Free Lucky Thirteen by Melanie Jackson Page B

suspects.”
    “But Mr. Harrigan, for all his faults, is a member of the racing fraternity. Surely he’s above the doping of a horse. As for Hillary, he’s too stupid to think up the idea and too lazy to commit the crime.”
    “Nevertheless, we’ve identified two important leads in the case.”
    “The case? What case?”
    Again, Alex and I looked to each other. This time only Alex nodded his head to give me the go-ahead.
    “Charles, what would you say if I told you that I work for the Hope Falls police department where I quite often help to solve some of their most difficult criminal cases?”
    “I’d say you’re having me on.”
    “Well I do, work there, and I’m not, having you on. I’d like for you to help me carry out an investigation into the culprit behind the doping of Soft Spoken Hal. Are you up for it?”
    “I don’t know, ma’am. I mean, I trust you and all, that’s not the problem, but such an act is stepping over the boundary of the employer/employee relationship.”
    “Step one.”
    “Yes?”
    “Find Miss Hightower. Not only because I’m concerned for her safety, but because she had something important to tell me before she disappeared.”
    “Right. Now that I can agree to,” Charles said.
    After exchanging cell phone numbers, Charles, Alex, and I set off in different directions to canvass the track for Miss Hightower. Charles chose the stables, Alex the viewing stands, and I opted to comb the lobby and other public areas inside the structure. After an hour spent searching, I’d found nothing. Charles and Alex each called to report that they’d found no trace of Miss Hightower. We gathered in the parking lot to see if we could locate her car. It wasn’t difficult to find since it was a baby blue vintage Thunderbird. Alex found the car parked in a public space and gave us directions to find him in column L9. The car was locked.
    “Now what?” Alex asked.
    “I say we call the police,” Charles offered.
    “We’ll eventually have to. But first, maybe we should notify the track officials and see if they have any luck locating her.”
    “Good idea. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it myself,” Charles agreed.
    While Charles headed off to discuss Miss Hightower’s disappearance with the track officials, Alex and I returned to Miss Hightower’s viewing box to wait. Charles eventually arrived and we waited together. While we waited, I took no interest in what was happening on the track. What had once thrilled me could no longer interest me in the slightest in the wake of my friend’s unexplained disappearance. The skies outside became overcast to reflect my mood. Two hours later, we received a call informing us that the track officials had conducted a thorough search of the grounds for Miss Hightower and turned up nothing.
    “I’m calling the police,” Charles said.
    “You do that, but they’ll most likely insist you wait twenty-four hours before opening a missing persons case,” I informed him.
    Alex and I listened in on Charles’ side of the phone conversation. Based on what I heard, he was running into exactly the difficulty I thought he might come across. The police didn’t want to begin investigating until twenty-four hours had passed. Charles argued the matter the best he could and after telling the person on the other end of the line the name of the missing person and the circumstances, seemed to make some headway.
    “They’re putting me in touch with a Detective Phillips to hear my story,” Charles informed us, holding the phone away from his face.
    Charles returned the phone to his ear and after waiting several minutes began relating the situation once more. Again he was rebuffed, but he continued to press for assistance. Finally, he thanked the detective and terminated the call.
    “The detective says that he gets off work in an hour and that he’ll stop by the track on his way home to take our statements.”
    “Good going, Charles,” Alex said.
    I smiled at