Free Lucky Thirteen by Melanie Jackson Page A

take away her private box.”
    “That would be terrible.”
    “And you don’t know the half of it.”
    Charles wandered away after making this tantalizing declaration. I followed his movements with my eyes until he disappeared into the milling crowd beyond the barrier. I continued to wait, exchanging brief tidbits of conversation with Alex as we watched for Miss Hightower to exit the door she’d previously entered. The wait was a long one. When I saw the official Miss Hightower had previously argued with exit the door, I approached him to find out what was happening.
    “Excuse me,” I said, getting his attention. “Do you know what time the meeting between Miss Hightower and the track officials will be over?”
    “It was over thirty minutes ago,” the official said. “Miss Hightower has already left the meeting.”
    “But she said she would be meeting me here.”
    The official simply shrugged his shoulders before moving on. I was left behind to ponder my options. After waiting another half hour, Alex suggested that we return to Miss Hightower’s box to see if she might be there. She wasn’t. I took a seat and began to fret. Alex tried to soothe my nerves with idle conversation, but I could not be distracted. I knew that there was something terribly wrong.
    “Have either of you seen the madam?” a familiar voice asked from the door.
    I looked up to see Charles standing in the doorway looking concerned.
    “No, we haven’t, and I’m getting worried,” I replied.
    “No need to fret,” he replied. “I’m sure she’s just wandered off to have a think over things. I’ll find her and be right back.”
    With that, he was gone back out the door and I was left to wait. I hate waiting. I don’t have the temperament for it. I waited anyway, not knowing what else to do. During my wait I ignored the races occurring on the track. I could think of nothing but Miss Hightower and what she must be going through. One hour later, Charles returned to the door.
    “Did you find her?” I asked the moment he showed his face.
    “Not yet, ma’am. And I have to admit that now I’m growing concerned.”
    Rather than leaving again, Charles entered the room and took a seat with us at the table. I could see by his expression that he had something he wanted to say. It didn’t take too long for him to start spilling the beans.
    “Earlier I let drop the fact that you only knew part of the story, and that’s true. I’m afraid that Miss Hightower has found herself in a terrible pickle. You see, this wasn’t just any race. This was the most important race of her life.”
    “How so?” I asked.
    “When her father left her his estate, includin ’ the mansion, surrounding property, and a considerable chunk of cash, there was a stipulation in his will. The stipulation was that Miss Hightower was to turn the property into a winning horse breeding and training facility.”
    “And if she didn’t?”
    “The property would revert to his son, Hillary.”
    “But she’s already succeeded in producing a winning horse breeding and training facility, didn’t she?”
    “I’m afraid not, ma’am. You see, the will stipulated the number of wins that she needed to gather within a particular amount of time.”
    “How many wins does she need?”
    “One more.”
    “By when?”
    “By the end of this month.”
    “Oh no,” I exclaimed. “But wait, won’t she be able to continue to work at the facility once Hillary takes possession?”
    “Maybe, maybe not. You see, Hillary has plans to sell the property the moment he gets his hands on it. No doubt to that overblown windbag Harrigan.”
    Alex and I shared a knowing glance and nodded our heads in unison. Charles caught the exchange and looked to us questioningly.
    “What is it?” he asked.
    “Both Hillary and Harrigan had motives for wanting Soft Spoken Hal to lose the race.”
    “That’s true,” Charles conceded. “But you can’t mean.…”
    “Yes. That makes them both