Midnight Mystery: 4 (Winnie the Horse Gentler) (9 page)

“Winnie!” Lizzy shook my chair. “They’re waiting for you!”

I hadn’t budged since Colonel Coolidge said Nickers and I were performing tonight. “But he said we’d be
Ashland
greeters. We’re not ready yet!”

“Nonsense!” the Colonel shouted from the door. “We need you tonight!”

“Can’t argue with the Colonel,” Catman whispered.

Bart Coolidge drove the used trailer to my barn. Nickers wasn’t crazy about stepping in. My Arabian used to be called Wild Thing, and now I remembered why. It took a handful of oats, four false starts, and lots of sweet-talking to get her loaded.

The whole circus had moved overnight to West Salem, a small town about 10 miles east of Ashland. Nickers snorted and pawed the ground when I unloaded her.

Catman’s dad wandered off, and I led Nickers through the midway to get her used to the lights and noises. Her ears flicked as we passed vendors, screaming teens, and sideshow acts. I recognized Gabrielle, dressed in a jungle costume, holding a giant python, and calling herself The Snake Lady. And Dinglehopper was a barker, shouting, “Step right up! Get your tickets here!”

“Keep your eye on that sneaky clown,” I whispered to Nickers.

“Mommy! Look at that beautiful horse!” a little boy screamed, pointing at Nickers.

I smiled at him, so proud of my horse. She
was
beautiful.

Before long, Nickers settled down, and I led her behind the menagerie tent to rehearse. She did every trick perfectly . . . except the bow. I knew it was crazy to still care so much about getting Nickers to bow. Dad and Lizzy wouldn’t even be there for Mom’s birthday. But I couldn’t let it go. I wanted it to be my birthday present to Mom. She always opened and closed with a bow.

Ramon trotted up on Midnight and slid off. His black stallion pranced in place and pulled at the bridle. Nickers arched her neck and snorted.

“Your horse is beautiful!” Ramon shouted, struggling to hold on to Midnight.

“Thanks! What’s with Midnight?”

“You’re asking
me?”
Ramon scratched his horse on the neck, and Midnight quieted a bit. “I just fed him and walked him around. I hope he’s not too jumpy to get through the acts.”

Lizzy ran up, with Catman trailing behind. “Winnie! This is so exciting! I can’t believe you’re actually in the circus! With elephants and clowns and—” Lizzy stopped and stared at Ramon.

He grinned at her. “Either I’m seeing double, or this is your twin.”

I sighed. “Ramon, this is my
little
sister, Lizzy. Lizzy, I told you about Ramon.”

Ramon led Midnight closer, as if he meant to shake Lizzy’s hand.

Lizzy squealed and stepped back. “Sorry. Horses make me nervous.”

Ramon laughed. “Guess you’re
not
twins!”

Catman and Lizzy left to get good seats, and Ramon and I took the horses into the menagerie tent.

Gabrielle rushed by and shoved a bag at me. “Colonel said to give you this. Put it on. Greeting starts in five minutes.”

“Don’t mind Gabrielle,” Ramon said, after she’d left and we’d settled our horses into stalls. “It’s tough sharing the ring with an elephant and a camel, especially when the elephant gets most of the applause.”

Ramon had me change in the Colonel’s trailer, which he and the Colonel shared. I was surprised how houselike it looked inside, with couches and chairs and a TV. On a wooden table sat the army canteens Catman had told us about, 12 upside down, four still standing upright. It made me sad, like seeing a flag at half-mast. I thought about my family’s table and imagined four canteens set out, three up, one down.

I hurried to the bathroom and put on the white ballerina-like outfit, white tights, and white slippers that were too big. I kept my back to the mirror so I wouldn’t have to see myself. How could I possibly go out there in this getup?

I stayed in the bathroom until Ramon knocked on the trailer door. “Winnie! Time to go!”

I took a deep breath and faced the mirror. For a minute, I wasn’t sure it was me. My hair was still straggling out of my braid, and my freckles hadn’t gone anywhere. But the rest of me looked like a circus performer. Gold glittered from the high neck of the ballet dress. It fit snug down to my waist, then spread out to my knees.

Ramon held the door as I stepped out of the trailer. “Wow!”

My face burned. I hoped he couldn’t see me blush.

As I led Nickers into the Big Top, I could feel people staring. Kids pointed at Nickers. Gabrielle and her mom were working the spectators on one side, Barker and the clowns the other.

“Go, Winnie! Sweet!” Lizzy cheered from the stand. She and Mrs. Barker waved. Catman gave me the peace sign.

I closed my eyes, hearing voices and noise roaring in my ears.
God, I can’t do this! Why did I come here? Why did Dad have to leave?

Nickers nuzzled my neck. It felt like an answer, like God saying,
You know Nickers and I are with you. Can’t be that bad.

“Look at her!”

I opened my eyes to see a little girl, maybe five years old, holding her mom’s hand and pointing at me.

“What’s your name?” I asked, my voice raspy. Lizzy says she wishes she had my “unique” voice, but I cleared my throat.

The girl moved closer to her mother, but her big brother answered for her. “Ashley.”

I nodded. “Nickers, are you glad Ashley came to the circus?”

I moved my finger toward Nickers’ chest, and she nodded yes.

Ashley and her brother laughed.

“Should these guys go to bed early tonight?” I asked, moving my hand to Nickers’ withers.

Nickers shook her head no.

The parents clapped for us before taking their seats. Barker ran over and told me what a great job I was doing.

I repeated my “act” four times. Then Lizzy called me over, and I “worked” their section of the bleachers. Nickers shook hands, answered questions, and counted. I wished Dad were here to see us.

The ringmaster blew his whistle. Ramon gave me the high-five sign as I fell in behind him for the parade.

A white Lipizzan galloped past and cut in line. Gabrielle shouted through her fake smile, “Know your place, cowgirl!”

She
had
to be related to Summer.

When the parade ended, I stabled Nickers in the menagerie tent, put my real clothes back on, and raced to the bleachers to sit with Lizzy and Catman.

“You guys rock!” Lizzy exclaimed before running off to sit with friends.

I glanced at Catman, but he was too hypnotized by the lion act to even notice me. During the next few acts, I did my best to keep my eye on Dinglehopper.

“Give it a rest. Dinglehopper didn’t do it,” Catman said, as Gabrielle’s family finished their act with the star elephant.

“Catman, I ran an Internet search on that man. Dinglehopper doesn’t exist!”

“That’s because
James D. Hopkins
is an ex-con.”

I gasped. “We have to tell the Colonel!”

“He knows. Hopkins has been clowning with the Colonel for 15 years. He hates kids, and he doesn’t groove on Barker. But the dude’s solid.”

I had to admit that Catman is a good judge of character. Still, he’s no detective. Ramon’s big chance was only four days away. No way would I stop watching my number one suspect just because Catman liked him.

Ramon and Midnight’s first act went okay, but they skipped a couple of tricks, probably because Midnight was so jumpy. I
had
to figure out why.

Something was nagging me, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Was it something I’d seen? something I’d heard? something—

“I got it!” I cried.

Catman shot me a what-is-it-this-time look.

I dragged him to the exit and waited for Ramon to finish. “The Pet Help Line, Catman!” I whispered. “That’s what I’ve been trying to think of! I had an e-mail from a girl whose horse sounded just like Midnight—jumpy and hyper.”

Ramon cantered up and hopped off Midnight. “I give up!” He sounded more frustrated than ever. “It was all I could do to control Midnight in there! What made me think I could make it in a bigger circus? I’m lucky the Colonel doesn’t fire me!”

“Ramon!” I shouted. “What have you been feeding Midnight?”

“Huh?” He looked at Catman, who shrugged. “I don’t know. The Colonel buys it. I give it to Midnight.”

“Show me where the feed’s stored!” I demanded.

We followed Ramon to the menagerie tent, and he tied up Midnight next to Nickers. Then he led us to a row of bins in the back. They looked like plastic trash cans. Ramon pointed to the one marked
Coolidge.
“That’s Midnight’s.”

I lifted the lid, dipped out a handful of mixed, moist grain, and sniffed. “Molasses, sugar beet, and barley, with rolled oats!”

“Far out!” Catman commented.

Ramon paced, shaking his head. “I thought it looked different than usual! Is something wrong with it?”

“Not if you’re a racehorse or an old horse who needs extra energy,” I explained. “But for Midnight, yeah! It’s too rich! No wonder he’s jumpy!”

“But why would the Colonel buy it?” Ramon asked.

“Maybe he didn’t.” I reached my arm deep into the can and came out with a handful of regular oats. Moving to the other bins, I lifted the lids, one by one. The three bins next to Midnight’s held regular oats.

Only one bin remained, the one marked
LeBlond.
I pulled off the lid.

Nothing but oats.

“I was so sure I’d find the energy feed!” I replaced the lid. The bin scooted, and I caught a glimpse of something behind it, a half-empty feed sack. I pulled it out and read the label:
Senior Feed—High-Energy Mix.

“There’s your answer!” I shouted. “Someone dumped
this
high-octane feed on top of Midnight’s regular oats! And no way was it an accident!”

Catman inspected the sack while I smelled a handful of the grain. “It’s the same feed as Midnight’s!” I exclaimed.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Gabrielle LeBlond stormed down the stalls toward us.

I stood up and braced myself. “We’re solving a mystery. Does this feed belong to you?”