The Mystery of the Zorse's Mask (19 page)

Zed's hooves stomp, and he lets out a harsh whinny.

“Shut up, you stupid beast. This isn't about you—at least not yet.” Caleb bends over and peers beneath the trailer. “Get out, little girl!”

I wiggle in the dirt to hide by an opposite tire.

“Hey! You're not Becca!” His face is upside down as he hangs over to stare at me. “You're that other girl. And what are you doing with my whip?”

“Making sure you don't use it on Zed again,” I say, then wish I'd shut up when his eyes go all hard and mean.

“You think I only have one whip?” he says.

Whirling around, he stomps back to the tack room.

I didn't see a second whip, but I'm not waiting here to find out.

I scoot out from the trailer, then rush over to Zed. He nuzzles his soft head against me. I glance nervously over my shoulder, but Caleb is still clattering inside the tack room. I have to hurry!

“Zed, when I take off your rope, run fast,” I say urgently, hoping he'll understand. “You'll be safer in the woods like last time you ran away. I'll find you when he's gone.”

He whinnies softly, his dark eyes shining at me with trust.

I work on untying the lead rope from the trailer. But the knot is twisted and tight. I almost laugh when I realize there's an easier way to free Zed. I reach up for the end of the rope around his neck and unfasten the metal clasp. The rope falls to the ground.

“Hey, get away from that zorse!” Caleb shouts.

“Run fast!” I give Zed a push on his flank, but Zed doesn't budge.

And Caleb is running toward us—with a bigger whip in his hand.

I'm stuck between a stubborn zorse and an angry cowboy.

“Stay back!” I shout, standing protectively in front of Zed.

I lift the whip and put all my fear into snapping it.

Crack! The sound startles me so much I gasp.

Caleb just leans back with a laugh. “Not bad for a first try,” he says, chuckling. “But a little girl like you can't whip me.”

“Stay … stay away!” I lift the whip again but instead of snapping it flip-flops like a harmless jump rope. “Don't touch Zed.”

“I'm not going to hurt him. It's just, he's so stubborn, I need the whip to get his attention.”

“You're the one who hurt him,” I accuse.

“I didn't mean to, and I feel bad about that. He attacked me, and I was just defending myself. See these scars from where he bit me?” Caleb sticks out his arm, lifting up his shirtsleeve so I can see the red scars. Not from barbed wire like he first said, but from the sharp bite of teeth.

“He only attacked after you beat him,” I say, sure this is true.

He narrows his gaze at me. “You can't prove anything.”

I purse my lips and give another floppy flip of the whip.

“That whip's too big for you to handle,” Caleb scoffs. “Give it to me and move away from that beast.”

“Run, Zed!” I push him, but he still won't leave.

Caleb advances, his whip rising large and threatening in his strong hand. “Stand aside or the zorse will bite you too.”

Zed kicks up dirt, turning his head toward Caleb.

“I won't let you hurt him,” I retort, flinging my arms out protectively across Zed.

“Out of the way, little girl. I need to get the zorse back in the trailer.”

Caleb steps closer, the whip raised high.

I look into Zed's dark eyes and remember Becca saying that only people he trusts could ride him. “Trust me,” I whisper to him.

He's shorter than a horse, but it's still a tall jump to his back. Caleb's whip cracks so close, air slices over my head. I grab Zed's mane with both hands and fling myself up on his back. Twining my fingers in the silky zorse hair, I hold on tight.

“Get down, you fool girl!” Caleb thunders.

Zed bares his teeth at Caleb but instead of biting, he spins on his hooves and rears out with a mighty back kick. I glance over my shoulder to see Caleb stumble. He steadies himself and lifts his whip. Snap! Air whooshes by my shoulder. Zed whinnies as if in pain. Has he been hit?

“Go, go, go!” I shout, straddled across the zorse's back.

And we're off!

It takes all my strength to hold on to Zed, zorse hair flying in my face. I cling to his mane as we gallop down the rough dirt road.

“Go to the woods, not back to the highway!” I can hardly hear my own words over thundering hoof beats.

My fingers slip, so I hold tighter. I dig my knees into his sides. Trees whirl by, and I struggle not to fall. The roar from the freeway draws closer.

When I hear an engine, fear jolts through me. Is Caleb coming after us in his truck?

But the sound isn't behind us—it's coming from a black-and-white vehicle heading toward us.

We gallop toward the flashing red and blue lights.

Chapter 21

Return of the Zorse

I'm shocked when Becca's mother steps out of the sheriff's car. She rushes over to me, and I slip off Zed into her warm hug.

“Kelsey, I'm so glad we found you!” Mrs. Morales gently pushes a stray hair away from my face. “Are you okay, honey?”

I nod, trying to figure out why she's with the sheriff and a deputy. I recognize Sheriff Fischer, a solid man with shoulders so broad, they strain against his dark-blue uniform. We met briefly when the CCSC helped catch a pet-napper. He's all business, but his dark eyes are kind.

Sheriff Fischer confers with his deputy, a college-aged, skinny guy named Phil Harmon (Becca once teasingly called him Philharmonic). Deputy Phil strokes his stubble as he talks with his deputy. His gaze is sharp on Caleb, who shifts nervously by the horse trailer. While the deputy strides over to Caleb, Sheriff Fischer turns toward me with a gentle smile. Becca's mom steps aside but keeps a protective gaze on me.

“Last time we met, you were rescuing dogs. Now it's a zorse,” he says with a chuckle. “What will it be next?”

“An elephant,” I say, which makes him laugh.

“You have a passion for animals like your mother.”

“You know Mom?”

“Not well, but I'm going to know her better soon. We just spoke on the phone, and she gave me permission to ask you a few questions.”

“You can trust the sheriff,” Mrs. Morales adds, nodding. “I've known Chad since high school, and he's a good guy.”

“Thanks, Renee.” He smiles and she blushes, then glances away.

“I have a good idea of what happened, but I still need to ask you an important question.” Sheriff Fischer is so tall, he has to kneel down to talk to me. “Did that man force you to go with him?”

I stare at the shining, star badge on his uniform, and my mind jumps back to when I was five and a police officer asked a similar question. I lied because I was afraid of getting in trouble for hiding. But I'm not afraid now.

“Caleb didn't know I was in his trailer,” I admit, honesty making me stronger. “He's not a kidnapper, but he's an animal abuser. I was afraid he would beat Zed again if someone wasn't there to stop him.”

Zed nuzzles me while I explain what happened, beginning with the phone call from Carol Hunter-Bowling, her warning not to leave Caleb alone with the zorse, hiding in the tack room, and what I heard Caleb say on the phone.

“I know it was wrong to hide in the trailer,” I finish. “But I had to help Zed. Look! Here's a red mark where Caleb just whipped him. And it would have been much worse if I hadn't ridden away with Zed.” I turn to Mrs. Morales, imploring. “Caleb plans to sell Zed. You can't let him!”

“I'll do what I can,” Mrs. Morales promises.

She takes the sheriff aside for a whispered talk. I can't hear what they're saying, but I can lip-read well enough to know Zed won't be going anywhere with Caleb soon. Not today—and hopefully not ever.

“I have an important appointment to make,” Caleb gripes. “I don't have time to go anywhere with you! And it's my zorse. I can do whatever I want with him. I have the papers to prove it.”

“We'll sort this all out at the station,” Sheriff Fischer says gruffly. “My deputy will ride with you in your truck.”

Everything is a blur after that. Mrs. Morales sits with me in the backseat of the sheriff's car. She holds me warm against her, and I doze off.

When I wake up, we're driving into Wild Oaks Sanctuary. I blink, confused for a moment why I'm here instead of at school. But it all comes rushing back when Becca and Leo run over to me.

“You're safe!” Becca cries as she throws her arms around me. “I freaked out when I found your bike! I knew you were in trouble and convinced the sheriff to search for you.”

“Thanks,” I say with weary relief. “If the sheriff hadn't showed up when he did, I don't know what would have happened.”

Leo frowns at me. “You should never have gotten in that trailer.”

“It was the scariest ride of my life!” I glance down at the scratches on my arms. “But I was so worried about Zed, I had to do something. But what's going to happen to Zed now?”

Becca's mother comes over as I'm asking this. “I'll do what I can to make sure Caleb stays away from him.” She pushes back her tangled, dark curls. “I'm ashamed at how badly he fooled me.”

“He fooled all of us,” Becca says, squeezing her mother's hand.

“Yeah,” I agree. “I wouldn't have known what he'd done if his sister hadn't warned me to keep Caleb away from the zorse.”

Becca's eyes widen. “You talked to Caleb's sister? When did this happen, and why didn't you tell me?”

“And what happened to the fly mask?” Leo adds.

“Save the inquisition until we're inside the house.” Mrs. Morales puts her arm around me. “We'll talk after I make us all hot chocolates.”

“Topped with whipped cream?” Leo asks hopefully.

“Smothered in whipped cream,” she says with a grin.

Minutes later, I'm sitting cozily between Becca and Leo on the couch, licking whipped cream off my steaming hot chocolate.

After hiding in a trailer, galloping on a zorse, and riding in a sheriff's car, it feels good to sink into a soft couch surrounded by my friends.

“So talk,” Becca says, setting her hot cup on a coaster. “And don't leave out any details. Leo and I want to know everything.”

Taking a deep breath, I start with my phone call from Carol Hunter-Bowling.

“I couldn't get through to you,” I explain to Becca, “so I rode my bike here as fast as I could. I freaked when I saw the horse trailer leaving. All I could think about was Carol's warning not to leave Caleb with Zed. But Caleb was driving away with the horse trailer, and I didn't see you or your mother. So I climbed into the trailer.”

“That was crazy.” Becca shakes her head. “You should have just come into the house—that's where Mom and I were. After I loaded Zed in the trailer, I couldn't stop crying and I ran to my room. Mom came after me, and when I saw she was crying too, we cried together. Then we talked.”

“A really good talk,” Mrs. Morales adds, squeezing her daughter's hand.

“But I should have checked my phone messages.” Becca groans. “I'm so sorry, Kelsey. I had no idea you were in trouble. I thought you'd changed your mind about coming to my house and went straight to school. It wasn't until I was riding my bike out of the driveway that I saw a glint in the bushes and found your bike. OMG. I totally freaked.”

“She sure did.” Mrs. Morales looks at her daughter proudly. “Becca demanded that I call the sheriff. Chad—I mean, Sheriff Fischer—is a good friend, so he rushed right over with his deputy. He suggested we check phone messages—that's when we found out about Caleb. Sheriff Fischer called in an alert and learned there were strange reports about a horse trailer with a glowing orb floating beside it.”

“Not an orb—a sunflower,” I say, then explain how I hung the sunflower on a whip. “But the flower unraveled.”

“Sunflower Mary will give you another one,” Becca says. “Especially when she learns her flower helped rescue you and the zorse.”

“I owe her a big thank-you and maybe something sparkly,” I add, touching the necklace around my neck. “What do you think about making her an honorary Sparkler like me?”

Laughing, Becca agrees it's a great idea.

The doorbell rings.

“Chad,” I hear Becca's mother say as she opens the door for the sheriff. “Come on in. Would you like some hot chocolate?”

He shakes his head. “Sounds delicious, but I'm here for business, not pleasure. My deputy is waiting for me outside by the horse trailer. We can't keep a zorse at the station, so we brought him here.”

“Zed is back!” Becca cries, then starts for the door.

But her mother calls her back. “Sit down, Becca. It's rude to rush off when we have guests.”

I glance over at Becca, expecting her eyes to narrow with resentment. But she just shrugs. “Sorry, Mom. Zed can wait—but not too long.”