McKenzie

by Shari Barr

  “Do you think we should tell Emma we suspect Derek?” Bailey asked, interrupting McKenzie’s thoughts.

  McKenzie frowned. She still didn’t want to think Derek was involved with Diamond Girl’s disappearance. “We were going to ask Elizabeth about that, weren’t we?” she asked.

  “Why don’t you call her instead?” Bailey asked.

  McKenzie agreed and quickly called their friend in Texas, explaining the situation to Elizabeth.

  “I don’t think you should mention Derek’s name to anybody yet,” Elizabeth said. “After all, you don’t have any evidence against him, just hunches. You shouldn’t wrongfully accuse him or anyone else.”

  McKenzie knew Elizabeth was right, so they chatted a few more minutes. She was just hanging up as Emma called up the stairs. She had popped popcorn and invited them to watch a movie with her before bed. The girls readily agreed and scampered downstairs.

  During the first commercial break, McKenzie planned to ask Emma about the dugout at Old Towne, but when she glanced over at her instructor in the recliner, she noticed Emma’s eyes were closed. Her breathing was soft and regular. McKenzie knew Emma was exhausted, so she dimmed the lights and turned off the TV. She put her finger to her lips and motioned for Bailey to follow her upstairs.

  When the girls woke the next morning, Emma had already gone to the stables to prepare for the last day of Kids’ Camp. After a quick breakfast, McKenzie and Bailey headed outside to help feed Sahara and the other horses that weren’t used for camp. When the young campers arrived, they fed and groomed the horses they used for camp.

  At two o’clock the campers went home. Emma had told McKenzie and Bailey they could ride the four-wheelers across the meadow to Cedar Creek Ranch to watch the roping class. The girls arrived early, hoping to walk through the stables and see Maggie’s horses. They were eager to see if the beautiful spotted horse was in one of her stalls.

  After parking their four-wheelers, the girls spotted Maggie outside the stables.

  “Hi, Maggie,” McKenzie called out as they approached Cedar Creek’s owner.

  “Hi, girls. You’re early. The riders won’t be here for another twenty minutes,” she said, glancing at her watch.

  “We know,” McKenzie replied. “We were wondering if we could look at your horses.”

  Maggie hesitated but then said, “I suppose that would be okay, but I don’t have time to take you on a tour. I have to get the calves into the corral for the couple coming to practice. You can go by yourselves if you keep out of the way of my workers.”

  The girls promised they wouldn’t bother anyone and set off toward the stable. McKenzie led the way inside and headed down the first aisle, glancing in the stalls as she walked. They passed quarter horses and paint horses with beautiful white splotches on their coats. They saw spotted Appaloosas and sturdy Morgans. She recognized Maggie’s black mustang in a stall at the end.

  “This is Maggie’s prize horse, Frisco.” McKenzie stepped aside so Bailey could see in the stall. “She’s almost as fast as Diamond Girl.”

  “Yeah,” Bailey said. “Maggie made it clear yesterday that Emma always beats her.”

  McKenzie nodded. “But, second place is really good too.”

  “You don’t know what it’s like to always come in second or worse. I never win anything.” Bailey frowned.

  At first, McKenzie didn’t know what to say. She knew how Bailey felt. “Bailey,” McKenzie finally said softly, “you’ll win lots of things. It’s just that I’ve been riding a lot longer than you have, and I’m older. I did awful at last year’s rodeo, so I do know how you feel. But you have lots of talents and abilities. I’ve seen some of your drawings and they’re great. I can’t draw a good stick man.”

  Bailey sighed but didn’t answer. The girls continued down the aisle as McKenzie pointed out several breeds of horses to Bailey. She hoped to see the beautiful spotted horse they had seen in the pasture, but it wasn’t in the first row of stalls. When they walked up the second aisle, they saw no sign of her there either.

  Disappointed that they hadn’t seen the unusual horse, McKenzie began to wonder who owned it. And why was the rider on Maggie’s land if the horse wasn’t stabled there? McKenzie was puzzled as she glanced at her watch and moved quickly through the stable.

  The girls arrived back at the arena as Maggie turned the calves into the ring. McKenzie climbed the fence and sat on the top rung, while Bailey stood beside her.

  A pair of girls, a little older than McKenzie, sat on a brown stallion. They chased a calf around the arena, the rider in front holding a lasso. As they approached a calf, she flung the lasso, catching it around the calf’s neck. Then she jerked the rope flinging the calf to the ground.

  Bailey jumped and cried out, “Doesn’t that hurt the calf?”

  “Nope, not at all,” McKenzie assured her as they watched the girls slip to the ground and loop the other end of rope around the calf’s legs. “Just wait a sec and you’ll see.”

  Moments later, after the calf laid still, Maggie stepped out and loosened the rope. After Maggie removed the lasso, the calf hopped up and ran around the arena unharmed.

  “Maybe I could do that,” Bailey said with a grin. “Now that I know it doesn’t hurt the calf.”

  “Great,” McKenzie said. “Maybe I can find an old rope around here, and I can practice throwing a lasso.”

  McKenzie glanced behind her, looking for Maggie. She heard voices coming from an old garage, so she tugged on Bailey’s arm and headed in that direction. As they stepped inside, she saw stacks of cardboard boxes with the contents written with black marker on the outside. Two workers carried the boxes out the back door and loaded them into a trailer parked nearby. They paid no attention to the girls but continued hauling the boxes out.

  McKenzie turned to Bailey and whispered, “I wonder what’s going on in here.”

  Bailey pointed to the men cleaning out the garage. “Where do you think they’re taking all that stuff?”

  “I don’t know, but it looks almost like they’re getting ready to move.” McKenzie eyed all the busyness around her. “Surely, Maggie’s not moving. Emma hasn’t said anything about it.”

  “I bet they’re just cleaning out the garage,” Bailey said as she stepped away from the garage.

  “Could be,” McKenzie said skeptically. “They look too busy to help us find a rope. We should probably head back anyway, but I need to find Maggie and thank her for letting us come over.”

  McKenzie glanced around the arena looking for Maggie. She was nowhere in sight, so the girls headed toward the stables to look for her. Stable hands were doing nightly chores. McKenzie pulled Bailey into the supply room to let two workers pass with wheelbarrows full of hay.

  McKenzie turned and noticed the shelves were nearly bare and cardboard boxes lined the floor. All of them were filled with horse supplies.

  She jumped at a harsh voice behind them. “What do you need, girls?”

  McKenzie turned to see Maggie standing in the doorway. The woman drained the last of her diet cola can and tossed it into the trashcan.

  “Uh, we just wanted to thank you for letting us come over,” McKenzie stammered.

  “Yeah, it was really nice of you,” Bailey agreed. “I think I can do the calf-roping thing after watching those girls. Will you be at the rodeo to watch us?”

  Maggie shooed the girls out of the room. She smirked at Bailey and replied, “Oh, I think I’ll be there, all right.”

  “Are you moving, Maggie?” McKenzie asked as she glanced at the boxes.

  Maggie hesitated and peered around as though to see if anyone was standing nearby. Then she pulled the girls closer and said in a near whisper, “I have someone coming over to look at the place and want it to look nice, so I’m cleaning out some junk. Nothing is definite yet; so don’t say anything about it. Not even to Emma. Okay?”

  The girls looked at each other, but agreed not to say anything. McKenzie wondered why in the world Maggie wa
nted to keep it a secret, especially from Emma. She thought the two women were friends. Another thought crept into McKenzie’s mind. Maggie acts like she’s got something to hide. Would she have stolen Diamond Girl to keep Emma from winning the rodeo?

  Then Maggie motioned for the girls to step outside and continued, “I’m glad I could help you girls, but you better go home.” Before the girls could respond, the woman turned and started to walk away.

  “Oh, I almost forgot,” Maggie said. She turned back to the girls and pulled a folded newspaper page from her back pocket. “Would you give this paper to Derek? I circled an ad I thought he might want to see.”

  McKenzie assured Maggie she would give the paper to Derek, and minutes later the girls headed for home. After parking the ATVs, McKenzie unfolded the newspaper and glanced at the ad Maggie had circled in bright red ink.

  “Look at this, Bailey.” McKenzie pointed to the ad. “Maggie wanted Derek to see this ad about a stable for sale in northern Montana.”

  Bailey skimmed the ad. “I thought he wasn’t going to buy a stable until he’d saved more money.”

  “I thought so too,” McKenzie agreed.

  Bailey was silent for a moment. Then she spoke softly. “Maybe he sold something worth a lot of money.”

  McKenzie looked up. “You don’t think Derek stole Diamond Girl and sold her, do you?”

  “I know you like him, McKenzie,” Bailey said. “But he has a reason to steal her. He wants money to buy a stable. Remember the other day when he said certain thieves knew how to disguise a horse. He knows how to do all those tricks with horses. Maybe he’s disguised Diamond Girl.”

  McKenzie knew Bailey was right about one thing. She did like Derek. He had always been so nice, helping her feed and groom Sahara. He always seemed happy to have her around the stables.

  Though she hated to admit it, he did have a reason to steal Diamond Girl. But that didn’t mean he was the thief, did it? More than anything she wanted to prove Derek was innocent, but she didn’t know how. All the clues seemed to point toward his guilt.

  She felt torn inside. What if she accused Derek and he was innocent? Could she forgive herself? But more importantly, would God forgive her?

  The Nighttime Adventure

  The weekend passed with no news or leads to Diamond Girl’s disappearance. McKenzie began to wonder if she would ever learn what had happened to the prize horse. She knew God wanted her to help solve the mystery, but she also knew He expected her to not wrongly accuse anyone. Part of her was scared to meet the thief face-to-face. What if he was someone she knew and trusted? Would she be able to continue loving that person as God would want her to?

  After church on Sunday, McKenzie pushed the thoughts from her mind as she headed to the arena to practice for the rodeo. She watched Bailey as she raced the barrel course with Applejack. Bailey had improved much since coming to Sunshine Stables, and McKenzie hoped she would do well at the rodeo. Placing in the top three would mean a lot to Bailey.

  Soon it was McKenzie’s turn to race with Sahara. As she leaned forward, the warm evening air caught her ponytail, slapping it up and down. Again and again she raced. Each time she worked on tightening her turns. Then she took a break and it was Bailey’s turn again.

  Finally Emma said the girls had practiced enough for one night. McKenzie sighed with relief. It had been a long day and she was ready to go inside. She hadn’t chatted online with the Camp Club Girls for a couple of days, so she wanted to fill them in on all the happenings.

  Minutes later McKenzie and Bailey sat in front of Emma’s computer. The other four Camp Club Girls were already chatting online.

  McKenzie: LTNC.

  Elizabeth: Where have U 2 been?

  McKenzie: Busy with horses and trying to figure out what happened to Diamond Girl.

  Alexis: Do you have any clues?

  McKenzie: We found a fence clip near the place in the creek where we found the horseshoe. Someone cut the fence and fixed it with clips. The thief could’ve stolen DG from that spot and led her up creek.

  I don’t want 2 suspect Derek, but he has a reason to steal DG. He needs $$ 2 buy his own stable.

  Bailey took over the keyboard: And twice we’ve seen a stranger riding that beautiful spotted horse. I’ve never seen one like it. He acts funny 2. Doesn’t even know the horse’s name and he couldn’t even control her.

  Kate: U know U can lead a horse 2 water but U can’t make him drink.

  Elizabeth: Reminds me of my mom’s favorite song, “Horse with No Name.”

  Sydney: UR horse with no name is a horse of a different color, LOL.

  McKenzie thought about her friends’ remarks. From the first time she saw the strange horse, she thought it looked familiar. Now she knew why.

  McKenzie: U guys made me realize something. If that horse was black and didn’t have spots, she could B DG!

  Kate: Could someone have dyed DG’s coat?

  McKenzie and Bailey looked at each other. Both wondered if it could be possible. McKenzie remembered the bottle of hair dye in the dugout.

  McKenzie: Dunno. How could we tell?

  Kate: If U can get some hairs from horse, I could test it with my kit.

  McKenzie knew Kate loved anything technical. She saved all her birthday and Christmas money to buy the latest gadgets. Kate was a whiz with computers and electronics. McKenzie knew Kate could test the horse hair, but she wondered how she could get the hair in the first place.

  “Girls, it’s getting late,” a voice behind them called.

  McKenzie glanced behind her. Emma was leaning against the door frame, smiling at them.

  “Okay, we’ll sign off,” McKenzie said.

  McKenzie: G2G. Thx GFs. TTFN.

  After the girls logged off, they headed upstairs.

  “Do you think the spotted horse could actually be Diamond Girl?” Bailey asked as she slipped into her pajamas.

  McKenzie climbed onto the top bunk. “I suppose it’s possible. Everybody assumes the thief would take Diamond Girl far away. But, what better way to hide her than in plain sight?”

  Bailey crawled beneath the covers. “Do you think the thief is hiding the spotted horse in the dugout stable at Old Towne?”

  “I’ve wondered about that. It sure looked like someone was keeping a horse there.” McKenzie flipped onto her stomach and peered over the edge of the bed. “If so, I bet it’s bedded down there at night.”

  Bailey peered up at McKenzie with questioning eyes. “What are you getting at?”

  McKenzie flung her hair out of her eyes and grinned. “I think we need to see if a horse is out there!”

  Bailey’s eyes grew wide. “You mean now?”

  “If that horse is actually Diamond Girl, the thief won’t keep her there forever. We need to find out before she disappears again.” McKenzie felt her pulse quicken. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go to Old Towne after dark, but she knew they had to. In just a few short days, they would leave Sunshine Stables to go back to their homes. If they wanted to solve the mystery of Diamond Girl’s disappearance, they had to hurry. “Hopefully, the spotted horse is there, and we can snip some hairs to send to Kate.”

  Bailey stared at McKenzie. “Well, if you’re going, I’m not going to wait here,” she said.

  It was just after ten o’clock. If they took the horses, they could go to Old Towne, check the place out, and easily be back in less than an hour. She jumped from the top bunk. In a couple of minutes both girls had changed into jeans and sweatshirts.

  The house was dark when they stepped into the hallway. They paused outside Emma’s bedroom door, but no sounds came from within. McKenzie knew they should ask for permission, but she hated to wake Emma.

  McKenzie made a quick decision. She motioned for Bailey to follow her as she tiptoed down the stairs. The yard light cast a soft glow through the windows, so they could make their way through the house.

  McKenzie flipped on the light over the kitchen sink and pulled a pair of small
scissors, a zippered sandwich bag, and a pocket flashlight out of a drawer. She shoved them into her sweatshirt pocket as she stepped into the mud room. After grabbing a battery-powered lantern, the girls quietly slipped outside.

  McKenzie shivered in the cool breeze. She was glad she had worn her sweatshirt. The yard light cast eerie shadows in the corners of the yard. Leaves in the treetops rustled in the wind, and the bushes scratched against the house.

  The girls ran to the stable and slipped inside as McKenzie flipped on the light switch. She heard the steady breathing of the horses, their bodies thumping against the dividers as they settled in their stalls. McKenzie wished she could sit down right here to spend the night, but she knew she had to finish what they intended to do. After grabbing Sahara’s saddle from the tack room, McKenzie lugged it into the stall.

  Sahara blinked sleepily at McKenzie as she stepped inside. McKenzie talked to the horse as she set the saddle on her back. “It’s okay, girl. We’re going to go for a ride.” McKenzie reached beneath the mare and secured the saddle. She patted the horse’s head and led her out of the stall.

  “Let’s both ride Sahara,” McKenzie suggested. “It’ll be quicker. Then you can hold the lantern. Okay?”

  Relief flooded Bailey’s face. “Good. I didn’t really want to ride after dark by myself.”

  McKenzie continued down the hallway and out the stable door with Sahara. She put her foot in the stirrup and mounted the horse. Then she pulled Bailey into the saddle behind her. They headed out of the lot and onto the trail.

  After they passed behind the pine grove away from the yard light, she could see the sprinkling of stars in the black sky. The half-sized moon cast enough light so they could find their way without using the lantern. Twisted shadows from a maze of trees fell across the ground. McKenzie shivered beneath her sweatshirt. She felt Bailey wrap her small arms around her waist.