evan Laredo, wearing a blue Covid mask, comes through the lobby to greet me in the foyer.