Capp looked down at the body. The woman’s hair was pulled back into a ponytail; her cowboy hat lay near her head. “It’s Tilly,” Capp said.
“It is? I would have never recognized her. Why in the hell?” asked Wil.
“It seems she hates me. Blames me somehow for her losing the farm.”
“You have to tell the police, son,” stated Wil. “The girl ain’t right.” Capp looked at his father and nodded.
“Hurry. Call the police, Capp. Get them out here.”
Corky walked into the stall and started pushing the straw around with his boot. There on the ground was a large syringe. “Look,” said Corky as he bent to pick it up. “It’s a horse syringe. Full of something.” All stood in silence as they passed it around.
A police car and ambulance finally arrived, sirens blaring. Grooms began to sleepily gather in groups outside their respective barns. Most horses in Hench’s barn began to snort and squeal and move nervously in their stalls. Wil, worried about one of the thoroughbreds suffering a stall injury ran out of the barn waving his arms in the air. The sirens were quickly silenced. Two paramedics and two police officers ran into the barn behind Wil and he guided them to the woman. The medical team immediately removed her coat and handed it to the police. Searching the woman’s right coat pocket, one of the police officers found an empty vial, a full vial, and another syringe. In the left pocket he found a set of car keys and a pack of Wrigley’s gum.
The officer seeming to oversee the investigation held the full vial, turning it in his hand. “The vial says sodium pentobarbital.”
“Here’s another we found on the floor of the stall,” said Corky as he handed it to the cop.
“Sodium pentobarbital slows a horse’s heart, at best. You have enough of the sedative, you can kill one,” said Wil.
“This stuff will kill a horse?” asked the officer.
“Like I said, if you have enough. And two vials is more than enough,” said Wil, looking again at Tilly.
“How could anyone do that to a healthy horse?” asked Ernesto. Looking down at Tilly’s body, he shook his head and added, “Loca. La dama esta loca.”
“Crazy as hell,” agreed Corky.
“We’ll get on it. Do you have any idea who she might be?” asked another officer.
Capp stepped towards the officer. “She’s Tilly Coombs. She likes Wrigley’s gum. Uses it as a calling card.”
“She a friend of yours?” inquired the second cop.
“At one time, maybe. But we had a falling out,” explained Capp.
“I think your horse fared better than her. He got her good. That nose won’t ever be the same,” concluded the second policeman. Capp looked sadly down at her, pity awash on his face.
Chapter 106
A Glorious Ride
May 4, 1935
At the Brown Hotel, James and Mary were sleeping soundly when the phone rang. Both woke up as James reached for the phone receiver. James listened carefully, asked a few questions, and hung up. Throwing off the covers he put his feet on the floor and proceeded to get dressed.
“What’s going on?” Mary asked sleepily.
“I have to go to the barn.”
“Why?”
“There was an incident.”
“I heard you say Tilly’s name.”
“Yes, looks like she tried to kill Glory Be.”
“My God. That’s crazy! Is Glory Be all right?”
“Yep, she tried, but he’s fine.”
“Tilly?”
“She’s in the hospital. That’s all I know.”
“Dear God, James.”
“Come to the track around noon.” He bent down and kissed her, then smoothed her brow. “Don’t worry, Mary. She’s alive.”
By the time James arrived at the backside, all barns, racehorses, and handlers had heard the news. The place was teeming with excitement for the day’s races, but the mishap was on everyone’s mind. Capp had Glory Be on the track briefly to test his soundness. Several owners and trainers approached James and expressed their concern over Tommy O’Rourke’s injuries and Glory Be’s encounter. “Tough luck,” many said, but not all were sincere. Trainers reassured James that Eddie la Paz was an excellent jockey and had experience riding unfamiliar mounts in important races.
“Tommy?” James was shocked to see the young jockey at the edge of the track.
“Here to help with Glory. I’ve been talkin’ with that horse for the last hour,” said Tommy. “He’s fine. Better than me. Why, if she had dropped him, I’d…”
“It’s gonna be fine, Tommy. How’d you get here?” asked James.
“Took a cab from the hospital. Doctor released me. I begged him to. Had to be here.”
“Glad you are. Don’t get bumped. Looks like you are wrapped up pretty good.”
“Hardest thing is peeing. Can’t unbutton my fly,” said Tommy.
The two stood quietly together at the edge of the track while the horses worked out and the sun rose above the horizon, exposing a sky promising rain.
“Looks like we got rain coming from over there,” said Tommy as he looked up. “Track will be muddy.”
“Now we don’t have to worry if it will rain, just when.”
“That’s one way of looking at it,” said Tommy as he stared into the sky.
At eleven thirty, when Mary and Maizie arrived at Churchill Downs, the rain was coming down hard, and the temperature was in the forties. Mary and Maizie opened their umbrellas and maneuvered their way through the crowd. Picking up mint juleps, they headed for the viewing decks to join in the festivities. Having arrived early, they waited for James and watched a few of the preliminary races.
Eddie la Paz was in the barn with Tommy to finalize his preparations for the race. Tommy talked about Glory Be’s behavior in the gate, how he lifted his head and may rear up. He talked about the horse’s spirit and intelligence. He talked about the fact that the horse was shod with mud calks. “The calks will help at the start. You can drive him hard through the turns, the calks will dig in.”
The Glidewell team liked Glory Be’s post position, number eight in a field of twenty, far enough away from the rail to allow Glory to find a way
