business in your country. You have sponsors who pay
for everything. You don't have to worry about whether
or not you'll have a horse to ride or how you're going to
pay for everything.”
“You have good horses here.”
“Your castoffs. Curio would be a mediocre horse in
Germany.”
“Michael!” Lee Anne protested. “That's not true.
Why don't you quit arguing and just have a good time?”
Throwing down his napkin, Michael stood up
abruptly. “I'd love to, but I've got more important
things to do. Like proving to the judges that I'm as
good as the European riders. Good night and enjoy
your dinner,” he said. Turning, he stormed out of the
restaurant.
“What was that all about?” Bess asked.
Gunter shook his head. “That was about being too
competitive. It's the I've-got-to-win attitude like
Michael's that sours a sport.”
“Michael doesn't have a bad attitude,” Lee Anne
said. “And he's right. Riders in Germany don't have to
scrounge for everything.”
Lee Anne stood and faced the others, her cheeks
flushed. “Michael's had to work hard to get where he
is. He's sacrificed everything. If he doesn't do well at
this show, he might lose Curio, too. The stress is really
eating at him.”
Nancy touched her friend's elbow. “Hey, we
understand, Lee Anne.”
Tears pricked Lee Anne's eyes. “You can't possibly
understand. You have no idea how hard it's been for
him. I'm sorry. I've got to go find Michael. I'll see you
back at the motel room.” Picking up her purse, she
hurried out of the restaurant.
Bess stood up. “Lee Anne!” she called.
“Let her go,” Nancy said. “She and Michael may
need some time together.”
“We can get a cab,” Ned said. “I, for one, would like
to stay and enjoy a juicy steak.”
Gunter raised his soda glass. “I second the motion.
Bess?”
With a sigh, she sat down and clinked glasses with
him. “A toast to a pleasant evening. I think we'll have
one now that Michael's gone. He really is a downer.”
Nancy had to agree. Still, Michael obviously was
under a lot of pressure. Though, Nancy wondered,
what had Lee Anne meant when she'd said Michael
might lose Curio? Did it mean he was so eager to win
that he'd be desperate enough to injure or steal a
competitor's horse?
“Nan?” Ned's voice broke into her thoughts. “What
are you going to order?”
Nancy smiled. “How about the answers to my
questions?”
* * *
“I know it's a cliché,” Nancy said to Ned as they
stepped into the motel lobby. “But that really was the
perfect ending to a great evening.”
The dinner had been delicious. Since Gunter had to
be up early to prepare for his ride, he and Bess had
taken a cab from the restaurant. Ned and Nancy had
chosen to take a leisurely walk back to the motel. It had
given them time to catch up on how Ned's college
classes were coming along this semester. Nancy filled
Ned in on the news from River Heights.
“The dinner was great,” Ned said, “except for
Michael's outburst, of course.”
“Yes. But that didn't seem to ruin anyone's
appetite.” Nancy yawned. “Well, it's almost eleven, and
I'm bushed.”
“Me, too. Chasing bad guys is hard work.” After
saying good night, Ned and Nancy headed for their
rooms. Nancy unlocked the door to her room, opened
it, and peeked in. The light between the still-made
beds was on. The sound of running water came from
the bathroom. She shut the door, slipped off her shoes,
and fell backward on one of the beds, exhausted.
Bess came out of the bathroom, dressed in pajamas,
her face washed. “You made it.” She plunked down
next to Nancy. “I thought maybe you'd fallen in a
ditch.”
“No. It was a beautiful night to walk. Also, it was
nice to be with Ned and talk about friends and
school—anything but horses.”
Nancy laughed. “Did you and Gunter have a good
time? He seems really nice, and his stories about life in
Germany were interesting.”
“We had a great time—after Michael and Lee Anne
left.”
Propping herself up on her elbows, Nancy glanced
at the other bed. “Lee Anne's not back?”
“No. And there was no message.”
“I hope she's okay.” Nancy felt a pang of anxiety.
Bess wrinkled her nose. “Maybe Michael bored her
to death.”
“Don't say that.” Jumping off the bed, Nancy picked
up her purse.
“Where are you going?” Bess asked.
“We are going back to the showgrounds, so get
dressed.”
“Why?” Bess picked up a pair of jeans she'd draped
over the bed.
“To look for Lee Anne. If Michael is the thief who
attempted to steal the horse, or if he's involved in any
way, Lee Anne could be in trouble.”
Ten minutes later Nancy and Bess were showing
their parking passes to the guard at the front gate.
Nancy wondered if they'd beefed up security since the
attempted theft. Though even if they had, the person
who'd tried to take Sweet and Klean probably had a
legitimate pass.
Nancy parked in front of Barn C. There were no
other cars in the lot outside. The door at the end of the
barn was open, and the aisle was dark.
“Are you sure we should go in?” Bess asked.
“It does look deserted,” Nancy replied. She opened
the car door and stepped out. “Still, I'd sleep a lot
better if I knew where Lee Anne was.”
Bess jumped out to join her. “Me, too.”
The barn was illuminated by dim ceiling lights.
Slowly Nancy walked down the aisle, glancing into each
stall. The horses were quietly munching hay or
sleeping in the straw.
“Let's check to see if Gilly's awake,” Nancy
whispered. “She may know where Lee Anne is.”
Nancy went over to the stall Gilly slept in. The cot
was neatly made up as if no one had been in it yet.
“She's not here,” Nancy said.
“Neither is Aristocrat.” Bess was peering into his
stall. “Maybe she's out walking him or something.”
“At this hour?” Nancy hurried over and peered into
the horse's stall. The door was open, the stall empty.
“What are you guys doing here?” a voice asked.
Startled, Nancy jumped a foot, and Bess squeaked.
Gilly was striding down the aisle.
“Looking for Lee Anne,” Nancy replied. She
gestured to the empty stall. “Where's Aristocrat?”
Gilly's eyes widened in alarm. “What do you mean? I
just checked on him,” she said as she rushed over.
When she saw the empty stall, she clasped a hand over
her mouth, stifling a cry.
“He's gone. Someone must
have taken him!”
7. A Secret
Nancy put a hand on Gilly's arm. “Don't panic. Maybe
Klaus moved Aristocrat.”
Quickly Nancy, Gilly, and Bess raced up and down
the aisle, checking every stall. There was no sign of the
stallion.
“This is terrible,” Gilly moaned. “Klaus will kill me. I
left for just a second to get a soda, but some of my
friends were hanging around at the little coffee shop
that's open all night, and we started talking and . . .”
Her voice trailed off, and she hung her head.
“How long were you gone?” Nancy asked.
“No longer than twenty, maybe twenty-five
minutes.” Gilly wrung her hands. “I've got to call
Klaus.”
Bess patted her shoulder. “Maybe there's a simple
explanation,” she said in a reassuring voice, but the
look she gave Nancy was full of concern.
“In the meantime we'll alert Security,” Nancy told
her. “There's a guard checking the cars coming in and
out of the grounds. Maybe he saw someone enter the
barn.”
“Maybe,” Gilly repeated, but she didn't sound
convinced. When she left to call Klaus Schaudt from
the barn's pay phone, Nancy and Bess headed for the
booth at the gate. The security guard paged Texel at
home, then called for two guards to report to the barn.
While they waited for the chief of security to show
up, Nancy and Bess told the guard at the gate, Fred
Dunlevy, about the missing horse. “Did anyone leave
with a horse in the last half hour?” Nancy asked him.
Fred shook his head. “No trailers or vans went by
here. So the horse must be on the grounds somewhere.
We'll find him.”
“Gilly will be glad to hear that,” Bess said.
Five minutes later Texel roared into the show-
grounds, gravel flying from beneath his truck tires.
“Get in,” he growled, swinging open the passenger
door.
Without a word, Bess and Nancy scrambled inside.
Texel wasn't wearing his cowboy hat, and his thinning
hair stuck up as if he'd just gotten out of bed.
“You girls better not have dragged me from a sound
sleep in air-conditioned comfort for nothin'.” He cast a
disgruntled look at them. “I mean, this isn't part two of
your Halloween prank, is it?”
“No,” Nancy said. “Klaus Schaudt's stallion,
Aristocrat, is missing. We checked every stall in Barn
C. His groom says she was away from him for only
about twenty minutes.”
Texel grunted, then took a mug from a cup holder
on the dashboard. “Schaudt's stallion, huh?” he
repeated after taking a sip. “Well, we'd better find him,
or I'll never hear the end of it.”
The barn was ablaze with light. When the three
went inside, Gilly and two guards were checking all the
stalls.
Texel was about to say something when a loud voice
barked, “Have you found him? Have you found my
horse?”
Nancy turned to see Schaudt stride down the aisle
toward them. He was elegantly dressed in a navy blazer
over a white shirt and a canary yellow vest.
“Mr. Schaudt,” Texel said in his own booming voice.
“We have not found your horse yet, but I have alerted
my entire security crew. We will have an answer for
you as soon as possible.”
Schaudt didn't break stride. Scowling, he marched
up to Gilly, who seemed to shrink into the concrete.
“Miss Phillips has some explaining to do,” Schaudt
said, his steely gaze riveted on her. “Like why she was
gone long enough for this to happen.”
“I just went to get a soda,” Gilly said, her voice a
whisper.
Schaudt's gaze didn't waver. “Then you should have
had someone cover for you. I warned you not to leave
Aristocrat. There have been too many unexplained
incidents.” His eyes swung to Texel.
Nancy exhaled. She hadn't realized how tense she
had become, even though Schaudt hadn't been
reprimanding her.
“We're working on those incidents,” Texel said.
“We've had a guard at the front gate all evening. He
reports that no horses were transported from the
showgrounds. That means your stallion's here
somewhere.”
Schaudt took a step toward Texel, his back ramrod-
straight. “Then why aren't you looking for my horse?”
he asked, his tone accusing.
Without a word, Texel met the other man's gaze.
“We are,” he finally drawled. “If you have a photo of
the horse, it would help greatly.”
“I brought one just for that purpose.” Schaudt
plucked one from his jacket pocket, handed it to Texel,
then scowled at Gilly. “I'm not through with you yet,
Miss Phillips. But right now I need to look for my
horse.”
Whipping around, he marched out of the barn.
Gilly burst into tears. Covering her eyes, she raced
in the opposite direction.
For a second no one said a word. Then Texel waved
the photo at the two guards. “Look at this; then check
every stall in every barn. I'm going to call the county
and state police. If we don't find Aristocrat, I'll fax
them a copy of this photo so they can keep their eyes
peeled for any vans on the highway this late at night.”
As Texel and the guards were leaving, Lee Anne and
Michael came into the barn from the parking lot.
“What's going on?” Michael asked. “Klaus called me
and told me to come over here. He said there was a
problem.”
Michael and Lee Anne were still dressed in the
clothes they'd worn to dinner. Since it was almost
midnight, Nancy wondered where they'd been since
they left the restaurant.
“Aristocrat's gone,” Nancy explained.
Lee Anne blinked. “Gone?”
“What do you mean he's gone?” Rushing over to the
stallion's stall, Michael looked inside, then turned to
Nancy. “Where's Gilly? What's being done to find the
horse?”
“Klaus bawled Gilly out, and she ran off,” Nancy
explained. “Klaus and the guards are checking all the
barns. Texel went to call the state and local police.”
“Poor Gilly.” Lee Anne bit her lip.
“Poor Gilly—nothing,” Michael snapped. “Klaus
should have chewed her out. It's her job to watch
Aristocrat.”
While he talked, he walked up and down the aisle,
peering into the other stalls. “At least the other horses
are okay.” He ran his fingers through his thick hair in a
gesture of frustration. “Man, I don't need this. I've got
to be ready for my dressage test in the morning.”
“You go and get some sleep,” Lee Anne told him.
“I'll stay here.”
“Are you sure?” Michael glanced down the aisle, his
expression anxious. Nancy couldn't tell if he felt guilty
or just
worried because the stallion was gone.
“Yes,” Lee Anne reassured him. “Klaus will
understand.”
Michael snorted. “True. One thing Klaus does
understand is winning. Well, I'm out of here.” His gaze
flicked to Nancy before he hurried away.
Nancy faced Lee Anne. “Bess and I were worried
when you didn't come back to the room. Where did
you and Michael go?”
Lee Anne seemed to grow tense. “We just went
somewhere to talk. Why?”
“Hey, don't get so uptight,” Bess said. “It was late,
and we didn't know where you were. We came to the
barn to look for you.”
“Oh.” Lee Anne's shoulders relaxed. “Sorry. Today's
just been so crazy. I mean, when I invited you two to
come to the show, I never dreamed all this would
happen. Then on top of it, Michael's been so upset.
I've never seen him like this.” When she looked at
Nancy, tears glistened in her eyes.
“Do you think something's bothering him other than
the usual show pressures?” Nancy probed.
“If it is, he's not telling me.” Lee Anne sniffled.
“And now this . . .” She waved to Aristocrat's empty
stall. “What a nightmare.”
Putting one arm around Lee Anne's shoulders, Bess
gave her friend a hug. “Cheer up. Fortunately, you
invited a great detective and her best friend to the
show. We'll help find Aristocrat.”
“Thanks.” Lee Anne wiped her eyes with her fingers.
“Which means we'd better do something.” Nancy
thought for a minute. The guards were searching the
other barns, so that was covered. She thought about
the missing gray trailer. “I think we should check the
parking lot. Someone could have loaded Aristocrat into
a van or a trailer, just waiting for a chance to drive out.”
Bess nodded. “That makes sense.”
“Gilly keeps one of those big flashlights by her cot,”
Lee Anne said. “Poor Gilly,” she said as she went to
retrieve it. “Klaus is one of the greatest riders and
trainers, but he treats his horses a lot better than he
treats his human help.”
Flicking on the flashlight, Lee Anne led the way
from the barn to the parking lot. As the trio went from
trailer to trailer, Bess huddled close to Nancy. “I don't
want some man in one of those masks to jump out at
me,” she confessed.
A half hour later they'd worked their way to the
chain-link fence that circled the outer perimeter of the