No one took Jinx from the barn, and they haven’t seen him since Peggy left the stable around noon. Jack says his next call will be to the police. Stealing a five-figure Thoroughbred is a crime. But Lex is adamant. “No police,” he says. “We’ll handle this matter in house.” “Sure you will,” Jack says to the dial tone. But he’s not satisfied. He decides to search for Jinx on his own. “Can you stick around for a while?” he asks. “I need someone to sit by the phones.” I say yes, but he doesn’t wait to hear it. He saddles his horse Buckeye and heads for the doors. Jack mounts Buckeye like a Hollywood cowboy, and I wonder, was he ever considered handsome? Something tells me he probably was. “I’ve got my cell phone,” he hollers. “Call me if Jinx turns up.” Losing a horse in Colorado in daylight is bad. Losing a horse in Colorado after dark is worse. Temperatures drop, terrain gets hard to navigate, and lately wolves have been making themselves known. A pack killed an old sheep on the ranch next door.
