Chapter 10: CHAPTER SEVEN

During the next two months Dawny Lee improved rapidly as if she knew Gilbert's potential success depended on her recovery. Doc Landon came by once a week to check on her. He told Gilbert the filly could be working lightly mid-January or maybe the end of the month. It would take two or three more months before the filly reached her full potential.

In the meantime Duncan Reynolds was winning races by the bushel. At least for the first three weeks following Dawny Lee’s injury. A sudden, and to Gilbert, suspicious slump followed Reynolds's horses like a demon seeking souls. Reynolds's horses couldn’t even win the cheap claiming races. His stakes horses finished far back, heavy favorites that weren’t just beaten, but thrashed.

Reynolds's good luck, bad luck intertwined like two ribbons, circling around each other. One week his good luck had turned bad, and he lost six out of eight stakes races, the following week ten horses ran, and ten horses lost, the best finish a distant fifth.

When the racing season ended on the last Sunday in November Reynolds finished in fifth place on the owner’s list in earning, and seventh in wins. It gave Gilbert a small measure of satisfaction to see his nemesis out of first place in both categories.

He wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that Janine McNally might have had something to do with Reynolds’s sudden decline. She worked at Equine Electronics, in the computer division, she was an inspector, and she had A-1 clearance.

“Do you think your... friend from Equine Electronics had something to do with Reynolds’s lack of success?” he asked Tony one dreary January morning. They were standing by the paddock, watching Dawny Lee stick her snout in the snow.

“I saw the statistics,” Tony said. “I’d say Reynolds went into a nosedive compared to the previous year. Now that Westover is closed until March he’s trying his luck at Santa Anita.”

“Was it Janine?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her since Westover closed for the season.”

“I’ll bet Reynolds is hopping mad.” He smiled, positive that Reynolds was as mad as a rabid dog.

“You still want to run Dawny Lee against one of his horses?” Tony asked.

“Sure, why not. Come spring...”

Tony broke the silence a moment later. “What about her training?”

“Soon... Start off lightly, increase her workload gradually. I don’t want to talk abut it too much right now, Tony. Let her have the next few weeks off, then concentrate on her training. Besides, she could use a bit of weight.”

Paul Brenner showed up two weeks later, on a cold and snowy afternoon. The snow fluttered down unexpectedly, leaving many unprepared, but that didn’t stop Brenner from venturing out to Gilbert’s farm, driving down a long lane Gilbert hadn’t bothered to clear yet.

Gilbert led the filly to the stable after a light exercise. Just walking in the paddock, and along the path leading to the Arrowhead River, although the stream was not on his mind right now. It unnerved him more than the filly to have Brenner follow him into the stable. He hadn’t seen his former trainer since his visit to Equine Electronics, and the sight of him brought out the anger again.

Brenner was here, for one reason or another, getting a little close to the filly who danced nervously from side to side.

“Mind moving back?” Gilbert asked. “You’re scaring my horse.”

“Sure.” Brenner moved back as Gilbert led her into the stall. “Aren’t you lonely? Just you and one horse and that boy.”

“We’re doing fine.” He checked Dawny Lee’s hay rack, made sure she had enough water. He moved out into the aisle, strode past Brenner.

“Your farm might as well be in the middle of nowhere,” Brenner said behind him.

“Maybe I like it that way. What's your point?” He turned around.

“Looks like it’s going to be a tough winter.”

“You didn’t come here to talk about the weather, did you?”

“I have to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to talk to you.”

“It’s about Janine McNally and Duncan Reynolds.” Brenner said it as if he had discovered a secret tryst between them.

“So?”

“McNally is checking Reynolds’s horses.”

“Why tell me?” He walked out of the stable. Light snow was drifting down, settling on his plaid jacket. “She is an inspector. What she does at Equine Electronics is none of my concern.”

“She’s also programming some horses. We could call that a conflict of interest. She can’t program the horses, and inspect them as well.”

“Maybe you should go to Peterson.”

“I did. He told me he has the utmost confidence in the job McNally is doing.”

“I’m busy, Brenner.”

“I know she’s been seeing your hired hand.”

“He may be my hired hand, but his main job is Dawny Lee’s exercise rider.” He headed to the house, and Brenner fell in beside him. “They’re just friends, so don’t read something into it that’s not there.”

“Isn’t it a fact that Miss McNally has been here a number of times since the summer?”

“Are we in a courtroom?”

“I’m investigating on behalf of Reynolds.”

Gilbert walked into his office, dogged by his former trainer. “Say what’s on your mind, and then get the hell off my property.”

“Do you mind if I sit down?”

“If you have to.”

Brenner sat, eyes on the bookshelf. He turned back to Gilbert. “Miss McNally has been programming Reynolds’s horses.”

“You’ve told me.”

“Reynolds’s horses. Specifically. She requested the assignment.”

“I guess she can do that.”

“She has A-1 clearance. She could tell someone in the computer division to wipe her ass and they’d be ready with the toilet paper.”

“I guess A-1 clearance is special.”

“Top priority clearance.”

“So?”

“Do you know what she’s doing? She’s programming the horses so they’re bound to lose almost every time they step on the track.”

“You’re out of it, Brenner. She can’t do the entire programming. There are other people involved in the whole operation. Starts, wins, seconds, thirds... earnings... Each has his or her own assignment.”

“Wins, Dave, wins. She’s requested wins.”

“And I guess Reynolds doesn’t like that.”

“He’s had a lot of success with his horses, and that’s not about to change now.”

You are reading story Filly at novel35.com

“I guess he’s paying someone to boost the number of wins for each horse.”

“It’s totally natural. Some horses are great, some are not so great.”

“Can you prove it’s Janine... Miss McNally?”

“Of course I can,” Brenner said. “There are computer experts at Equine Electronics just as qualified, if not more qualified than Miss McNally. They can determine that she did not write random programming. I don’t know much about all , but I do know that this... programming has to be random. And Reynolds losing seven... eight... ten races in a row isn’t random.”

Gilbert clenched his hand so tight his nails dug into his palms. “What about Reynolds winning all those races? Was that random? I bet you didn’t complain about that, did you?”

“If they find out the programs have been tampered with...” Brenner left the consequences hanging in the air.

Gilbert glanced at a portrait of Seven Sins, Dawny Lee’s sire. “Would you agree that horses lose more races than they win?”

“I suppose.”

“Of course they do. I’m talking about your average horse, not superstars, like Secretariat or Zenyatta or... American Pharaoh... Remember Chisholm Train back in the ‘40’s. Won eleven in a row, seven stakes races. Of course he lost his fair share too. Seven in a row back in ‘42. What I’m trying to say is that most horses are lucky to win a third of their races.”

Brenner said nothing.

“Can you tell me why Reynolds’s horses have been winning so many races?”

“They’re losing now... thanks to Miss McNally.”

“That’s not what I asked you.”

“I’m not the trainer... Reynolds’s specific trainer. Maybe you should ask Reynolds yourself.”

“Before the slump they lost races that didn’t count. Allowance races, minor stakes races. When it came to the major stakes races they won quite handily. Why?”

“There might be several reasons,” Brenner said. “The competition wasn’t that great. Duncan Reynolds acquired the best horses Equine Electronics had to offer. Maybe it was luck, I don’t know.”

“Out of forty stakes, Reynolds’s horses won thirty-three, placed four times, and third twice. And the loss? Fourth. That would make me damn suspicious, but I guess it’s never crossed anyone's mind.”

Brenner shrugged. “Luck, that’s all.”

“Tampering.”

“That’s preposterous.”

“Is it?” He lifted his forefinger, dabbed it at Brenner. “Horses are fickle creatures, and I’m sure Equine Electronics has designed them in such a way so there are no constant winners and constant losers... just like real horses. I’ve had horses that won six... seven in a row, and I’ve had horses that have lost that many in a row, but Reynolds’s horses... Tell you what: if you can prove that Janine McNally has been tampering with the programs you can also prove that someone in Reynolds’s pocket was doing the same thing.”

“What possible reason could this person have?”

“Reynolds found an easy way to riches, and he was willing to part with some of his money to get a lot more.”

“A man changes; his situation changes.”

“I’ll make a deal with him.” Inspiration flooded into his mind.

“What kind of deal?”

“That’s between him and me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Brenner, I have to make a call.”

Brenner stood up. “You realize of course if Miss McNally is guilty of tampering she will face prosecution.”

“Has she been arrested?”

“There’s no cause... yet.”

“Then shut up.”

Brenner headed for the door. “You know what, Dave? I hope she’s caught, and I hope they nail you and Maitland as accessories.”

“Get out.”

As soon as Brenner had slammed the door Gilbert pressed the numbers for Reynolds’s office on his cell phone. When Reynolds answered he told him Brenner had come to talk about Janine McNally.

“I don’t know what the hell she’s doing, but she’s programming the wins for my horses. I don’t know how she persuaded them, considering an inspector gets paid a lot more than a programmer.”

“Don’t tell me about it.”

“She’s doing something to them. I don’t know how, but... something is happening.”

“Maybe you just ran out of luck, and your bad luck is finally catching up to you.”

Silence on the other end.

“Do you have someone in your pocket?” Gilbert asked.

“I don’t have anyone in my pocket, as you call it. Where the hell did you get that idea?”

“Janine has been telling me an interesting story about... dummy programs and false locks and... Not up to date on all this computer talk, but I can picture what’s happening here, why your horses are winning... were winning.”

“My horses won fair and square and no one can prove different.”

“That’s what’s wrong with artificial horses and computer programming. No matter how honest you try to make it, there is always someone who finds a way to circumvent the system.” Frustration was setting in, and the headache which he’d categorized as mild, turned into throbbing pain at the back of this head. He gripped the cell phone, held it away from his ear.

“Gilbert?”

“I’m here.” Standing near the window, looking out at the paddock. Dawny Lee was grazing. “What happened to you, Reynolds? Did someone promise you fame and fortune telling you they can guarantee you wins... lots of wins with artificial horses? You don’t mind parting with a substantial amount of money providing you can win as many stakes races as possible. What are the purses? Half a million? Two million? The International Derby at Westover is three million now, isn’t it? Sixty percent for first? I’m looking at my filly right now, and she’s improving. I’m going to run her later this ear... in the summer.”

“You were outvoted.”

“The Jockey Club might show interest if I were to to tell them what’s going on.”

“You can’t prove a thing.”

“Janine McNally can.”

“There are ways...”

“If you try anything I’ll sink you and every one of your artificial horses. Now, either you agree to a match race between Dawny Lee and one of your horses... let’s say some machine you call a female horse that’s been designated as a three-year-old or I’ll tell Peter Chapman the whole sordid details. And... if Chapman keeps his eyes closed, I will go to the FBI or whoever looks into this, and I guarantee they will look into this.”

“Damn you, Gilbert.”

“No, you be damned.” He clicked off the phone.

You can find story with these keywords: Filly, Read Filly, Filly novel, Filly book, Filly story, Filly full, Filly Latest Chapter