On one of the bills of sale, the signature is off.
I reach down and lift it up. Killian’s signature has been on a bunch of sales, and even though he can’t recall each one, he said that when it came to bills for any foals that came from his stud, he often signed those.
But this one…doesn’t look like the others. There’s something in the slant of the “T” and the price looks like it was changed.
I start to examine the other ones a little closer and there are slight differences. I start to sort them into piles.
“Killian!” I call for him.
He enters a few seconds later. “What’s wrong?” he asks as he looks down at me, sitting on the floor surrounded by piles and papers.
“Look at this,” I say, giving him the bill of sale to a guy named Andrew Bennett. This horse should’ve been double that cost. It was from his stud, and bred with a mare that produced a very successful racehorse. It should’ve been one of the highest sales, not the lowest.
He reads it over. “What am I missing?”
“First, look at the horses and the price.”
Killian half snorts and half scoffs. “What the fuck? I didn’t sell this one.”
“You signed it.”
He flips the paper over and shakes his head. “That’s not my signature.”
“I didn’t think so. Look at this one.” I hand him another.
This price is a lot higher than the others, which I didn’t think anything of when I started digging. I wasn’t aware of what drivessome of the prices up, but this foal comes from Killian’s second horse, a great stud, but nowhere near what his derby winner is, and the mare is also untested.
“This doesn’t make sense.” Killian starts to pace. “I didn’t sign this one. I would’ve asked why the hell this one went for so much.”
“Are any of these your signature?”
He takes the pile, sits on the couch behind me, and starts going over them. “This is me.” He pulls one out.
I take it and put it in another pile. We go through each one, trying to organize it the best way possible.
At the end there are about ten bills of sale that were signed by someone other than Killian but bear his name.
“Could it be Travis’s signature?”
He shakes his head slowly. “I mean, it could be. But I don’t know why he wouldn’t just sign his name. He did on half of these. This is a fucking mess.”
I rest my hand on his forearm. “Let’s look into these first, then we can sort everything out.”
His eyes move to where my hand is, and when his eyes meet mine, I feel it everywhere. I pull my hand away and he runs his fingers through his hair. “This is a start.”
I tamp down my feeling and nod. “It is.”
“Let’s stop now, and we’ll look at it tomorrow with fresh eyes.”
Normally, I would be all for that. We’ve been at it for hours, and honestly, my mind isn’t firing on all cylinders. However, this means we’re not working and we’re staying in the same house.
What the hell are we supposed to do?
It’s late. I could just go to my room, which is probably the safest option.
But then Killian stands and extends his hand. “Come on, we need to eat and then I want to show you something.”
I look up, unsure of what to do, but there’s something in his eyes, an excitement that calls to me. So I take his hand and allow him to lead me into the living room.
