"I should be shocked you found Brice's address, but I'm not. Why didn't you just call?"
"That's my fault. I had some information about the horses you had me look into and I knew you'd want it right away," Dad says, handing me a file.
I glance at Brice before taking the file and flipping through it. Instantly, I know it's from Dad's private investigator. It's full of notes, reports, photos, background checks, and police reports. Not all these photos are recent. Some go back months, which means they were taken from another source. There are even some security cam photos.
I take the folder over to Brice."Any of these horses look like the ones that showed up here?"
He looks at me with so many questions in his eyes but sets his coffee cup on the end table and takes the folder, flipping through it.
"That is Black Diamond. I'm sure of it. She was the first one to show up." He flips through a few more."This is Snow White. She was pregnant when we found her. And this is Ford's Whiskey, I know that mark. Where did you get these?"
"My daughter told me about the rumors of the illegal rodeo going on here and what happened. It sounds like a ring that was busted about six years back, so I did some digging. Money buys you a lot of things, not all of it legal. While some choose to use it for things like that, I choose to use my money to catch people like this."
Brice hands me the folder and I look through it again."You sure you want to do this, Dad? There are some really high ups in here. They could try to retaliate and hurt us."
"I thought about that already and I have a few precautions in place. But we’ll be fine, other than having to explain how we got some of this information. All I have to say is I was approached, and it sounded off, so I did some digging. This is what I found and turned it over to the police. At most, I’ll face some fines which I'm okay with."
I trust my dad. If he says we will be fine, then I know we will be.
"Do you know the cops on the case here in Rock Springs?" I ask Brice.
After staring at me in shock for a moment, he pulls out his phone and makes a call. Then he goes to his room to finish getting dressed.
About ten minutes later, a state trooper shows up at the door. Brice greets him and invites him in.
"This is Miles. He's been assigned here to crack this case," Brice introduces us.
Miles takes a seat in the chair I was sitting in earlier. When I sit next to Brice in the love seat, everyone looks at me, so I guess I'm taking the lead on this.
"I was told about the illegal rodeo and the horses showing up. Because I'm not from around here, this is the first I’d heard about it."
Miles pulls out a notepad and pen. "May I ask where you’re from?"
"Dallas. I'm Kayla Bartrum, CEO of Bartrum Enterprises."
"And why are you in town?"
"I’ve been talking with Jason and Nick at WJ’s about working with them, possibly franchising. During our last meeting, I took a spill in the parking lot, hurt my ankle, and hit my head. I wasn't able to drive back to Dallas, so Brice here was kind enough to take care of me and let me stay here while I recover."
Miles nods, making notes.
"Anyway. When I heard about the horses, I sent the information to my father who was back in Dallas. It sounded a bit like something that had been broken up several years back. After he looked at what I sent, he brought the file here for Brice to look at. Brice just verified some of the horses in these photos as the same ones that have randomly shown up." I hand Miles the file my dad brought.
Miles looks at it, and then takes it from me."How did you obtain this formation?" he asks before opening it.
"From a private investigator. Someone I used to break up the last ring," Dad replies.
Miles frowns. "You were involved in breaking up the last ring?"
"Yes. I'm sure you know from our name we are one of the most influential families in Dallas. We get approached all the time about investments. I always do my research after talking to someone. Both times my research has led me here," Dad replies.
Miles nods and finally opens the folder in his lap. Brice wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me to his side. A move my parents notice but don't comment on. I know they’ll wait until Miles leaves before saying anything to us.
"Which horses did you recognize, Brice?" Miles asks, his eyes still on the contents of the folder.
"Black Diamond, Snow White, and Whiskey."
"Who is Whiskey?"