Hot Blood: The Millionairess, the Money, and the Horse Murders

In February 1977, Helen Vorhees Brach, the widowed heiress to the Brach candy fortune, vanished without a trace shortly after leaving the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Despite the efforts of law enforcement officials as well as those of private investigators, the Brach case appeared to be at a dead end until 12 years later, when U.S. attorney Steven Miller was persuaded to look into the growing accusations of fraud against Richard Bailey and Bailey's possible involvement in Brach's disappearance. Miller's investigation soon discovered that Bailey was a con man whose modus operandi was to charm older, rich women into buying thoroughbred horses at prices far above market value. One of those women was Helen Brach, who, suspecting that she had been swindled, threatened to have Bailey prosecuted but disappeared before she could act. While exploring the Bailey-Brach link, Miller discovered that a number of Bailey's associates were involved in the killing of horses for insurance money. With a mountain of evidence against them, Bailey and 20 others pleaded guilty to several crimes associated with the murder of horses and insurance fraud. Two people who chose to fight the charges were Marion Hulick and her employer, George Lindemann Jr., the son of one of America's richest men; both were convicted of conspiracy in the murder of Lindemann's horse, Charisma. Englade (Beyond Reason) is at his best when detailing the life and crimes of Bailey, a colorful if detestable human being. The story becomes more routine when he relates the Lindemann trial proceedings. Nevertheless, this fast-paced tale will have readers wondering what did happen to Helen Brach, a question the author never fully answers. Photos not seen by PW. (July)