Mystery Ride (2 page)

The horses were still nervy, especially Prancer, who took tiny, bouncy steps.

“Maybe it was just the wind,” said Lisa, “or a jackrabbit.”

Carole shook her head. She was sure those had been hoofbeats.

Stevie grinned and said, “It seems like the Mystery Weekend is starting early.”

O
N
F
RIDAY
S
TEVIE
rushed home from Fenton Hall, her private school. She had been looking forward to the MW, but now she was
really
looking forward to it. Veronica diAngelo, who went to Stevie’s school, had remarked that The Saddle Club might have the brawn to win horse shows and cross-country events, but it didn’t have the brains to win an MW. That was enough to make up Stevie’s mind. The Saddle Club
had
to solve the mystery first.

She dumped her books on the crowded desk in her bedroom. She had explained to her teachers about the Mystery Weekend, so they had given her extra homework
during the week. Now she had practically no homework. She couldn’t believe she had been so well organized. Only desperation could make her ask for schoolwork ahead of time!

It was going to be a great weekend, Stevie thought as she changed into her riding gear. She grabbed her pajamas from the back of the desk chair, where she had tossed them that morning, and stuffed them into a bag, adding extra clothes for Saturday and Sunday. It would be a perfect weekend, if only Phil were coming. She dialed Phil’s number, but no one answered. She was disappointed, since she had been hoping to have one last chat with him before he went to his grandmother’s. Instead she left a message telling Phil she hoped his grandmother was better, and she told a couple of knock-knock jokes that he could pass along. Stevie believed in the healing power of knock-knock jokes.

When Stevie got to Pine Hollow, she stopped off to see Belle. The bay mare was chewing hay from her hay net and looking thoughtful. Stevie let herself into the stall for a chat.

“I’m counting on you, Belle,” Stevie said as she reached up to tickle the spot under her mane that Belle liked best. “We’re going to need your brainpower this weekend.”

“Honestly, Stevie,” Lisa said, looking into the stall. “Are we going to need the horses’ brains?”

“Veronica said The Saddle Club is too dumb to win the MW,” Stevie said.

Lisa laughed and said, “If all we have to do is surpass Veronica’s brainpower, we’re a shoo-in.”

Belle snorted as if she were in total agreement.

“Let’s go find Carole,” Stevie said.

She and Lisa walked to Starlight’s stall, and there, sure enough, was Carole. Carole was brushing the star in the center of the gelding’s forehead. It was a funny coincidence that all three members of The Saddle Club rode bays.

“Veronica says The Saddle Club is too dumb to win the MW,” said Lisa, peering over the stall door.

“Really? Well, Miss Know-It-All is here already,” Carole said. “Making a terrible ruckus.”

“Already?” said Stevie in surprise. Veronica wasn’t one to help with preparations. In fact, one of her favorite tricks was arriving at the last minute, after everyone else had done the work.

“She just showed up—with a earful of beauty aids,” Carole said.

“Too bad there’s no such thing as beauty aids for the
personality,” Stevie said. “Although, actually, she’s beyond help.” Carole and Lisa giggled.

“She wants to set up her stuff in the loft,” Carole said, “and she’s complaining because it isn’t ready.”

Carole, Lisa, and Stevie looked at each other. Veronica diAngelo was the most annoying human being who ever lived, and she had no business complaining that the loft wasn’t ready. On the other hand, they had promised Max that they would sweep it out.

“Better get ready for Queen Veronica,” said Carole with a sigh.

They walked down the aisle of the barn to the side that held the tack room, the equipment room, and the feed room. They took three brooms from the equipment room and climbed the stairs to the loft.

“Wow,” Lisa said as she caught sight of the view out the window. “From here you can see everything.”

“You can see the mountains,” said Carole, looking left toward the jagged outcroppings of the Silverado Mountains.

“And the water,” added Lisa, staring toward the curly silver ribbon of Willow Creek.

“And the mysterious forest that is probably already filled with clues,” Stevie said.

“This is taking forever,” came Veronica’s strident voice
from the parking lot below. Stevie looked down and saw Veronica standing next to her mother’s white Mercedes, along with a makeup case, a collapsible dressing table, a large suitcase, a pink hair dryer, a curling iron, and a jumbo battery pack.

“Let me guess, it’s a yard sale,” said Stevie from the window.

Veronica tossed her shiny black hair and glanced up at Stevie. “I’m not planning to look like a disaster all weekend, unlike certain other people,” she snapped.

“So you brought your own ugly salon,” Stevie said.

Jackie and Amie, two younger riders who had been listening, collapsed in giggles. Stevie was about to let loose with another insult when she saw Max listening with his arms crossed. Max did not like it when The Saddle Club teased Veronica.

Stevie retreated from the window.

Carole and Lisa were tugging bales of hay into the center of the loft to make a divider between the boys’ side and the girls’ side.

“Where should The Saddle Club sleep?” Carole said.

“Next to the windows,” Stevie said, “so we can get plenty of fresh air. Otherwise Veronica’s hair spray might kill us.”

As they hauled their bedrolls up the stairs, and then
their overnight bags, Lisa said, “Where should we put Veronica and her pals?”

“The younger kids should be near us so that we can keep an eye on them,” Carole said, “so I guess Veronica and her friends go at the back.”

They looked out the window and saw that Veronica was no longer alone. Horse trailers were pulling into the stable yard. The horses from the Cross County Pony Club were being stabled in temporary stalls that Max had set up on the back paddock.

It was easy to spot A.J. with his bright red hair. He was unloading his horse from his family’s van. He looked up and grinned.

“Hey, Stevie,” he called. “Ready to make like Sherlock Holmes?”

“Time will tell,” she said.

At that moment A.J.’s horse, a gray mare called Crystal, let loose with a bloodcurdling whinny.

Unloading horses was the trickiest part of any sleepover weekend at Pine Hollow. It was especially tricky if the horse was used to another stable, like Crystal. Stevie scrambled down the steps into the yard and walked casually over to Crystal to try to calm her.

Crystal’s eyes were rolling, and she looked as if she was
about to take off. Stevie decided to try another method of calming.

“Crystal, I’ve got a knock-knock joke for you,” she said.

A.J. shook his head and said, “I don’t believe this.”

“Knock knock,” Stevie said.

Crystal snorted.

“Sam and Janet,” Stevie said.

Crystal pawed the ground delicately with one hoof.

Stevie put back her head and sang, “Sam and Janet evening,” to the tune of “Some Enchanted Evening.”

For a second there was absolute quiet, and then Crystal shook her head as if she were trying to get the sound out of her ears. But the horse was now calm.

“I didn’t know humans could sound like that,” said A.J. in an awed voice. “That was
singing
, right?”

“You should hear Stevie’s father,” Lisa said. “He even whistles off-key.”

“Hey, it worked,” Stevie said. Crystal was looking around for something to munch on.

“Thanks, Stevie,” A.J. said. “That really could have been a mess.” They both knew that if one horse started to spook, the others would have followed, and soon it would have been a nightmare.

“I like to add happiness to the world whenever I can,”
Stevie said, thinking that A.J. was going to be fun to have around this weekend.

Something caught Stevie’s eye. Someone familiar was standing in the entrance to the barn. Stevie turned to get a better look, but the person, who was wearing a red sweater, vanished into a stall.

A.J. caught Stevie’s arm. “Are you planning to lead the singing tonight?”

“I don’t want to give the little kids nightmares,” Stevie said.

“Stevie,” came a voice from above her head, “you’ve got to see this.” Stevie looked up. There was Lisa, her head poking out of the loft window.

“What?” Stevie said.

“It’s something I can’t describe.”

Stevie headed for the stairs to the loft.

Veronica diAngelo had set up a cot with an air mattress; a collapsible dressing table, with a mirror and room for her to spread out her hair stuff and makeup; and the battery pack for her hair dryer and curling iron.

“You’re going to be a knockout, Veronica,” Stevie said. “When people see you, they’re going to knock and scream, ‘Let me out.’ ”

“Ha, ha,” said Veronica.

“There’s only one problem,” Lisa said. “Pine Hollow has
only two bathrooms for ail of us, and there’s no shower. How can you blow-dry your hair if you can’t get it wet?”

“I have an idea,” Stevie said. “We could provide you with a bucket.”

“And you could soak your head in it,” said A.J., who had come up the stairs just in time to hear Stevie’s line. Ever since Veronica had tried to sabotage the Starlight Ride one Christmas Eve, A.J. had detested her. But at least, Carole thought, A.J. didn’t have to deal with Veronica every day.

As the rest of the riders filtered upstairs, the noise and confusion and excitement transferred itself from the yard to the loft. Carole struggled to help the younger boys get their sleeping bags arranged.

“Order!” came Max’s commanding voice from the other side of the loft.

Yes
, Carole thought,
order is what we need.
She and the younger boys walked to the other side of the loft, where everyone was staring in amazement at Veronica’s portable beauty salon.

“It’s like a horror movie,” said Ian wonderingly. “It’s like
Frankenstein
.”

“The Bride of Frankenstein!
” said his friend Peter All-man.

Everyone laughed, except for Veronica’s friends Polly
Giacomin and Betsy Cavanaugh. Just about everyone in Horse Wise had had a run-in with Veronica.

Max looked around the circle with stern blue eyes. “A crime has been committed this very afternoon. In this very stable.”

A murmur of excitement ran through the riders.

“It is a crime of great seriousness,” Max said. “The criminal must be unmasked and punished.”

“Yes!” said Amie.

“I challenge you to form Mystery Teams of two and three,” Max said.

The members of The Saddle Club gave each other high fives. Until this moment they hadn’t been sure whether they’d be stuck on a team with Veronica or one of her friends. Now they had their own Dream Team.

A.J. and Bart, who were good buddies, became a team of two. Seeing them together gave Stevie a twinge of sadness, because if Phil were there, he would have been with them. Veronica, Polly, and Betsy made another team. Amie, Jackie, and Jessica made another, and so did Peter, Ian, and Robbie. Jasmine and Corey said they would make a team with May Grover, who hadn’t come yet. Within seconds the teams were sitting in groups on the floor, waiting for Max to give them instructions.

“To solve this crime you will need good horse sense,
good horsemanship, and brilliant detective work,” Max said.

Carole noticed that Amie, Jackie, and Jessica were looking nervous. She resolved to help them as much as she could.

“First, the mystery rules,” Max said. “Clues have to be left where they’re found so that other riders can find them. But a team doesn’t have to tell about a clue. It’s perfectly okay to keep that information secret. On Sunday, at our final lunch, the prize will be awarded. And now …”

There was a clatter on the stairs. The riders turned.

May Grover appeared. Her eyes were red. Her cheeks were tear-stained.

“The worst …,” she said, and started to cry.

“What?” said Max.

“My saddle is gone!” May wailed.