Horse Thief (9 page)

“Mo was completely normal when I saw her,” offered Lisa. “She said some really nice things about Max. I think we can pretty much cross her off the list.”

“Not yet,” argued Stevie. “Everyone’s a suspect—except Phil and us. What did you find out about Veronica?” she asked Carole.

Carole took a long sip of juice before answering. “I listened to Veronica and Denise in Danny’s stall,” she finally answered. “Veronica was acting like her usual self: spoiled rotten. Denise, though …” She paused, reluctant to implicate the instructor.

“Denise what?” Stevie asked impatiently.

“Denise was
definitely
acting weird,” admitted Carole. “I mean, Veronica was abusing Red, and Denise just stood there and
took
it from her. That’s not like her. She usually gives as good as she gets.”

“Better,” Stevie said.

“But that doesn’t make her guilty,” said Lisa.

The three girls continued discussing their investigation. Stevie kept pushing Veronica as the prime suspect.
Lisa thought Kurt might have done it, and all three of them thought Celeste was also a likely candidate.

“Maybe Howard did it for her,” suggested Carole again.

“Even if he did, Celeste probably
made
him do it,” said Lisa. She couldn’t help it—she felt sorry for Howard. He was so pathetic, always hungering after Celeste’s approval, while Celeste only tolerated him as her personal servant. Part of her was disgusted at how Howard fawned all over the girl just to get some attention from her, but another part instinctively sensed how weak Howard was and how easily bullied he was by Celeste.

The discussion was interrupted by the appearance of Mo, who was walking up the knoll. “Hi,” she called out. “Mind if I join you?”

“
Ixnay
on the
eftthay alktay
,” warned Stevie in an undertone. Lisa and Carole nodded in agreement, even though they both felt bad about it. However, technically Mo had not been crossed off their list of suspects.

Mo came up to the group and plopped down on the blanket with a dejected expression. She didn’t appear to notice that the conversation had stopped abruptly upon her entrance. “I can’t take it another minute,” she announced. “Maybe I’ll quit riding.”

“What is it?” Carole asked, concerned.

Mo bent her head. Her voice trembled as if she was about to cry. “It’s Celeste,” she told them. “She’s been
making fun of me again. She just told me that I look like a scarecrow in my riding clothes. I can’t help being so skinny. My parents are both skinny; it’s inherited.”

Lisa patted her shoulder comfortingly. “You look fine in your riding clothes,” she said.

“Yes, and you’re such a good rider,” added Carole. “That’s what really counts. Horse shows aren’t fashion shows. It’s all about who’s the best, most skilled rider.”

“I know, but
you
know how much appearance counts in dressage,” said Mo. “I hate Celeste. She’s so competitive, she does anything she can to win. She’s totally ruthless, and she has her boy toy, Howard, do everything for her. Not only that, but she’s one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen. Everyone at Mendenhall thinks she’s pretty, too. You have to admit, that counts sometimes with judges.”

“I don’t think it does at all,” said Carole. The thought that judges would judge on anything other than riding shocked her.

“That’s because you’re beautiful, too,” said Mo. “Celeste is right—I look like a freak in riding clothes.”

“I’ve got a great idea,” said Stevie. “Let’s start a new Pony Club just for Veronica, Celeste, and Howard. Just think how much fun they could have being obnoxious to one another. And none of them would ever bother us again—except at rallies, but we wouldn’t have to invite them!”

“Don’t I wish,” Mo said. Then she leaned forward and spoke in a whisper. “You have no idea how competitive Celeste
really
is,” she told them softly.

The Saddle Club leaned forward to listen.

“A few months ago, one of our riders fell from her horse,” continued Mo, still speaking in a low tone, though it wasn’t necessary since nobody else was anywhere near them. “She was practicing in the ring, and a loud noise spooked the horse. The rider was badly injured—the horse accidentally trampled her and broke a few of her bones. She was in the hospital for weeks.”

“How terrible!” Lisa exclaimed, shuddering. Carole and Stevie looked horrified, too.

“That’s not all,” said Mo. “I saw Howard running away a few seconds after the accident, and he was carrying a cap pistol. What would he be doing with something like that? The day after the fall, I saw Celeste hugging Howard. Normally she wouldn’t be caught dead doing that.” Mo paused while the implications of Celeste and Howard’s behavior sank in.

“That rider was Celeste’s main competition at Mendenhall,” she continued. “Now she’s out of commission for at least six more months. They’re not even sure she’ll ever ride again. Celeste’s been winning all the local riding events since the accident.”

“That’s awful,” said Stevie angrily. “Why didn’t you tell someone? She can’t get away with this!”

Mo shrugged. “Who would believe me? Celeste is the star of our Pony Club. The owner of Mendenhall completely dotes on her and listens to everything she says.”

“Still, maybe if you said something …,” began Lisa, recalling Mo’s reluctance to let Stevie tell Max what happened to her tack that morning.

But Mo shook her head again. “Believe me, I’ve tried,” she said positively. “And it hasn’t worked. Now I’m worried about what Celeste will do next,” she added, looking upset again. “I love Indy with all my heart, and I don’t want anything to happen to him or me.”

What was Mo saying? Was she actually implying that Celeste would hurt Indy? Carole couldn’t imagine what she would do if anything happened to Starlight. She was thankful that Pine Hollow didn’t have a rider like Celeste around. Veronica was mean and did some pretty vindictive things, but she wouldn’t intentionally do anything to harm a horse or a rider. Ever since her first horse, Cobalt, had died as a result of her own carelessness, Veronica had been a more careful horsewoman. Carole grew sad just thinking about it. Before she had gotten her own horse, she had spent hours taking care of Cobalt, and she still missed him.

She was brought out of her gloom by Stevie’s remark. “Pine Hollow is the best stable around,” Stevie was saying. “We can’t imagine riding anywhere else. All the riders here are really fun people—well, except for Veronica,
but she’s the only bad apple in the bunch. The rest of us have a great time together, and we talk horses and riding all the time.”

“Yes, and Max and Denise are fantastic instructors,” Lisa said eagerly. “Red is our head stable hand, and he’s terrific, too. I was almost a beginner when I came here, and they’ve taught me so much.”

Amused, Carole realized that Stevie and Lisa had turned to another task at hand—recruiting Mo as a new rider for Pine Hollow! “I’d probably have to tie a red ribbon on Starlight’s bridle,” she joked, joining the conversation. “Otherwise, I might groom Indy one day by mistake!” Everyone laughed.

Mo looked more cheerful. “Thanks,” she said gratefully. “I’d love to join Pine Hollow, but it’s an hour away from my house. It would be a long haul for my parents to drive me that far and back.”

Lisa became aware of something moving to her left. She flicked her eyes there. It was Kurt. He was looking at the four girls together. He stood motionless for just a second, then his eyes met Lisa’s. It was almost a silent plea. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it, hesitated for a second, and shook his head. Lisa blinked. She watched him walking away. What was
with
that boy?

The other girls noticed Lisa’s distraction and looked to see what had caught her attention. Kurt’s back was to them, and his shoulders were hunched.

“It’s like he has a sign on him saying, ‘Leave me alone,’ ” said Carole.

Stevie turned to Mo. “Just what is Kurt’s problem, anyway?” she asked, trying to keep her voice casual.

“Kurt’s always like that,” Mo answered, shrugging. “He’s the most antisocial person at Mendenhall. He keeps to himself, doesn’t like to talk to anyone.”

Lisa nodded. She had experienced that for herself.

“I have heard plenty of rumors about Kurt, though,” continued Mo, again dropping her voice to a whisper. “He has two older brothers, both of whom are in jail. I think one of them robbed a store.”

“That’s so awful for Kurt,” said Carole. “Maybe be won’t talk to anyone because he’s embarrassed about his family.”

“It’s not just his family,” Mo said. “I’ve heard that Kurt has had his own problems with the police. We go to the same school, and some of my friends told me that he has to report to a probation officer at least once a week.”

The Saddle Club members exchanged significant glances. Kurt had gotten into trouble with the police?

“Do you know why?” asked Lisa. “I mean, what did he do?”

“No one knows for sure,” said Mo.

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” muttered Stevie. It was a saying that she had heard from Carole’s dad. Even if the rumors about Kurt were unconfirmed, why would
the rumors exist if there wasn’t something shady about his past?

“Huh?” asked Mo, startled.

“Nothing,” said Stevie. She spotted Phil coming toward them. “Hey, Phil!” she called out, waving.

Phil walked up to the group, but his eyes were focused on Stevie. “C’mon,” he said, grinning. “Let’s take a little walk together.”

Stevie allowed herself to be pulled up, although she was reluctant to stop discussing the Mendenhall riders. Mo’s knowledge was really valuable for the investigation.

Stevie and Phil walked for a few minutes together, discussing the first two rounds of the dressage rally. Stevie wanted to tell him about their investigation, but he seemed distracted and excited about something else. All her attempts to raise the subject failed as he murmured replies like “Is that so?” and “Oh, really?”

“Phil, we’re trying to help you and Max and you don’t even care,” Stevie finally said, exasperated.

They had reached Max’s house by now, far away from the picnicking people. Phil suddenly dragged Stevie into a private spot behind the house. “Stevie, I had to get you alone,” he said, putting his arms around her. “I couldn’t wait to tell you my surprise.”

“What is it?” she asked. Was Phil finally going to tell her why he was in Max’s office?

“I’m getting you a new bridle for your anniversary present!”
Phil blurted out. “That special snaffle bridle that you wanted—it’s going to be yours in a few weeks!”

Stevie stared at him. “What?” she gulped.

“I couldn’t wait until our dinner tonight to tell you,” Phil continued excitedly. “I know that you’ve been dying for one. The only thing I’m sorry about is that you couldn’t use it today. But I had to order it from a catalog, so it’s going to take at least two weeks …”

Stevie continued to stare at Phil in disbelief as he babbled on about the gift. She was shocked that he was getting her a new bridle. They were incredibly expensive! She had looked at one in a tack shop only a few weeks before, and the price was
one hundred and fifty dollars
. Phil was always complaining how broke he was. So how did he suddenly find the money to buy her a new bridle?

“That’s great, Phil,” she said weakly, attempting to smile. “But it’s just too expensive. Besides, I didn’t get you anything.”

Phil didn’t seem to notice Stevie’s less-than-enthusiastic reaction. “I don’t want a gift,” he answered, giving her a little hug. “And don’t worry about the cost. I can afford it now!”

Did Stevie imagine it, or did Phil put a meaningful emphasis on the word
now
? She wondered again where he had gotten all that money for the bridle. She was thrilled that she was going to finally get it, but it seemed like too much money for Phil to have or to spend.

Phil took her by the hand and they started walking again. Stevie’s mind was in a whirl.
Phil … money … bridle
 … She was starting to drive herself crazy.

Then she paused for a second and looked at her boyfriend. “What’s wrong?” he asked, pulling her hair playfully. “Do I have something on my face?”

“No,” Stevie said slowly. For the first time since the theft had taken place, she felt the tiniest tug of suspicion in her mind. Why did Phil have so much money all of a sudden? And why hadn’t he explained his presence in Max’s office yet? Why was Stevie starting to think that these two facts belonged together?

“S
O WHY DID
Phil drag you off like that? Did he have a sudden romantic urge that just couldn’t wait?” teased Carole, leaning against the frame of the stable door.

The afternoon session of the rally was about to begin, and the girls had just finished getting their horses ready to go. The Saddle Club had decided to huddle briefly and figure out how to proceed with their investigation.

Stevie turned a little pink. She didn’t have the heart to tell Carole and Lisa about her newfound suspicion of Phil. Besides, she consoled herself, his extravagant gift didn’t
prove
anything. Maybe it just proved that she had been an extra-special girlfriend for the past six months. Maybe Phil had gotten a discount on the bridle. Didn’t she know that Phil would never, ever steal anything?