Before long, Alice’s mum’s car had scrunched down the drive. After the others had jumped in and driven slowly away, Rosie stood by the gate. She noticed the long, searching fingers of mist twist eerily around the yard. With a shiver, she raced inside the farmhouse kitchen and closed the door firmly behind her.
“WHAT happens if I need the loo?” Rosie asked, starting to panic as they rode along the lanes.
It was Sunday, the day of the Greenfields Riding School Show. The mist had been thick through the night, but luckily they’d woken to a fine, frost-encrusted morning. Rosie was wearing a large, brown, pudding-shaped costume. Around the slightly-too-tight neck, was white felt, shaped like icing. Rosie’s hat was covered in green felt, with a red stem springing out at the top. Her arms were poking out of holes in the sides, making it difficult to hold the reins in the right place. Dancer was taking full advantage, wandering about all over the lane, looking for any kind of snack available.
“You’ll just have to cross your legs,” Charlie giggled, setting Alice off again. Alice had been weak with laughter since the moment Rosie emerged from the farmhouse and got stuck in the doorway. The giggles had got even worse when they heaved Rosie into the saddle and she rolled straight over the other side, landing on her back on the floor, with Dancer gazing round at her quizzically. Rosie had been giggling so hard she couldn’t even get up without the others’ help.
Alice put her own hysterics partly down to nerves, because she was going to be jumping the biggest clear round class at the show. Anything and everything was making her giggle.
They rode past Cracker and Frostie’s field, and both horses whickered to the girls’ ponies. The ponies whinnied back.
“I bet they wish they were coming, too,” Mia said, looking over her shoulder, feeling bad that they were staying behind, “just for something to do.”
“There hasn’t been any response to those notices yet,” Charlie added. “I don’t reckon anyone’s going to bother coming forward, do you?”
The others shook their heads, still stunned by the idea of someone abandoning such quality horses. As they rode along, they wondered out loud who Fran might rehome them to, and whether they’d be kept together or not.
“I hope they will be,” Alice sighed, “they’re really close. Cracker looks out for Frostie all the time.”
“Fran will make sure they’re kept together,” Rosie said, impatiently. “Anyway, back to my original question. Did we come up with a solution about what I do if I need the loo?”
The girls rode the long way round to Greenfield’s Riding School, unable to cut through the Abbey grounds. As they finally turned onto Turpin Lane, Mia frowned at the chaos that greeted them. Trailers and horseboxes were pulling slowly out of the drive. Dodging in and out of them were lots of riders in smart show clothes, and even more in fancy dress. But instead of riding towards the School, they were riding away from it.
“What’s going on?” Mia asked.
The others shrugged, frowning and standing up in their stirrups to see if they could catch a glimpse of the yard. They overheard snippets of conversation.
“It’s such a shame,” one parent, who was leading a small child on a beautifully groomed white pony, tutted, “Lauren’s been looking forward to this for weeks.”
“I cant believe we came all this way,” said another, “and now we’ve got to turn straight back round again!”
“Excuse me,” Mia said to a boy riding past on a smart chestnut, “do you know what’s happened?”
“The show’s been cancelled,” he said, holding his reins lightly. “Apparently some ponies got loose from here last night and they haven’t found all of them yet. They’ve had to call the whole thing off so they can coordinate the search for them.”
The girls looked at each other, dismayed. For half a second they all felt bitter disappointment at not being able to compete in the show, but that swiftly turned to determination.
The boy rode on, but the Pony Detectives had no intention of heading home.
“Well, Alice, you said yesterday that we needed to take another look at our cases and work out what to do next,” Charlie said grimly, “and now’s our chance. This crime scene must only be a few hours old. I think we need to get in there straightaway.”
The others nodded, vigorously. They carried on riding against the tide, heading past the fairy lights on the gate, and the huge, highly decorated Christmas tree sparkling next to it. There was a Father Christmas walking about, talking on his mobile and looking anxious. He’d pulled down his big white beard and the girls recognised him as Mr Greenfield. All the stables were trimmed with red and green tinsel, and Christmas carols were still piping in the background. Two stalls were set up near the outdoor arena, but the jacket potatoes weren’t being cooked and the horsey gifts were still inside a small truck.
The girls searched for Sophie, and found her coming back with some other helpers from one of the bridleways that led from the back of the yard. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were flushed red. Sophie looked up when they called her name, but she couldn’t manage a smile. When Mia asked her what the latest was, Sophie just looked bewildered.
“Molly’s still missing,” she said all in one breath, a gulp in her throat. “I’ve been out looking once already, but there’s no sign of her, or Biddy, or Samson. I hate to think what’s happened to them…”
Sophie clearly wasn’t thinking straight. She had headcollars slung over her shoulder but she didn’t look like she knew where she was going next, in the confusion around her.
“Which field did they get loose from?” Charlie asked her. “Was it locked?”
“What? Oh, that field over there, the far corner field,” Sophie said, pointing over to it. “And no, it wasn’t locked, but it was tied with baler twine. The horses have never even tried to get out before, though – I don’t understand it.”
Alice realised that Sophie must not have linked what had happened with the other ponies being let loose in the last couple of weeks. It didn’t feel like the time to raise it, so Alice just asked for details. “Did Mrs Greenfield see anything? Or hear anything?”
Sophie shook her head and sniffed. The Pony Detectives frowned at each other. Then Mrs Greenfield suddenly called Sophie and she turned towards the stables, where the other helpers were gathered. But before she left, she called back over her shoulder to the girls, “Oh, no, hang on. Mrs Greenfield did say she’d heard something… I think she said a motorbike was revving up like crazy, then it raced off. But that’s all.”
Charlie’s mouth fell open and she looked at the others.
“This has to be connected to the other ponies being let out, it can’t be a coincidence,” Charlie said. “Come on, let’s see if there are any clues in the field.”
They swung their ponies round and walked them up the path that led to the field. The gate was still standing open. They dismounted to lead their ponies closer, then heard hoof beats behind them. It was Archie, trotting his little grey, Rascal, to catch up with them. Archie’s face looked pinched as he slid from the saddle.
“What happened?” Archie asked.
“Some ponies were let out of this field last night,” Mia told him. “It’s the third lot in just over two weeks.”
“It’s happened again?” Archie blurted out, then bit his lip. He looked anxious, tugging at the tight shirt collar around his neck. Alice noticed, and exchanged a look with Rosie, who’d noticed too.
“Oh, is Stormchaser okay, by the way?” Charlie asked, remembering seeing Estoni covered in dirt after school on Friday. Archie frowned. “After Estoni’s fall, I mean.”
“No, he didn’t fall off Storm, luckily,” Archie explained, sounding a bit distracted. “He was riding Thimble. Thimble stumbled on one of the gallops, he… he put his hoof down a bit of a hole and sent Estoni flying. Thimble was going to be Estoni’s ride for one of the chukkas in the Winter Cup. He’s twisted his fetlock, though, so he’s been ruled out.”
“Oo
oh, nasty,” Rosie winced, “although it could’ve been a lot worse, sounds like they were both pretty lucky.”
As the girls began to search the area surrounding the paddock gate, they fell silent. Archie glanced at them, then at the ground, too.
“Um, are you looking for something?” he asked.
Rosie tapped her nose. “Clues,” she whispered dramatically.
Charlie expanded on Rosie’s explanation. “To see if it gives us an idea about who might have done this.”
Alice noticed Archie stiffen slightly, as Mia led Wish a couple of steps closer to the gate, then held up the bits of baler twine that had secured it shut.
“I bet one of the ponies leant on that, and it snapped,” Archie jumped in quickly, before the others could speak. “It’s not much twine to keep all those ponies in a field, really.”
Mia turned the twine over in her fingers. “But why would they suddenly rush against the fence last night, when they’ve never done that before?”
“It’s more likely this gate was opened deliberately,” Alice said. “Just like the others.”
“And it sounds like the culprit made a sharp exit afterwards on his motorbike,” Rosie shook her head.
Archie dropped his gaze, quietly searching the ground, moving some of the hard earth and grass to the side with his boot. Suddenly he pointed off to his right.
“Is that a glove, hanging on that bush over there?”
The four girls turned, ducking under their ponies’ necks to get a clearer look in the direction that Archie was pointing. As Alice turned back to check where Archie meant, she saw him crouch down by Rascal’s hoof. His pony turned his head to look at him.
“I can’t see anything,” Alice frowned. “Where did you mean?”
Archie jerked back up at the sound of Alice’s voice, sliding his hand into his jodhpur pocket and looking sheepish.
“Oh, maybe I was mistaken,” Archie mumbled. He jumped back into his saddle. Rascal immediately turned, ready to go.
“Anyway, I guess I had better get Rascal back,” he said, quickly squeezing Rascal into a brisk walk, and disappearing from sight without a backward glance.
The others were about to carry on their search when they noticed Alice staring after Archie.
“What’s up?” Rosie asked.
“I can’t be sure,” Alice said slowly, “but I think that Archie slipped something into his pocket when we were looking the other way. I think he distracted us deliberately…”
“You’re joking?” Charlie groaned. “And we missed it?”
Alice nodded, feeling sick that they may have just lost a vital clue.
Mia sighed, then turned her attention back to the baler twine in her hand. “Well, one thing we know for certain,” she said, “is that those ponies didn’t just push their way out of this field, no matter what Archie thinks. This twine’s all frayed, like someone’s hacked through it with scissors or a knife or something.”
“So that confirms it. Someone’s deliberately letting ponies out of their paddocks,” Alice said. A shiver went up her spine, especially as they still didn’t know the fate of the missing Greenfield’s ponies. Anything could have happened to them. Scout dipped his head and nudged her elbow, starting to get bored. Alice rubbed his cold tipped ears and leant against his sturdy neck. She glanced round at Phantom, Wish and Dancer. Their ponies were the girls’ best friends in the world. What if someone had let them out of the paddock, and they were charging about the countryside in a blind panic? Alice’s stomach churned at the thought of it, she couldn’t understand how anyone could be so mean. The criminal at the centre of this mystery must be completely cold hearted, and deep down, she wanted to steer well clear of anyone so cruel. But with ponies’ lives being put at risk, she knew she simply didn’t have a choice.
The Pony Detectives left the mayhem of Greenfield’s and set out to help search for the missing ponies.
“I cant believe I’m having to do serious investigative work,” Rosie puffed, “while I’m dressed up as a Christmas pud.”
“I think we should ride back past the Abbey,” Mia suggested. “The ponies could well have bolted in that direction. We need to ask if anyone there has seen them this morning.”
Charlie gave her a sideways smile. “And I guess we might just bump into Archie while we’re there…”
“Well, the thought had crossed my mind,” Mia replied. I’d really like to find out what he was so desperate to hide in his pocket.”
They trotted their ponies on the uphill lanes, telling any riders hacking to the Greenfield’s show what had happened.
“Can we walk again for a second?” Rosie panted. “I think I’m starting to overcook…”
“We’re nearly there, anyway,” Alice said, as they came back to a walk, turning onto Abbey Lane and seeing the Abbey ruins rise in front of them. Billy Pyke was standing by the entrance, glancing over his shoulder, then staring up the road. The girls had never spoken to him before, but they decided he’d be approachable because of the quiet way they’d seen him handle the polo ponies.
“Hi there,” Mia called over. As he looked over at the group, and scowled, Mia started to wonder if they’d got him wrong. “Er – some ponies were let out of their fields last night at Greenfields Riding School—”
Billy started slightly and cut Mia off rudely. “So what’s that got to do with me?”
“Oh, nothing,” Charlie said, taken aback. “It’s just three of them are still missing, and we wondered if you’d seen them, that’s all. One of them was a skewbald—”
“I don’t know anything about it, all right?” Billy snapped back.
“We were just asking,” Rosie said, indignantly. “Don’t you care that there might be terrified ponies wandering around here?”
Billy glared at her darkly. He was about to answer when a silver estate car rounded the corner at speed. It skidded to an abrupt halt. Billy forgot the girls in an instant as he leapt up and grabbed at the car door, yanking it open. He jumped in and the girls heard a snatch of his conversation.
“Rumour’s up on the grass gallops.”
Then the door slammed shut, and the car accelerated away, spitting out gravel from spinning front tyres. It turned into the entrance of the Abbey estate and disappeared inside. Phantom skitted sideways, his head up as Charlie rested one hand on his neck to soothe him.
“Come on,” Alice said, slightly taken aback, “if everyone at the Abbey’s this rude we’re not going to get any help here.”
“And I guess this isn’t the time to try and sneak in to find Archie, either,” Rosie said, looking down at her pudding shaped body.
“Not exactly,” Mia agreed.
Charlie shivered. She wanted to keep moving as Phantom still felt tense beneath the saddle. “We’re not going to find the ponies standing about. We might as well keep riding – they could be anywhere round here.”
The girls touched their heels to their ponies’ sides. They made their way along the lane, until the woods petered out at the boundary of the Abbey estate. At that point, the trees were replaced by tall, dense holly bushes dotted with bright red berries, which the girls couldn’t see through.
Mia paused by Perryvale Polo Club’s gated entrance, and looked up the long, tarmac drive. Grazing near the gates were horses in smart rugs, chomping on piles of hay in their neatly pooh-picked fields.
“Do you think we should ask here about Molly and the other loose horses?” she asked the others. Mia desperately wanted to have a sneaky look round the glamorous club, but she also genuinely thought it might help find the missing ponies. The others slowed their ponies to a halt, unsure about heading into the vast, private estate. Then they heard a car engine and prepared to move their ponies to the side of the lane, out of the way. But the shiny grey Range Rover, complete with smart royal blue Perryvale Polo Club insignia on its side, stopped beside the girls instead of turning into the drive and its window rolled down smoothly
“Ah, just who I wanted
to see,” a large, stocky man with a broad smile and thick black hair leant out of the open window. He puffed on a fat cigar. The Pony Detectives recognised the Range Rover, and the man inside; it was Mr Perryvale himself. The girls shared a quick, surprised look between each other. Mr Perryvale had never spoken to them before, and they didn’t know whether to be excited or worried. After all, why would he want to see them?
Rosie tried to look serious and important, to make up for the fact that she was dressed as a Christmas pudding.
Mr Perryvale smiled even wider, as if sensing their uncertainty and wanting to put them at ease. “You four are local riders, aren’t you?” The four girls nodded, feeling wary. “Ah, good. That means you may well be able to help me out. A couple of my grooms found a few ponies roaming loose on the lanes early this morning. They came from the direction of the Abbey Polo Club, although I notice that no one from there bothered to do anything about them… Anyway, my grooms have taken the loose ponies up to my stables to keep them safe. Don’t suppose you know who they belong to, do you?”
“Oh, is one of them a skewbald?” Alice asked, brightening, as she realised that Mr Perryvale actually seemed really friendly and helpful.
“That’s it – pretty thing, all plaited up,” Mr Perryvale smiled, taking another puff on his cigar.
The girls grinned, pleased by their stroke of luck. “They were let out from Greenfield’s Riding School last night.” Charlie explained.
Mr Perryvale’s smile faded. “Another lot?” he said, in his rich, deep voice. “Tut tut. I heard about that business at the other two places. Sheer luck none of the horses have been injured – not yet, anyway. But, of course, this isn’t the first time that horses have been let out of their fields for no apparent reason. There was another incident – oh – some months ago now.”
Mr Perryvale let his words linger in the air for a moment.
“Really?” Mia asked, frowning as she and her friends exchanged a questioning look. “We didn’t hear a thing about that!”
Stormchaser and the Silver Mist Page 6
