Win, Place or Die Read online

  “Good night, Thea,” Nancy said.

  Ten minutes later she heard Thea’s even breathing. Slowly, the barns settled down, and Nancy dozed off in the stillness.

  She woke up later from a crick in her neck, then, remembering where she was, pulled out her penlight and took a quick look at her watch. One-thirty.

  After climbing out of her sleeping bag, Nancy walked outside and stretched her legs. There were only a few lamps burning in the barns. She glanced toward Flash O’Lightnin’s barn at the end of the row. It was dark and silent.

  The one time Nancy had seen the shadowy figure was outside Flash’s barn. Might as well make sure everything’s okay down there, she thought, striding quickly across the grass.

  A van rumbled into the stable area. Nancy glanced back. She could just make out Brentwood Stables in black letters across the white van.

  Nancy ducked around the corner of another barn and watched the van drive by. It stopped by Flash’s barn. Eddie and Ace climbed out from the cab and headed for the barn. Through the clear night air Nancy could hear them arguing.

  “Handle Flash the same way in the Derby and you’re out!” Eddie shouted.

  “He don’t like the whip,” Ace answered quietly.

  “Too bad! He got lazy in the last furlong, and you didn’t whip him! That’s not the way to win.”

  “If I whip him, he might go through the rail.”

  “If you don’t,” Eddie said, mimicking Ace’s voice, “you won’t win. . . . ” His voice trailed off as they headed inside.

  Nancy sighed. Ace seemed like such a straightforward guy. Why did he work for someone as obnoxious as Eddie Brent?

  She crept toward their barn, interested to hear more of their conversation. Within a few feet of the entrance, she heard footsteps just ahead of her. Quickly she moved into the shadows, watching.

  The outdoor lights only faintly reached this part of the stable area, but Nancy didn’t want to betray herself by turning on her penlight. She squinted against the blackness and just made out someone stealing toward Flash’s barn!

  Swiftly and silently, Nancy followed. The figure turned around a corner of Flash’s barn, and Nancy hurried after him. Not a sound reached her ears. Even Ace and Eddie seemed to have resolved their argument.

  She circled the barn. The only noise was from a chorus of crickets.

  Turning back, Nancy headed for the front of the barn. Here the outdoor lights offered a bit of dim light. As she hugged the side of the barn, Nancy caught sight of something small and glinting on the ground a few feet from her.

  She kept the shining object in sight as she stepped away from the barn, trying to make out what it was. She’d almost reached it when she sensed someone behind her.

  Nancy whipped around. She saw movement, then felt something strike her temple.

  Lights exploded inside her head. I’m hit, she thought vaguely. Then, with a faint moan, she slipped to the ground, unconscious.

  Chapter

  Eleven

  NANCY AWOKE to a buzzing in her ears. Her head was throbbing and her cheek burned. She slowly lifted her head and realized she was very dizzy.

  “Ohhh,” Nancy moaned, rolling onto her back. She inhaled several times, getting her bearings. Her head finally cleared, and she saw she was still lying on the ground, in the dark, outside Flash’s barn.

  Climbing to her feet, she gingerly probed her temple with her fingers. A sizable knot had formed. Someone had hit her with a hard object—probably that rock, she thought, spying one on the ground.

  Grimacing, Nancy suddenly remembered the glinting object. She walked around, searching for it, but it was gone. The person who hit me over the head must have taken it, she realized grimly. The way it had sparkled in the light reminded her of something—something she couldn’t quite place right then.

  “Maybe it’ll come back to me later,” she said aloud, wincing a little as the pain in her head increased as she started walking back to Pied Piper’s barn.

  There was an unusual flurry of activity in the colt’s barn. It was ablaze with light and alive with loud, excited voices. Fear stabbed her. Had something happened to Pied Piper?

  She ran inside and nearly collided with Thea. “What’s wrong?” she asked anxiously. Then she saw Pied Piper standing in his stall, perfectly fine.

  “Nancy!” Thea exclaimed. “Where were you? We were worried about you! I woke up and you were gone. When you didn’t come back I was certain something had happened to you. I got Cam, and he went out searching for you. Do you know what time it is?”

  Nancy glanced at her watch. It was almost three o’clock. “Pied Piper’s okay, though?”

  “He’s fine. Where have you been?”

  “Over by Flash’s barn. Someone hit me over the head.”

  Thea’s eyes widened when Nancy showed her the lump above her temple. “You need to see a doctor,” Thea declared.

  “It’s not necessary—really,” Nancy protested. “I’m fine. I just want to lie down for a while.”

  “I’ll take you back to the hotel, then,” Thea insisted. She turned to the stable boy, who looked tousled and half-asleep. “Stay awake until Cam comes back, then tell him I took Nancy home.”

  Thea was so determined that it was no use arguing with her, Nancy knew. Obediently she followed her out of the stable area, deciding it was best to just give in this time. She could start fresh the next day.

  • • •

  Sunlight streamed in the window, and Nancy opened her eyes, the effort making her head throb a little.

  “Nancy?” Bess asked, her voice troubled.

  Squinting, Nancy saw Bess staring down at her through worried blue eyes. “What’s wrong, Bess?”

  “You show up here nearly at daybreak, mumble something about someone knocking you out, then fall asleep. I should be asking you what’s wrong!” Bess plopped down on the edge of Nancy’s bed. “Tell me everything, Drew!”

  Nancy chuckled at Bess’s determined face. She told her what had happened down by Flash’s barn, finishing with, “But I’m fine. I’ve got a pretty hard head,” she added with a lopsided grin.

  “You’re just lucky you’re okay.”

  “I know,” Nancy said seriously. “It all happened so fast. I was just bending down to pick something up, then wham!” She wrinkled her nose. “The next thing I knew, I was on the ground and my head felt like I had been run over by a truck.”

  “Could it have been Eddie Brent or Ace?” Bess suggested. “They were both at the barn after all.”

  “It could have been,” Nancy admitted. “But it could have been anyone else just as easily.”

  Bess frowned. “At least we know it wasn’t Thea or Cam.”

  Nancy looked at her seriously. “We don’t know that at all. Thea said she went to get Cam, and Cam was out looking for me. Either of them could have done it.”

  Bess’s eyes widened. “Oh, come on, Nancy! Thea? She was so worried about you that she brought you back to the hotel.”

  “I know. I’m just saying we can’t rule anybody out yet.”

  “So what was it you saw on the ground?” Bess asked after a minute.

  Nancy swung her feet over the side of the bed. Her head still hurt a little bit, but she wasn’t dizzy anymore. “I don’t know. I feel like the answer’s on the tip of my tongue, but I just haven’t thought of it yet. What time is it?”

  “Noon.”

  “Noon!” Nancy shrieked. “Come on. We’ve got to get to the track. This is the last day before the Derby. We’ve got to solve this mystery before the race. Time is running out!”

  • • •

  Nancy and Bess found Thea and a man they’d never met before inside Pied Piper’s stall when they arrived. Thea introduced the other man as the colt’s veterinarian.

  “Pied Piper’s listless and off his feed,” Thea explained in a hushed voice to the two girls. “I’m worried sick that there’s something wrong with him.”

  “Oh, no!” Bess cried.<
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  “You think he’s caught some kind of bug?” Nancy asked anxiously.

  “I don’t know. That’s why Barry’s here.”

  The veterinarian stepped out of the stall, his gaze still on the chestnut colt. “He’s not running a fever,” he said.

  Thea’s face instantly cleared. “You don’t think he’s sick, then?” she asked hopefully.

  “I wouldn’t scratch him from the race yet. Let’s see how he’s doing this afternoon.”

  After the vet left, Nancy turned to Thea. “What could be wrong with Pied Piper?”

  “I’m not sure. He was fine last night, but this morning I found him like this.” She gestured to the colt, whose head was hanging down. Normally Pied Piper was restless and alert. There was definitely something wrong with the colt.

  “Was there any time yesterday when he was alone?” Nancy asked.

  “No.” Thea was positive. “There was always a stable boy here.”

  Remembering how tired the stable boy had looked after her accident, Nancy wondered if someone couldn’t have sneaked by him the night before. Or maybe earlier in the day. Remembering Cam’s angry words to Eddie Brent about drugging horses, Nancy’s blood ran cold. Could Pied Piper have been given something? Maybe in his feed . . .

  “Where’s Pied Piper’s feed?” Nancy asked.

  “Right here,” Thea said, gesturing to the bag of specially mixed grain.

  “Let’s have it analyzed and get Pied Piper some new feed from an unopened bag.”

  Thea’s jaw dropped. “You think someone tampered with his food?”

  “It’s possible,” Nancy said grimly as Thea hauled up the bag of grain. “There’s a lot at stake here.”

  An hour later Nancy, Bess, and Thea had saved a sample of the feed to be analyzed, thrown out the rest, then brought in new feed. Thea talked long and hard with the stable boy. He didn’t remember seeing or hearing anyone. Then she sent him to tell Cam what had happened.

  Maybe I’m overreacting, Nancy thought, eyeing the Thoroughbred anxiously. Pied Piper was pretty listless, but he didn’t seem to be getting any worse.

  Cam stopped by Pied Piper’s stall at about one-thirty. “How’s he doing?” he asked Thea.

  “About the same.”

  “I suppose you’ve heard about Flash,” he said with a serious look on his face.

  Nancy, Thea, and Bess all gazed at him blankly. “What about Flash?” Nancy asked quickly.

  “He’s off his feed, too, and he’s sluggish and tired. Eddie’s having a fit! He swears someone drugged his horse. In fact, he’s accusing me.”

  “Oh, Cam. No!” Thea cried, her eyes wide.

  “Why not?” Cam asked angrily. “It’s always easy to blame me for everything, isn’t it? He probably thinks I drugged Pied Piper, too!”

  At that moment footsteps pounded across the barn floor as Eddie Brent burst inside. “There you are, Parker!” he snarled furiously. “Back to finish Pied Piper off, are you?”

  “Watch it, Brent,” Cam growled.

  Before anyone could react, Brent lunged forward and seized Cam by the throat, squeezing down on his windpipe!

  “You’re the one trying to wipe out the competition, not me!” Cam shouted, gripping Eddie’s throat as Eddie had his. “I ought to kill you right now with my bare hands!”

  Chapter

  Twelve

  NANCY LEAPT FORWARD and grabbed one of Eddie Brent’s arms. She jerked hard, loosening the enraged man’s grip.

  “Let go!” Eddie growled, trying to shake her off.

  Cam’s blue eyes blazed. He pushed Eddie away, then stood back, rubbing his throat. “You’re way off base, Brent. I don’t know who’s responsible for Flash and Pied Piper being down, but I intend to find out!”

  “Why don’t you look in a mirror?” the surly owner sneered.

  Cam raised his fist, ready to smash it into Eddie’s mocking face. Nancy stepped between them, intent on restoring peace.

  “Cameron Parker!”

  The sound of a man’s voice stopped Cam cold. Nancy glanced around. It was Evan Johnson who’d spoken. He and Laura were standing just outside the barn.

  Evan’s face was filled with concern. “What’s going on?” he asked Eddie. Eddie glared at Cam, then stomped away.

  Cam lowered his fist, looking a bit self-conscious in front of Evan. “We had a disagreement,” he explained. “Were you looking for me?” he added.

  “Yes! There’s something wrong with Toot Sweet,” Evan declared, forgetting Eddie Brent in an instant. “We were doing an interview outside her stall when all of a sudden she started to droop.”

  “What do you mean?” Cam demanded sharply.

  “The stable boy said she didn’t seem a bit like herself,” Laura said, slipping her arm through Cam’s, her blue eyes wide and worried. “Oh, I hope nothing’s wrong!”

  “We said we’d come find you,” Evan put in.

  Cam appeared to be stunned as he took off running for Toot Sweet’s stable. Evan and Laura hurried after him.

  Nancy turned to Bess and Thea. “I’m going to check out Toot Sweet.”

  “I’m with you,” said Bess.

  “I’ll stay with Pied Piper,” Thea said grimly. “I don’t want anything else to happen to him.”

  Nancy and Bess walked quickly toward barn eight. The crowd around the Derby favorite had swelled each day as the race grew nearer, but now, with the news about Toot Sweet’s health spreading, Nancy and Bess practically had to fight their way to the filly’s stable.

  “Whew!” Bess declared. “This is getting crazy!”

  The area around Toot Sweet’s stall had been roped off, and race officials were standing guard. Nancy tried to explain that she was a friend of Cam’s, but they wouldn’t listen to her.

  Finally Cam came outside. Cameras clicked madly, and reporters thrust microphones his way.

  “Is it true that several Derby horses have been drugged, Toot Sweet among them?” one reporter burst out.

  “How is the filly, Mr. Parker?” another asked.

  “Will she still race?” yet another demanded.

  Cam drew in a deep breath. “We don’t know what’s wrong. Several horses have developed symptoms of listlessness and depressed appetite. Race officials are testing them for drugs. We’ll know more later today.”

  The crowd surged in on him, the reporters clamoring for answers. Nancy and Bess were pressed back.

  “I just wish I knew what was going on,” Nancy muttered in frustration. Why would anyone drug all three Derby favorites? It didn’t make any sense!

  “Come on,” she said to Bess. “Let’s go have a swim at the hotel while we wait for the lab results.”

  • • •

  Although she was trying to relax in the sun, Nancy was restless and anxious. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen at the race.

  Bess flipped onto her stomach, her back shiny with suntan oil. She opened one eye and glanced at Nancy, who was sitting on the end of her lounge chair. “You want to go back to the room and wait by the phone for Thea’s call?”

  Nancy smiled. “I think I will. Sorry. I just can’t stand sunbathing this afternoon. I’ve got too much on my mind.”

  “I’ll come with you,” said Bess, grabbing her towel.

  As soon as they stepped into their hotel room Nancy spied the flashing red light on the phone, indicating that someone had left a message. As she reached to pick up the phone to call the desk, it rang beneath her hand.

  “Hello?”

  “Nancy, it’s Thea. The lab results just came through. Flash, Pied Piper, and Toot Sweet were all given a powerful sedative. It looks like you were right. It was in their feed.”

  Nancy’s thoughts spun. “Someone wants all the favorites out of the race.” Her mind flew to Dollar Bill. Could this be a simpler way of eliminating the competition rather than paying off jockeys to stiff a horse? Which horse, then, did Dollar Bill want to win?

  �
�It looks like it,” Thea admitted, “but they’re not going to succeed. Pied Piper and Flash are doing better already.”

  “And Toot Sweet?”

  “She still hasn’t recovered. They think she was drugged later. Cam doesn’t know whether to scratch her or not.”

  Nancy could imagine Cam’s dilemma. This would be the only chance for Toot Sweet to race in the Derby, but if the horse wasn’t a hundred percent, there was no way a trainer could have him—or her in this case—race.

  “Thanks, Thea. We’ll come back to the track right away.”

  Nancy pressed down on the receiver with her finger, then dialed the desk. The first message had been from her father only a few minutes before.

  “Well, I’ve got some of the information you wanted,” Carson informed his daughter when she called him. “I talked with one of Pied Piper’s other owners, Tom Marshall. Tom’s an attorney in Kentucky, and I asked him to pull a few strings for me and find out the contents of Ulysses Johnson’s will.”

  “And?” Nancy asked excitedly.

  “There was a stipulation that if anything should happen to Ken McHugh, his percentage of the winnings will revert to Johnson Farms. Mr. Cameron Parker, as owner of the horses, would receive all the winnings.”

  Nancy drew a breath. She’d suspected as much, but to hear her suspicion stated as fact shocked her a little. Her eyes met Bess’s as her father explained some of the more complicated legal terms of the will. It all boiled down to the fact that if McHugh died Cam would own one hundred percent of all the Johnson Farms horses! Except for Laura’s breeding rights, the horses were virtually Cam’s!

  Cam had just been firmly placed at the top of Nancy’s suspect list. He had the strongest motive for wanting Ken McHugh out of the way.

  “Well?” Bess asked when Nancy hung up.

  Nancy explained what her father had said, finishing with, “There’s something that bothers me, though. Even if Cam wanted to get rid of McHugh, why would he drug his own horse? That doesn’t make sense. He’d still want to win the Derby.”