Bad luck indeed. I’d rather think this was perhaps some farm out to prove something, and my suspicions landed immediately on Dean. I signed the forms. “Don’t worry about it. Happens to all of us sooner or later.”
Jim gave a wry smile and patted me on the upper arm. “I’m glad you understand. You’re not the only one caught up in this, and let’s just say not everyone took it as well as you did. If you’ll excuse me.”
“Of course.” I accepted my copies of the documents, folding them and tucking them in my pocket. The entire backstretch probably knew about this. I didn’t need to add fuel to the gossip mill by showing up with papers, which meant I’d had a positive test.
Hitting the board in the last races didn’t ease the heavy burden that I carried. Nor did the smooth ride home or getting the horses and gear all unloaded before nine. Kel and I sat in the office. She sent me the pictures that her friend had sent, and I showed her the test. “I’ll have a meeting with the barn tomorrow morning about it. I’ve got to let Forti know and double check all of our feed against this lot number, just to make sure it’s all gone. I must have missed something. I write down lot numbers to store with my receipts. According to my notes, this number wasn’t among them. So either different lots, adjacent ones maybe, were affected or…” I refused to contemplate the rest of that statement. How ironic that Dean’s team would set me up just as I investigated him.
“If you know what numbers you had, and you know when someone buys feed and how much, it might not be difficult to figure out what lot numbers people had. Jim said that they had a list of all affected numbers and the feed store provided a list of customers during that time. It’s also possible you were at the end of a batch or the beginning of one and some contamination remained. It sucks either way.” Kel tucked her phone back into its holster on her belt.
“Yeah it does. And I appreciate your trying to shed some logic on this crap situation. I’ll address it with the owners, too.”
“Everyone knows you race clean, Ettie. No one is going to believe this is anything except an innocent mistake made by the feed store.” Kel stood. “I hate to run, but I promised to be home soon after the race. It’s our anniversary.”
“Go. And happy anniversary.” I stared at the file on my computer and began to type the name of the vitamin into the system.
Forti found me in the barn office three hours later, staring bleary-eyed at the computer. I’d discovered nothing about this experimental vitamin that indicated it was anything other than what it’d been sold to be. All supplements had to be cleared, and this one bore the mark that it’d also been passed by all governing bodies. The fact that it was made by a new company, one that seemed to focus on feed additives, meant that something coming into contact with it seemed likely. Depending on how well the staff knew Dean, they could make a “special” formulation just for him, too. Except, most known additives showed up on tests. Though there was the arms race between those who wanted to dope and those testing for it.
I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. Strong hands rested on my shoulders and a kiss brushed the top of my head. “You’re working late again,” Forti said. “Come inside. This can wait until morning.”
“I’m not sure it can,” I replied. I pulled out the stack of papers from underneath a crystal globe paperweight and waved them at her. “We had a positive drug test.”
“What?” Forti said loud enough that the horse in the stall next to my office snorted.
“I know. Exactly.” I sighed and rested my head in my hands. “They claimed it was a contaminated batch of feed, and I know these things happen—”
“Except they shouldn’t if your partner is the goddess of luck and good fortune. I’m so sorry, honey. I know this is why Rota has called me back. Things are getting so far out of balance that not even the gods can right it.” She sighed and rested her cheek against the top of my head, enfolding me in a hug as much as she could. “I failed you.”
I covered her hands with my own. “I’d be one horrible horsewoman if I relied on a goddess, no matter how wonderful she is, to get me to the winner’s circle. No, I think this is more nefarious mortal doings, rather than any failing of yours. I think Dean knows we’re onto him. One of his guys stood next to us on the rail during the later races.”
“Really?” Forti pulled back, grabbed the chair from the other side of the desk and moved it so she could sit next to me. “But Dean’s guys never get close to our barn. It’s almost like we had the ability to put up some kind of repellant force field.” She laughed. “That’d be nice, but it’s not possible. At least not by us.”
“Sometimes being a lesser deity sucks.”
We shared a laugh.
“So what are we going to do about it?” Forti asked. “Do you know who else was caught by this?”
“No, though Jim said he had a list of barns—”
The door to my office burst open. Kel ran in, then skidded to a stop. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had someone here.”
“It’s all right,” Forti said. “We were discussing the results of today’s races.”
“Oh good.” She blushed lightly as if she thought she might be interrupting something, though we both were too discreet for that to happen. “I’ve got news for you. My friend who got me those photos said you won’t believe who Dean’s new client is. Callan
