Chapter 23

The horse buyers from Arizona occupied a large, horseshoe-shaped booth in Denny's. They were chatting and eating breakfast when Joe interrupted several simultaneous conversations. "Darla, I've been thinkin'. If David is successful and buys Brigand, we should consider going Straight Egyptian at the ranch and sell off our Egyptian-Related horses."

"Please, explain, Joe," Darla said.

"Brigand is a Straight Egyptian. He'd become our senior stallion. Our two best mares are Straight Egyptian, and although their bloodlines aren't quite as impressive as Brigand's, we'd have the nucleus for a very fine Straight-Egyptian horse ranch." Joe had never been comfortable calling Arabian Downs a farm. To his mind, horses were raised on ranches, not farms.

"What's the difference between Straight Egyptian and Egyptian Related?" Carol asked. "I thought an Arabian was an Arabian."

Joe smiled. "An Arabian is an Arabian, Carol, but I believe the Egyptian's did more to perfect the breed than anyone. The Arabian Horse Registry of America's definition of Straight Egyptian is cumbersome but essentially states that a Straight Egyptian has traces in every line of its pedigree to horses born in the Arabian Deserta. They spell desert with an a at the end of the word. I don't know why. Also, a Straight Egyptian must trace back to a horse owned by Abbas Pasha I or Ali Pasha Sarif. There's more, but suffice it to say that Brigand and our two mares are registered as Straight Egyptians. If we breed one of the mares with our current senior stallion, the resulting colt or filly would be Egyptian Related because the stallion isn't a Straight Egyptian. The only problem I see is the fact that we really need more than two mares for a good foundation."

"That's easily remedied," Carol said and gave Joe's hand an affectionate squeeze. "I've been intending to buy a horse for myself all along. Let's look at the mares for sale at Falconcrest, too - Straight Egyptian mares, if they have any."

"Falconcrest breeds only Straight Egyptians, Carol."

David noticed a gleam in Nora's eyes. With her father's ability with horses, David reasoned, she must have grown up with horses around her, but did she like the beasts?

"I never asked," David said to Nora. "Do you ride?"

"Does she ever!" Joe exclaimed with a wide grin. "Not Arabians, though. Nora rode quarter horses when she was a lass. She excelled in barrel racing and took a few first place ribbons in her age group."

"That was a long time ago, Pops. I haven't been on a horse in years."

Still, David sensed she longed to get back in a saddle.

While they finished breakfast, Joe and Darla discussed the pros and cons of changing Arabian Downs into a Straight-Egyptian ranch. In the end, they agreed the move would be advantageous, although Darla had some reservations.

"Thee Brigand's pedigree is heavy in Ruminaja Ali bloodlines. Ali is the grandsire of the sire and the sire of his dam," Eleanor Quinn stated proudly.

"The perfect pedigree according to Bedouin breeders," Tom Quinn added.

Tom and Eleanor Quinn owned Falconcrest. Tom was a small man, about five-seven and thin as a rail. His wife matched his height but had some meat on her. David guessed she outweighed her husband by ten pounds, maybe fifteen. They were a pleasant, charming couple in their late fifties obviously devoted to their horses.

Seated comfortably in chairs under a spreading ash tree, the group waited for Thee Brigand to make his entrance. All eyes turned to scuffling sounds at their left and saw a young man struggling with the most astonishing horse David had ever seen. A chestnut, the horse had a blond mane and tail, and the tail rode high as the stallion pranced into the arena. Proud, came to David's mind. Brigand knew what he was, and he was proud of it.

"Notice his extreme length of neck and naturally good throatlatch," Eleanor said. "The stallion has great conformation, perfect legs, a beautiful head, and a good size."

"He's also not very happy," David stated. He glanced at Joe, who gave him a nod and a tiny grin. They'd agreed at breakfast that Joe wouldn't get involved with Brigand until after the sale was final, hopefully giving David a small negotiating edge.

It's time to do some horse trading, David decided. "I thought one of the desirable traits in Straight Egyptians was their good dispositions."

Tom Quinn grimaced. "Normally. We've been perfectly candid with you about Brigand's contrary behavior, young man."

"What's the current bid?" David asked. When Quinn stated the amount, David asked him what it would take to close the deal that day. Quinn hemmed and hawed without answering David's question, so David added, "What if we bought a mare, too? My mother wants a good riding horse."

Quinn smiled. "We just might be able to do some horse trading today, Mr. Stanley."

David noticed the change from the condescending young man to the mister honorific, which pleased him. "Let's have a look at the mares for sale," David said.

Quinn gave the stable boy new instructions and for the next hour, the potential buyers reviewed six mares, one after the other. One of them, obviously very pregnant, piqued Carol's interest. She learned that Bint Zearishal, known affectionately as Zesty, was a Kamsa Arabian, whose lineage went back beyond Abbas Pasha of Egypt to an ancient Bedouin tribe. The mare was a beauty! Gray with black markings around the eyes, a lovely dished face with large dark eyes, she was a proven broodmare to boot. Zesty had been campaigned in halter, which also interested Carol.

Carol leaned to David. "She's the one for me, and from the look of her, soon I'll own two horses, not one."

The mare, Su Shafara, caught Nora's eye, David noted. Sitting next to her, David heard Nora's unconscious gasp of delight when she first saw the horse. A chestnut with flaxen mane and tail, Su Shafara was a stunning four-year-old filly. Her dished face exhibited a star and a strip, just like her sire, Thee Brigand.

David rose to his feet. "Let's take a walk, Tom."

The two men walked away and returned about ten minutes later. David was wearing a broad smile. "Go talk some horse with Brigand, Joe," David said. "He's ours now. Mother, let Mrs. Quinn introduce you to Zesty. Nora, Darla, I bought Su Shafara, too. Would you join me to make the magnificent lady's acquaintance?"

Shortly, David, Darla and Nora entered Su Shafara's stall. The horse looked at them with gentle interest, and Nora ran her hand down her neck and across her back.

"I'm told that, unlike her sire, the mare has a sweet disposition," David said.

"She's beautiful, David," Nora gushed. Nora looked utterly smitten by the animal.

"I bought her for you, Nora. She's yours," David said. "You need to start riding again."

Nora turned to him with a shocked, but delighted expression. "Truly?"

David nodded.

Nora squealed, threw her arms around David's neck and kissed him. The kiss was brief, though, because the next neck in her arms was the mare's.

"Thank you, David. Thank you," Nora whispered as she hugged the horse.

"Good goin', big brother," Darla whispered and kissed his cheek.

Fifteen minutes later, David joined Tom and Eleanor Quinn as they observed Joe in a riding arena with Thee Brigand. David smiled when Joe walked away from the stallion and the horse eagerly followed the man, playfully bumping Joe's back with his nose.

Quinn noticed David standing behind him. "You didn't tell me you had a secret weapon, David," Quinn remarked with chagrin.

"Yeah, Joe's a horse whisperer; says he knows the language but doesn't dream in it."

Joe joined them. "He's a good horse, David."

"We did okay?" David asked.

"Very okay."

"Will Brigand let a tenderfoot like me ride him?"

"Sure. That's what he needs. He acts up to get attention. He's actually a sweet horse. Come on. I'll introduce you to him."

Quinn rolled his eyes and shook his head.

After returning to their hotel suite from Falconcrest, David told Nora what he'd discovered early that morning about the Boynton assassination.

"I don't know everyone involved yet, but even after I sit in one of the cabal's meetings and put the entire plot and all the participants together, I see a huge problem. Can you guess what it is?"

"Yeah, you can't prove diddly squat," Nora quipped with a grin.

"Yep. I see no way to tie one or all of them to Boynton's assassination with enough tangible evidence to warrant prosecution."

"Hmm. Your method to coerce Steve to kowtow to your wishes proved successful. Can you do something similar with one or more cabal member to force a confession and implicate the others?"

"Possibly, but for a number of reasons, I'd rather not divulge my ability to anyone in that group. I suspect each member represents serious power individually, and collectively, from what I've observed so far, they're an awesome force, so I'd rather they didn't become aware of my flights. Also, I got too cute with the computers I selected to send the e-mail messages to the director. After one of my messages originated from the situation room at the White House, the FBI labeled Cyber Deep Throat a serious threat to national security. I'm now the subject of a massive, international manhunt."

Nora raised her expressive eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah. Fortunately, neither the FBI nor the cabal suspects a ghost, and I don't want to give them a clue, especially with a new enemy completely aware of what I do. If any publicity develops from the manhunt regarding an invisible being, Steve could use the publicity against me by threatening to expose my flights, and I'd lose my edge with him. More importantly, I've kept knowledge of my ability to a minimum because I don't want to become a lab rat for any government agency."

"Makes sense." Nora shook her blonde tresses and frowned. "I can't think of an approach other than to suggest you put it all together, give the information to the FBI and let them take over at that point. The FBI won't act on the information by making any arrests, but at least they'll be aware of the cabal's existence, including its willingness to murder to achieve its ends. Sometime in the future, they might be able to use your information against the group."

"Oh, I forgot to mention something else I discovered this morning. An agent named Stuart Grimes is on Maldonado's payroll. Grimes is a member of the director's inner circle. Do you know him?"

Nora's eyes widened. "Yes, I met him while training at Quantico a couple of years ago. I liked the man."

David grinned. "As a man or an FBI agent?"

Nora shrugged. "Both." She shook her head and pursed her lips. "I thought he was too good to be true."

"Like me?"

"Hah! Unlike Grimes, your perfect façade doesn't mask evil." She grinned coquettishly. "Just freakiness."

"Thanks a bunch," David said, faking a vexed expression.

"You're welcome. Before you inform the director about the cabal, put together enough evidence to take Grimes out of the picture."

David shook his head. "No, I might use Grimes to give the cabal some grief." He paused. Suddenly David had an idea. Grimes could become the cornerstone in a plan to topple the cabal. If not a cornerstone, he'd be useful as a brick to smash a few windows.

The room phone jangled. Nora answered the call and handed the phone to David. "It's Darla."

"What's up, sis?" David asked.

"I'm convening a family meeting. Mom is on the way to my room. Can you join us? What I have to say won't take long, but it's important."

David agreed and explained the situation to Nora.

"Go ahead," she said. "I want to shower and relax a little before dinner, and I can't seem to relax around you."

David frowned. "Why not?"

She smiled, leaned to him and brushed his lips with hers. "Go," she said. "I'll be fine."

She didn't answer his question until he left the room. "Because I love you, David, and I'm still not convinced you won't break my heart."

"You called the meeting, Darla. What's the problem?" David asked as he relaxed in an overstuffed chair and sipped the cocktail Darla had handed him when he entered her room. His mother sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard. She was sipping white wine. Darla was pacing while holding little George in her arms.

"You and Mom are the problem," Darla said, "but you can also be the solution. I just ran the numbers on Arabian Downs' operations, and I can't take the red out of the numbers unless I charge both of you hefty fees to board your horses. Nora, too."

"Then the solution is easy," David said. "Charge us whatever fees are necessary."

Carol nodded her agreement.

Darla grinned. "Nora, too?"

David huffed. "I'll pay the boarding fee for Su Su." Su Su was the pet name Nora had given the filly.

"That's what I thought you'd say," Darla said. "David, the key to Arabian Downs as a Straight-Egyptian horse farm is the senior stallion, and you own the stallion, not the farm. The farm owns two good Straight-Egyptian mares. This morning Joe and I decided to upgrade the quality of our horses and sell off the Egyptian-Related stock. Two mares do not make up a horse farm."

"Oh, oh, Mom," David said. "It looks like our efforts to help have screwed everything up. Mostly, me. I'm sorry, Darla. Besides paying hefty boarding fees, how can we fix the problem?"

Darla sighed and slumped onto the edge of the bed. "You hit the nail on the head, David. Hefty boarding fees aren't really a solution. The farm needs to own Brigand, Zesty and Su Su. A first class stallion and four mares is a good foundation for a horse farm, and in a few years, I can take the red out of the numbers."

David sipped scotch and grimaced, not from the taste of the scotch but because of the situation. "I horned in on your action and fouled it up. Do you want to buy Brigand from me, Darla? If so, I'll sell him to you at cost. I can't speak to Su Su. I gave her to Nora."

"I'll sell Zesty, too, Darla, if that's what you want," Carol said.

"That's one solution," Darla said, "but there's another. How would you two feel about owning Arabian Downs with Joe and me?"

David jumped to his feet. "Good idea! Mom and I could sell Brigand and Zesty to the corporation that will own the farm and take stock in the company instead of money." He turned to his mother. "Waddaya think, Mom?"

Carol grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"You mentioned Su Su, Darla. Would you be opposed to Nora owning a piece of the corporation as well?" David asked.

"Not at all, but the question is a good lead-in for another issue that needs to be discussed. Steve and I planned to live in the big house on the farm. I'm no longer certain that's where I want to live. I think I'd rather build on the acre you've reserved for me in the compound, David." She turned to her mother. "If you're serious about growing old with Joe, how would you feel about moving into the big house with him?"