Chapter 3 - Echoes of ChloeRachel kept her back low, sitting cross-legged on the clean shavings by the gate. She needed Goliath to understand that she claimed no territory here.
As her heartbeat stabilized, the memory of Chloe Bennett rushed into her mind. Chloe had been the quietest student in their cohort, a brilliant farm girl from Vermont who could diagnose colic before the monitors even registered elevated vitals. Two weeks ago, Chloe had pulled Rachel aside by the research freezers.
"Tyler is forging the controlled substance logs, Rachel," Chloe had whispered, her hands trembling over her thermos. "He’s siphoning high-dose xylazine and ketamine from the equine surgical stores. He’s using it off-record to numb trial horses so his father’s racing syndicate can run them through pre-purchase exams without showing lameness."
Rachel hadn’t believed it at first. Tyler was the son of Richard Harris, the hospital’s primary donor and a trustee of the university. But then Chloe had vanished, officially taking a "voluntary medical leave." The next day, Dean Thorne’s office was ransacked, the final board examination was stolen, and the suspicion was surgically redirected toward Rachel, the scholarship student who had access to the master keys.
Rachel looked at Goliath’s braided mane again.
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Chloe had been Goliath’s primary caretaker. She was the only one allowed to braid his mane, using a specific herringbone weave she had learned from her grandfather.
"Chloe didn't leave voluntarily," Rachel whispered aloud into the stall. "She was trying to protect you, wasn't she, Goliath?"
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