Horse Thief Read online

  A THIEF IN THEIR MIDST …

  “I have a very disturbing announcement to make,” began Max. “Someone has just taken a large sum of money out of my office.”

  The crowd began to murmur. Max held up his hand for silence. “It was my fault for being so careless as to leave it there, but I’ve always encouraged an open atmosphere at this stable and I didn’t think it would be a problem. Now the money is gone, and if anyone knows anything about the disappearance, please come and talk to me. If you know where the money is, you can just leave it in my office when I’m not there—no questions asked.”

  The riders from visiting Pony Clubs shuffled uneasily, and several people darted glances at each other. Then Veronica diAngelo stepped forward.

  “I know something. I know who took the money,” she announced. “Phil Marsten is the thief. I saw him sneaking out of your office ten minutes ago!”

  RL 5, 009–012

  HORSE THIEF

  A Bantam Skylark Book / October 1998

  Skylark Books is a registered trademark of Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and elsewhere.

  “The Saddle Club” is a registered trademark of Bonnie Bryant Hiller. The Saddle Club design/logo, which consists of a riding crop and a riding hat, is a trademark of Bantam Books.

  “USPC” and “Pony Club” are registered trademarks of The United States Pony Clubs, Inc., at The Kentucky Horse Park, 4071 Iron Works Pike, Lexington, KY 40511-8462.

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 1998 by Bonnie Bryant Hiller.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  For information address: Bantam Books.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-82584-1

  Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada.

  Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words “Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.

  v3.1

  I would like to express my special thanks

  to Minna Jung for her help

  in the writing of this book.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  About the Author

  STEVIE LAKE SHIFTED uncomfortably. The floor in Max’s office seemed to be getting harder, and she was squeezed next to one of her best friends, Carole Hanson. She dug her elbow into Carole’s side and whispered, “Move over. My foot is falling asleep.”

  Without budging an inch, Carole absently whispered back, “Shhh. I can’t hear what Doc Tock is saying.”

  Stevie grinned. Normally Carole couldn’t think about anything but horses. Her head swam with bits of advice about riding, grooming, and anything else to do with horse care. Stevie’s other best friend, Lisa Atwood, was sitting on the other side of Carole and looked just as absorbed as Carole did. The three girls were not only best friends, but they also shared a love of horses, which had led them to form The Saddle Club. The only requirements for joining were that members had to be crazy about horses and had to be willing to help one another out.

  But at today’s unmounted meeting of Horse Wise, the Pony Club all three girls belonged to, the topic for discussion had nothing to do with horses. Usually Max Regnery, the leader of Horse Wise and the owner of Pine Hollow Stables, where Horse Wise members rode, used these unmounted meetings to discuss some aspect of stable management. For this meeting, however, Max had invited Doc Tock—everybody’s nickname for Dr. Takamura—to update Horse Wise about the latest efforts of the County Animal Rescue League, or CARL. Almost everyone in Horse Wise knew about CARL’s work saving abused or injured animals and finding them new homes or, in the case of wild animals, returning them safely to the wild. Doc Tock was a veterinarian who donated medical care to animals rescued by CARL, and her daughter, Corey, was a member of Horse Wise.

  Carole, Lisa, and Stevie had participated in Horse Wise riding exhibitions to raise money for CARL’s work. They loved hearing about the animals rescued by CARL, even when it meant sitting on the hard floor in Max’s office for half an hour, and even if it meant that the topic for discussion wasn’t horses.

  Stevie decided to ignore the pins and needles in her foot and concentrate on what Doc Tock was saying. “… and the building was scheduled to be demolished, so volunteers from CARL went in as soon as we could get permission and managed to capture her.”

  Stevie nudged Phil Marsten, her boyfriend, who was her guest for the meeting. “ ‘Her’?” she whispered.

  “Pregnant fox … abandoned building … needed rescuing,” Phil whispered back.

  A pregnant fox! Stevie had seen a few foxes around Willow Creek, the town where they lived, and she knew that they were common in the Virginia countryside. She remembered once seeing a fox’s bushy tail disappear into a thicket while she and Lisa and Carole were on a trail ride. She had even played one once, when she had been chosen to be the fox in a mock foxhunt. Although she had received a lot of ribbing about playing a fox, she was glad they hadn’t chased a real one.

  “I bet fox babies are cute,” Stevie whispered to Phil. Then she caught Max’s stern glance and immediately looked contrite. Max hated it when riders talked during meetings and lessons.

  “The most important thing about wild animal rescues,” continued Doc Tock, “is that we don’t treat the animals like pets. We don’t try to build their trust in us, because we want them to return to their natural environment, so they can’t become too familiar with humans. Sometimes an animal’s fear of humans is what saves its life. So we rescued the fox, fed her well to build up her strength and prepare her for giving birth, then released her in the state park—far away from any more abandoned buildings. Unfortunately, wild animals do sometimes find their way into human areas, which is a sign that civilization is crowding out their natural habitats. A good example of this is raccoons, which can sometimes be found rummaging through people’s garbage cans. Raccoons will eat anything, and they can make quite a mess.”

  Doc Tock concluded, “Now we’re hoping that the fox safely gave birth to her kits in the park. She’s probably wishing she had a baby-sitter right about now!”

  “What’s her hourly rate?” Stevie asked.

  Everyone laughed. Then Max stepped forward, holding a glass jar. “I’m leaving this jar in the locker room,” he announced. “If you have any spare change rattling around in your pockets, you may want to drop it in the jar. When the jar is full, we’ll give it to CARL to help support their work.”

  Spare change was something Stevie rarely had. Although her parents were fairly well off, they were also pretty firm about Stevie’s allowance. Stevie had three brothers, and four children meant that the Lake household had a lot of expenses. Stevie was expected to help around the house to earn her allowance—and she had to help with the cost of keeping her horse at Pine Hollow. Unless it was for a really special occasion, her parents didn’t give her extra spending money. They were all too familiar with their daughter’s crazy spending h
abits—and crazy ideas. Money just didn’t seem to stay in Stevie’s pockets for long, but she hoped she could manage to save some for the CARL jar.

  The meeting was over, and everyone started filing out. Stevie stood up and stretched. She tapped the rag rug with her foot. “I think Max needs a nice thick plush carpet in his office,” she complained. “This little rug didn’t help my backside one bit!”

  Phil laughed. “Yeah, that would be practical,” he teased. “With riders tramping through here all day, tracking in dirt from the ring.”

  Carole and Lisa laughed, too. They couldn’t imagine Max’s no-nonsense, no-frills office with a fancy rug, either. The only decorations in the office were a few photographs of champion horses and riders that Max had ridden or helped train and a photograph on his desk of his wife, Deborah, and their daughter, Maxi.

  Stevie put on a fake mad expression and punched Phil lightly in the arm. “Just remember, Phil, that you’re my guest here today,” she told him. “That means you have to be extra nice to me.”

  “No, I’m the guest, remember?” Phil answered. “You’ve got to be nice to me.”

  “Why don’t you two just be nice to each other?” Carole broke in impatiently. She and Lisa had spent a lot of time with Stevie and Phil and knew that they were prone to playful, competitive bickering. Unfortunately, once they got started, they kept on going. Carole tugged on Stevie’s arm and said, “C’mon, you two. We have a lot to do this afternoon.”

  The group planned to spend the afternoon practicing for a Pony Club dressage rally that was going to be held at Pine Hollow the following Saturday. The rally was to be staged just like a real dressage competition, with tests on different types of dressage steps. Max had invited a well-known rider from the United States Dressage Federation to come and judge the event.

  Phil’s Pony Club, Cross County, was also going to participate in the rally. Phil had had his horse, Teddy, brought over to Pine Hollow that day so that he could practice with Stevie.

  Everyone in Horse Wise was excited about the rally, but Stevie was especially looking forward to the event. Dressage, which involved very technical but balletic riding without jumping, was one of her favorite events. It always amazed people who knew Stevie and her flamboyant tendencies to see how she excelled at this precise and demanding form of horsemanship. She practiced dressage movements with her part-Arabian horse, Belle, whenever she could, and she really wanted to win a ribbon in the competition.

  * * *

  A FEW MINUTES later, Stevie finished tacking up and headed to the indoor ring. On the way out she passed by Prancer’s stall, where she saw Lisa standing by the mare, looking puzzled.

  Unlike Carole and Stevie, Lisa didn’t own a horse, but she almost always rode the same Pine Hollow horse, Prancer, an ex-racehorse and a Thoroughbred. Although the mare was sometimes flighty and high-strung, Lisa loved her long, graceful lines and smooth gaits. Right now, however, she had a discouraged expression on her face and was shaking her head.

  Stevie halted Belle. “What’s up?” she asked.

  “Something’s wrong with Prancer,” Lisa replied, patting the horse reassuringly. “I can’t put my finger on it, but she’s acting a little strange.”

  “Strange how?” asked Carole, who had come up behind Stevie and was leading Starlight, her bay gelding. “Is her appetite okay? Does her coat look healthy? Has she been lying down and getting up? Is she coughing?”

  Despite her worry, Lisa couldn’t help smiling. Carole was so horse-crazy that she was prone to deliver lengthy lectures about riding and horse management. Her barrage of questions, Lisa knew, came from her extensive knowledge about illnesses like colic, which was the general term for a variety of intestinal problems in horses. Because horses lacked the ability to regurgitate their food, intestinal problems could be serious; Carole’s questions covered a checklist of colic’s deadly symptoms.

  Prancer, however, didn’t have any of the symptoms of colic. She wasn’t looking toward her flank or getting up and lying down. She looked exactly the same as always. Lisa shook her head again. “She doesn’t look sick,” she said. “She just hasn’t been herself for the last few days. When she sees me, she gives me strange looks, and she seems a little less energetic than usual. But otherwise, she looks great.”

  Carole handed Starlight’s reins to Stevie and came into the stall with Lisa. She had spent a lot of time helping out Judy Barker, the local equine veterinarian, and had witnessed and assisted in many examinations of horses. She checked over Prancer carefully. “I can’t see anything wrong with her,” Carole said. “But you know her best, Lisa. Maybe you should talk to Max.”

  Lisa nodded. “I’ll ask Max to call Judy. I’m certainly not going to take any chances. Maybe it’s just the weather—I know it’s getting me down. One more day of rain and I personally will be on the lookout for an ark.”

  Willow Creek had had a lot of rain recently. The girls had wanted to practice outdoors after the meeting, and they thought a trail ride after the practice might do the horses some good. Horses, like people, could get cabin fever from being cooped up too long. But the outdoor ring and the trails were slick with mud, so the girls would be practicing in the indoor ring.

  Lisa finished tightening Prancer’s girth and led her out of the stall. She felt slightly better now that she had decided to ask Max to call Judy.

  The three girls met Phil and Teddy in the indoor ring and began practicing lateral work. Lateral work involved turns and steps where the horse moved forward and sideways. In one lateral exercise, the leg yield, the horse moved forward and sideways while bent very slightly away from the direction of movement. The group then took turns practicing gait changes, which was also an important element of dressage tests.

  During their practice sessions, the girls often helped each other out with advice about riding. Sometimes a rider could get so wrapped up in what he or she was doing that it could become difficult to correct mistakes or bad habits. And sometimes it helped a rider to know that he or she was doing something right. For this reason, The Saddle Club often took turns executing different steps and formations so that the others could praise or critique the person doing the riding.

  As the practice session went on, Carole and Lisa couldn’t help noticing that Stevie and Phil seemed to be complimenting one another above and beyond the call of duty. In fact, they were being extremely helpful and supportive of one another, commenting on every little thing that the other did well.

  “Great flying change, Phil!” Stevie called out. For flying change, a horse changed leads in midcanter. “I couldn’t even tell when you gave Teddy the cue!”

  Phil grinned happily, patting Teddy on the neck. In dressage, a rider tried to make the aids—the commands to his horse—nearly invisible. Carole and Lisa expected Phil to boast about the training he had been giving Teddy, but instead he kept on beaming at Stevie. “Belle looks terrific,” he said. “Those suppling exercises must really be working!”

  Dressage often involved bends of a horse’s body or quick footwork, and riders could improve their horses’ flexibility through suppling exercises. Stevie spent a lot of time on these exercises, which included transitions between gaits and moving Belle sideways with leg commands. Sometimes the exercises involved bending a horse’s body in ways that the horse was unaccustomed to, so the rider had to be extra patient and gentle when teaching a horse how to do them. Suppling exercises not only helped a horse train for dressage, they also helped improve the horse’s agility for all forms of riding.

  Carole and Lisa waited off to the side while Stevie and Phil practiced dressage movements involving cantering. After Phil complimented Stevie on her posture, Carole turned to Lisa, her eyebrows raised. “Do you hear what I hear? I feel like I’m watching a class on how to have a successful relationship.”

  “I know,” Lisa said, nodding. “They’re acting like the model couple.” She gagged jokingly. “Is this the same couple we know and love?”

  Both Carole an
d Lisa knew that Stevie, in addition to being imaginative and fun, could be supercompetitive, a quality she shared with her boyfriend. Her competitive nature helped make her a good rider, but it also made her a pain to be around sometimes, especially when she and Phil were competing against one another. Phil lived in a nearby town, so he and Stevie didn’t get to see each other as often as they would’ve liked. Unfortunately, when they did get together, they often found themselves pitted against one another. The two of them sometimes made bets with each other about who would win what rally, whose horse was better, who was a better rider, or who had discovered the latest training technique. At times the competition between Stevie and Phil resulted in not-so-smart choices—like the time Stevie had almost overtrained Belle to learn a dressage movement that Phil and Teddy had already mastered.

  For the past several months, however, the couple had been remarkably squabble-free. They still argued over minor things, but their competition with each other seemed to have died down. Crossing her fingers, Carole commented, “Let’s just hope this little phase lasts. Forever.”

  “Amen,” said Lisa. “Even this gooey sweetness is better than what they used to be like.”

  “Are you guys talking about us?” demanded Stevie, riding up.

  “Yes,” Carole replied promptly. “We’re talking about how you guys are so much more fun now that you’ve stopped trying to kill each other in competition.”

  Lisa rolled her eyes and nodded.

  Phil had joined them and overheard Carole’s comment. “Oh, c’mon, we gave that up ages ago,” he protested.

  “We’re much more mature now,” added Stevie. Her serious expression made Carole and Lisa want to giggle, but they managed to keep straight faces. They knew how difficult it was for Stevie and Phil to suppress their natural competitive spirits when they were with each other. Aside from their competitiveness, however, Stevie and Phil made a perfect couple. They both had a great sense of adventure and were always coming up with fun things to do.