The Missing Horse Mystery Read online

  Curio stared at them, stalks of hay sticking out of his

  mouth. “Gilly was braiding him for the show. See?”

  Nancy pointed to the needle and thread still dangling

  from his mane.

  Texel rubbed his chin. Shadows ringed his eyes, and

  Nancy figured he hadn't gotten much sleep, either.

  “Can you hold the horse for me? I want to check his

  hooves,” he asked her.

  “What for?”

  Texel swung around to look at her. “Now, Miss

  Drew, haven't you figured out what happened yet?

  This here horse must have kicked that girl. Not much

  of a contest when it's a thousand pounds of critter

  versus a hundred pounds of human.”

  Nancy's jaw dropped. “Curio? He wouldn't hurt a

  flea.”

  “I've squashed plenty of fleas myself, and I'm a

  pretty nice guy.” Texel flipped open the latch. “Get a

  rope. I want to have something to report to the police

  when they come.”

  Speaking softly, Nancy went into the stall. Curio

  nuzzled her palm, looking for a treat. She knew there

  was no way the horse would have purposely kicked

  Gilly.

  “I'll pick up the hoof for you,” Nancy said after

  attaching the lead. “It will prove that Curio's a lamb.

  He would never have kicked Gilly.”

  “Maybe not on purpose.”

  Standing next to Curio's right flank, Nancy ran her

  hand down his hind leg. Curio immediately picked it

  up. She cradled his hoof in her left palm. Bending,

  Texel inspected the horseshoe.

  “There's our proof.” He pointed to a crusted brown

  spot. “Looks like blood to me. A steel shoe combined

  with a powerful kick to the head would knock anyone

  out. I'm surprised it didn't kill her.”

  Slowly Nancy set down Curio's hoof. “Something

  must have scared him, or else it was just a freak

  accident,” she protested.

  “Maybe. We'll let the police decide,” Texel said as

  he left the stall. From outside the barn Nancy could

  hear the shrill whine of sirens. She gave Curio one last

  pat, then unhooked the lead. As she latched the door,

  Texel said, “Now, is there anything you want to tell me

  before the cops get here and start stomping around?”

  He studied her face. “Like what you were doing here at

  five-thirty in the morning after being up almost all

  night chasing horse thieves?”

  Nancy hesitated. She wasn't ready to tell him that

  Gilly had wanted to confide something about the theft

  of Aristocrat. If Curio had accidentally kicked Gilly,

  that information wouldn't matter. But she did think it

  was important to tell him about the person who had

  fled from the barn. He or she could be a witness—or

  maybe could have provoked the horse into kicking the

  groom.

  “I came to help Gilly get the horses ready. When I

  realized she was hurt, I knew I'd better move Curio,”

  Nancy explained. “I was leading him down the aisle

  when I saw someone dart out of a stall and run around

  the corner to the other side of the barn. It all happened

  so fast that I couldn't see who it was. The person got

  away in a car that I sort of recognized.”

  Texel raised one eyebrow, but when someone came

  into the barn and hollered, “Texel, what's going on

  around this place?” he put a finger to his lips and said,

  “Finish telling me later.”

  Turning, he faced two uniformed police officers

  striding down the aisle. One was a woman with a badge

  over her pocket. The other was an older man who had

  hailed Texel.

  “Just drumming up a little business for you, Yates,”

  Texel greeted the older officer. “Only I think this was

  an accident.”

  “Yeah?” Yates shook hands with Texel, then slapped

  him on the back. “So you wrapped up the case for us,

  huh?”

  Texel gestured to the stall. “The girl's in there. The

  EMTs are getting ready to transport her to the

  hospital. She got a nasty blow on the head. Looks like a

  horse kicked her.”

  “Any witnesses?” the other officer asked, pulling a

  pad from her shirt pocket.

  “Not yet. Miss Drew here found her.”

  “Did someone call Klaus Schaudt?” Nancy asked

  Texel.

  He shook his head. “I'll leave that up to the police. I

  don't need that man breathing down my neck just yet.”

  “Hey, let us in!” Nancy heard an irate voice boom

  down the aisle. Michael and Lee Anne stood in the

  doorway of the barn, where they'd been stopped by a

  police officer.

  “That's Michael Raines,” Nancy told Texel. “He's

  Curio's rider. The girl is Lee Anne Suna. I think you

  met them last night when Aristocrat was stolen. They

  both work for Klaus.”

  “Right.” Texel stuck a toothpick in his mouth and

  began to chew on it. Nancy wondered if he was

  pondering the same thing she was—was there a

  connection between last night's theft and this

  morning's incident?

  Just then one of the EMTs came out of the stall.

  “We're ready to transport her, but first I need to find

  out a few things about the patient.”

  “Lee Anne and Michael would be the ones to ask.”

  Nancy pointed to the pair, who were talking to the

  police officer at the door. The EMT headed toward

  them at a brisk pace.

  Five minutes later the other two EMTs brought

  Gilly out. She was strapped to a stretcher, her face as

  white as the bulky bandage wrapped around her

  forehead.

  Nancy bit her lip, holding back a sob. Would Gilly

  be okay?

  Turning, she followed them down the aisle. She

  wanted to tell Lee Anne and Michael what had

  happened, but the EMT was still talking to them. As

  Nancy approached, the EMT put away his sheet and

  left with the others. When the ambulance roared off,

  Lee Anne turned to Nancy.

  “Gilly's really hurt!” she exclaimed, the blood

  rushing from her face. “But what . . . how?”

  Michael glowered at the officer. “What do you mean

  we can't go in the barn right now? What authority do

  the police have to keep me from my horses? I've got to

  compete this morning.”

  “Texel thinks Curio might have accidentally kicked

  Gilly,” Nancy explained. “There was blood on his

  horseshoe.”

  For a second Michael stood speechless. Then he

  snorted. “That's crazy. I'm going to find Klaus. He'll

  straighten this out.” Turning, he stomped off.

  Nancy watched him go. He'd never once mentioned

  Gilly, she realized.

  “I can't believe it,” Lee Anne said. “First Aristocrat,

  now Gilly.” She raised her eyes to Nancy. “Do you

  think she'll be okay?”

  “I wish I knew.” Nancy stepped outside the barn and

  walked away from the doorway, then motioned for Lee

  Anne to come closer. “I have to tell you that
I think I

  saw Michael's station wagon roar out of here right after

  I found Gilly.”

  Lee Anne stared at Nancy in disbelief. “So what if it

  did? What's that got to do with Curio kicking Gilly?”

  “Do you really think Curio kicked her?” Nancy

  asked.

  Lee Anne shook her head, but then her eyes

  narrowed. “Wait a minute. You don't think Michael

  had anything to do with Gilly's accident, do you? That's

  even crazier than accusing Curio!”

  “Nancy.” Texel came striding out of the barn. Lee

  Anne glanced from Nancy to Texel. Without another

  word, she left in a huff.

  Nancy just stared as Lee Anne stomped away. If she

  said anything to Texel about Michael, Lee Anne would

  never forgive her.

  Taking Nancy's elbow, Texel steered her farther

  from the barn. “What else were you going to tell me?”

  He kept his voice low.

  Nancy took a deep breath. No matter what Lee

  Anne's reaction was, Nancy had to inform Texel about

  the station wagon.

  “The car I saw zooming out of the parking lot was an

  old station wagon. It looked like the one Michael

  Raines was driving when we all went out to dinner last

  night.”

  “Did you see it when you first drove in?” Texel

  asked.

  “No. But it was pretty dark, and the wagon could

  have been parked in the lot with all the trailers and

  vans.”

  “Good.” Texel dipped his head.

  He was about to go, but Nancy stopped him with a

  hand on his arm. “Now you have to tell me what's

  going on,” she said.

  “That's fair. I told the officers you'd seen someone

  run from the barn, so just in case the horse didn't kick

  the girl, we're checking around.” Texel eyed her. “Do

  you have any idea why someone might want to hurt

  Gilly?”

  Nancy nodded. It was too late to keep Gilly's secret.

  “Last night Gilly begged me to meet her this morning.

  She said she knew something about the theft of

  Aristocrat.”

  Texel jerked his head up in surprise. “The theft?”

  “Yes. Only when I got here it was too late to find out

  what she meant.”

  “That complicates things.” Texel rubbed his hand

  over his chin, scraping against his rough whiskers. “So

  you think there's a connection?”

  “I wish I knew,” Nancy said, suddenly gloomy. A

  horse had been stolen and a girl knocked unconscious,

  and she had no idea who was responsible.

  “Hey, Texel!” Yates hollered.

  Nancy and Texel swung around to see what was

  going on. Yates was standing in the doorway of the stall

  that High Hills used as a tack room. “I think I've got

  something.”

  Nancy and Texel hurried to the stall. Yates stood in

  front of a tack trunk. Printed on the side of the trunk

  was a name: Michael Raines, High Hills Farm. With

  gloved fingers, Yates reached behind the tack box and

  pulled out a rasp—a long metal bar with a rough

  surface. When he held it up, Nancy gasped.

  The edge of the rasp was covered with blood.

  10. Caught

  “We should be able to match the blood on this rasp

  with that of the victim,” Yates explained. “Maybe we'll

  even be lucky and lift some fingerprints.”

  Texel looked at Nancy. “And the tack box belongs to

  Michael Raines? Interesting. Nancy, tell Sergeant

  Yates what you saw this morning.”

  “So the person might have run from this stall?” Yates

  asked after Nancy repeated her story.

  Nancy nodded.

  “I think we'd better find Raines,” Yates told Texel.

  The police officer was carefully putting the rasp into an

  evidence bag.

  “Let me in!” an insistent voice resounded along the

  aisle. Nancy recognized Klaus Schaudt's voice. “Texel!

  Tell this officer I demand to be let into my barn.”

  Texel jerked his head toward the bellowing. “That's

  Klaus Schaudt. You'd better tell your officer to let him

  pass,” he told Yates.

  A minute later Klaus strode down the aisle, Michael

  and Lee Anne behind him. “What is the meaning of

  this?” he demanded.

  “Mr. Raines,” Texel said, ignoring Klaus. “This is

  Sergeant Yates from the county police department. He

  needs to ask you a few questions.”

  Yates pointed into the stall. “Is this your trunk?”

  “Yes,” Michael said without even looking into the

  stall.

  “Do you keep a metal rasp in your tack box?”

  Michael's expression grew wary. “Yes. Sometimes I

  need to file a hoof or reset a shoe if a farrier isn't

  available.”

  “What are you getting at?” Klaus insisted.

  Yates ignored Klaus. “Mr. Raines, where were you

  between four and five-thirty this morning?”

  Michael's wariness changed to annoyance. “In my

  room. Asleep.”

  “Alone?”

  Michael set his mouth in a firm line. “I don't think I

  need to answer any more questions.”

  Just then the female officer came jogging into the

  barn and motioned Yates over. Nancy watched as they

  had a whispered conversation before Yates turned back

  to Michael.

  “Mr. Raines, we'd like you to come down to the

  police station to answer some questions.”

  Klaus threw his shoulders back. “Not until you tell

  us what's going on.”

  “It seems we have a contradiction here,” Yates said.

  “Mr. Raines claims he was in his motel early this

  morning. However, a temporary guard at the booth,

  Andy Brackett, reports checking his pass at exactly five

  this morning as Michael drove in.”

  All the blood drained from Michael's face. “That

  can't be,” he replied.

  “No!” Lee Anne clapped a hand over her mouth,

  stifling a cry. Nancy looked away, unable to face Lee

  Anne. Michael was rude and overly competitive, but

  would he go after Gilly?

  As the two officers led Michael away, Lee Anne gave

  Nancy an anguished look. Then she ran after Klaus,

  who was right behind the officers, declaring, “This is

  absurd! We'll have you back in time for your first test,

  Michael.”

  When they left, Texel muttered, “What a

  nightmare.”

  Nancy agreed as a sudden wave of sadness and

  exhaustion hit her. Just then she saw Ned silhouetted

  in the barn doorway. Quickly she ran to greet him. She

  had never been so happy to see anyone in her life.

  “Lee Anne wants us to pick her up at the police

  station,” Bess said at breakfast.

  After leaving the barn with Ned, Nancy had headed

  back to the motel for a shower. When Bess woke up,

  Nancy had explained everything to her. Bess had

  immediately called the police station and asked for Lee

  Anne, who was waiting there for news about Michael.

  Now it was ten o'clock, and Nancy, Ned, and Bes
s

  were waiting to be served pancakes in the motel coffee

  shop.

  “I didn't think Lee Anne would want to see me

  again,” Nancy replied.

  “It wasn't your fault you saw the station wagon

  leaving,” Ned pointed out. “And you didn't find the

  rasp behind the tack trunk.”

  Nancy sighed. “I know.”

  “Lee Anne says the police are trying to connect

  Michael to the horse theft,” Bess said.

  Nancy nodded. “Texel said he was going to toss that

  theory out to Yates. After all, if Michael did attack

  Gilly, the police need to figure out why.”

  “If he was involved in Aristocrat's theft and Gilly

  found out, she could have ruined his riding career

  forever.” Ned sipped his orange juice.

  “That certainly would give him a motive to assault

  Gilly,” Bess agreed glumly. “I'm just glad she's okay.”

  An hour earlier they'd called the hospital. Gilly was

  still unconscious, but there was no internal damage and

  she was expected to recover soon.

  “Let's hope Lee Anne will tell us where she and

  Michael were last night,” Nancy said. “If he has an alibi

  for the time of the theft, he could be cleared.”

  Just then the pancakes were served. They smelled

  heavenly.

  Half an hour later they reached the police station.

  Lee Anne met them at the front door. Her eyes were

  red from crying.

  “The police haven't charged Michael with any

  crime,” she explained. “But Klaus says they will. He's

  already called a lawyer.”

  “I'm so sorry.” Bess handed her a tissue.

  Lee Anne blew her nose. “They matched the blood

  on the rasp with Gilly's. They also found Michael's

  prints on the rasp handle”—she raised bloodshot eyes

  to Nancy—“but Michael says he was in his room

  asleep.”

  “If he was alone, there's no one to back up his alibi,”

  Ned said.

  “But why would he go after Gilly?” Lee Anne

  countered. “That doesn't make sense.”

  Putting an arm around Lee Anne's shoulder, Bess

  led her toward Nancy's Mustang. “Come on. You need

  something to eat and then a nap. None of us got much

  sleep last night.”

  Ned grinned sheepishly. “I did. I slept through

  everything.”

  Nancy yawned. “Good. You can drive and think. My

  brain's numb.”

  “Don't say that, Nancy.” Lee Anne stopped and

  faced her. “I need you to help prove that Michael's

  innocent.”