Horse Race

by Bonnie Bryant

  “Don’t worry about the gray,” Garvey said. “You just steady her out of the gate like I said and give her some time to find her stride. If luck’s on our side and you can manage to keep her out of traffic, there’ll be no stopping her.” He reached out, almost absentmindedly, and knocked on a wooden pillar. Carole almost smiled when she saw that. Josh A was right when he told her that people around here tended to be superstitious. Obviously, Garvey was no exception.

  “I hear you, boss,” Toby said. “I’ll catch you later.” He gave the girls a little wave and then hurried away.

  Garvey glanced at them. “You three look like you need something to do,” he said gruffly. “C.C. isn’t working today since she’s running this afternoon, but she could use a walk. You there.” He pointed at Stevie. “Why don’t you walk her down that path toward the parking lot and back. Give her something to look at other than the shed row. Don’t let her graze too much along the way, though.”

  “Sure,” Stevie said. She grabbed Cookie Cutter’s halter and slipped it on the chestnut filly as Garvey looked at the other two girls.

  “You.” He pointed at Lisa this time. “Take the bay colt along with her. He’s running today, too.”

  Lisa nodded and got to work. Carole glanced at Garvey but didn’t meet his eyes. He was acting perfectly normal. If anything, he was being nicer to them than usual. But she still felt nervous. “Maybe I’ll walk along with them in case they need help,” she suggested, taking a step back toward Cookie Cutter, who was just emerging from her stall.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” the trainer snapped. “They’ll be fine. There’s too much work to do for you to start doubling up. I’ve got another job for you.”

  “Okay,” Carole said weakly, watching out of the corner of her eye as Stevie and Lisa disappeared around the corner of the shed row with their charges. She suddenly felt very alone. Her friends were gone, Toby had left, and the grooms were nowhere in sight.

  Garvey didn’t seem to notice her consternation. “Your friend the reporter tells me you’re a good rider,” he said. “Is that true? Because I’ve got a colt that could use some exercise, and my boys aren’t here yet. Want to give him a try?”

  Immediately all fearful thoughts fled from Carole’s mind. She had ridden Prancer during her racing days, and it had been one of the most thrilling experiences of her life. She could hardly believe that Garvey was offering her the chance to do the same kind of thing. Obviously, whatever had happened the night before had been a huge misunderstanding. The trainer didn’t seem angry at all now.

  “I’d love to,” she said eagerly.

  “Good. Then come on.” Garvey led the way to the last stall in the row. Inside was a colt named Storm Chaser. Carole had helped groom him the day before and knew he was frisky but friendly. Now she saw that he was already saddled and tied up in his stall, waiting.

  “I asked the groom to tack him up,” Garvey explained. He grabbed the colt’s lead line and led him out of the shed row, with Carole following. Outside, the trainer turned in the opposite direction from the racetrack.

  “Where are we going?” Carole asked, confused. “The track is the other way.”

  “I don’t want to take him on the track today,” Garvey replied without turning around. “One of his shoes is a little loose, and the dirt will only make it worse. There’s a nice-sized lawn behind the last barn where the horses graze sometimes. We’ll just take him around that a few times.”

  Carole still felt confused. Like most racetracks, Bluegrass Park had a grass racecourse, known as the turf course, inside the main dirt track. Some horses specialized in running on grass, some ran only on dirt, and some could go either way. Carole wasn’t sure why Storm Chaser would be able to exercise on a grassy lawn and not on the turf course. For a second she thought about asking Garvey, but then she thought better of it. He was being about as nice as he had ever been since she had met him, and she was afraid the wrong question could turn him mean and defensive again. She didn’t want to take any chances—especially when she was about to take a ride on a real racehorse.

  Making a mental note to ask her question later of someone friendlier, she followed Garvey as he led the colt toward the lawn he had mentioned. Carole had passed it a couple of times the day before and seen horses being grazed there, but at this hour it was deserted. In fact, there was nobody in sight at all, since the back of the nearest building blocked it from view.

  Garvey led Storm Chaser to a spot near the middle of the lawn. He waited for Carole to catch up, then nodded briskly. “Okay,” he said. “I want you to get up there, then trot him around the perimeter three or four times.”

  “But I should stop him if he’s favoring the foot with the loose shoe, right?” Carole asked. “Which foot is it, anyway?” She hadn’t noticed anything off about the colt’s stride, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

  “What?” Garvey said. “Oh, um, it’s his left fore. Pull him up if he’s having a problem.”

  “Okay,” Carole said. She gazed up at the tall colt and smiled eagerly. “I’m ready.”

  Garvey unsnapped the horse’s lead line and gave Carole a leg up. The ex-boxer was so big and strong that it was like being boosted by an elevator. The stirrups on the small saddle were higher than Carole was used to, so her right foot missed its mark as she settled into the saddle.

  She never had a chance to make a second attempt at the stirrup. As soon as her rear touched the saddle, Storm Chaser let out a tremendous snort and bolted forward.

  Taken by surprise, Carole grabbed a handful of the horse’s mane in her left hand, trying desperately to regain her balance. She gripped the colt’s sides tightly with both legs and scrabbled desperately for the reins with her right hand.

  Storm Chaser came to an abrupt stop after only a few yards, but he wasn’t finished. He whirled around and kicked up his heels in a quick buck and twist. By dropping the reins and grabbing his mane in both hands, Carole managed to stay aboard, though her left foot was jolted out of the stirrup. When the colt suddenly lowered his head and shook it violently, then whirled around and took off once again, Carole lost her seat and went flying off to one side.

  She landed hard on the ground, the breath knocked out of her. A quick glance showed her that Storm Chaser had stopped acting up as soon as she was off his back. Within seconds he was grazing peacefully nearby.

  Carole soon determined that, luckily, she wouldn’t suffer anything more than a sore rump as a result of her fall. As she got painfully to her feet, she saw Garvey walking calmly toward her, a small smile on his wide, ruddy face.

  “What happened?” she gasped, doing her best to brush the dirt off her jeans.

  Garvey stopped in front of her, his hands on his hips. “I’ll tell you what happened,” he said in a dangerously cool voice. “A little girl got herself into a situation she shouldn’t have. And she almost got hurt. There are lots of ways to get yourself hurt around here. Gives you something to think about, doesn’t it?”

  Carole frowned, not understanding for a second. Then her eyes widened and she involuntarily stepped backward. Was Garvey threatening her?

  He grinned at her expression. “I see we understand each other,” he said. Then he turned and walked toward Storm Chaser, who was still grazing.

  Carole gulped and watched him go. Could it be true? Had Garvey set this all up, knowing the colt would throw her, as a warning? It certainly seemed so. This had to mean that he was still angry about her unintentional eavesdropping the evening before. And that had to mean that he really was up to no good.

  Before Carole could decide what to do next, Garvey returned with Storm Chaser. The colt stretched his head forward to nuzzle at her curiously.

  “No hard feelings, right, boy?” she murmured, automatically reaching forward to pat the horse.

  “That depends on what you do next,” Garvey said, as if the comment had been directed at him. His eyes narrowed, and he took a step closer to Carole. “And whether you start b
labbing about things you’ve heard—or think you’ve heard. Did you tell anybody about your spying last night? Anybody who might misunderstand—like that snoopy reporter pal of yours?”

  Carole bit her lip and stared up at Garvey, mesmerized by the nasty look on his face. She was starting to feel really scared now. If the trainer would allow her to be thrown from a horse, what else would he be willing to do to shut her up if he thought it was necessary?

  “Carole?” called a voice from nearby. “Hey, Carole. Is that you?”

  Carole turned and almost laughed with relief as she saw Josh A heading across the lawn toward them.

  Garvey let out an unintelligible growl, then abruptly turned and led Storm Chaser away. He didn’t even acknowledge the boy as he hurried past, his strides so long that the leggy colt almost had to break into a trot to keep up.

  Josh glanced over his shoulder at the horse as he reached Carole’s side. “Wasn’t that Storm Chaser?” he asked.

  Carole nodded. Even now that the frightening moment had passed, she didn’t quite trust herself to speak. She never would have expected to be so glad to see one of the Joshes.

  Josh looked at her, taking in her grass-stained jeans and mussed hair. “Hey, you weren’t trying to ride him, were you?” he asked anxiously. “He’s famous around here for dumping riders in the morning. I told you about him yesterday when I was telling you about Leprechaun’s whip phobia, remember?”

  “Oh.” Carole thought back and remembered that Josh had mentioned a horse with that habit. “You did, I guess. But you didn’t tell me his name.”

  “Really?” Josh said. “Sorry about that. But why would the trainer put you on him when he knew what would happen?”

  Carole thought she knew the answer to that, but she didn’t feel like sharing it with Josh. The last thing she wanted was to turn the boy into another target for Garvey’s wrath. “I don’t know,” she said. “Come on, walk me back to the barn, okay?”

  Immediately Josh seemed to forget all about Garvey and Storm Chaser. “Sure,” he said eagerly.

  As they walked, Josh chatted cheerfully about that afternoon’s races and other topics. Carole did her best to answer appropriately and pretend to be interested in what he was saying, but her mind was elsewhere.

  Garvey obviously wanted to make sure she didn’t tell anyone about what she had overheard the previous evening. That left just one question: Exactly what had she overheard? Carole still had no idea what the trainer was up to, although this morning’s events had convinced her that it had to be at least illicit, if not downright illegal. That meant she had to do something to try to stop him. But how could she do that if she didn’t know what he was planning to do?

  Carole sighed, then did her best to smile as Josh turned to give her another admiring look. It was time to call a Saddle Club meeting—and fast!

  CAROLE MANAGED TO get rid of Josh by pretending that she was heading for the bathroom. As soon as he was out of sight, she turned and hurried to the Maskee shed row.

  Peering inside, she saw that Stevie and Lisa had returned from their walk. They were in the process of cross-tying Cookie Cutter in the aisle. One of the grooms was at the other end of the row, grooming the bay colt.

  Carole hurried over to her friends, glancing around cautiously for the trainer. “Hi,” she said. “Where’s Garvey?”

  Lisa looked up. “Oh, there you are,” she said. “We were just wondering what happened to you. Garvey just left with that horse Storm Chaser. He and Toby are taking him out to the track to work.”

  Carole winced at the mention of the colt’s name. “I guess he doesn’t have a loose shoe after all,” she muttered. “I should have known he wouldn’t be working if he did.”

  “What?” Stevie glanced at her friend, puzzled, then reached into a grooming bucket for a hoof pick.

  After checking to make sure the groom couldn’t hear her, Carole quickly told her friends what had happened.

  Lisa’s eyes widened more and more with every word. “He actually said all that stuff?” she asked when Carole had finished.

  Carole nodded. “Don’t even try to tell me it’s all a misunderstanding this time,” she said. “Garvey all but came out and threatened me.”

  “Don’t worry,” Lisa said, switching the currycomb she was using to her other hand. “I’m convinced.” She shook her head, looking angry. “I can’t believe Garvey put you on that horse intentionally, knowing you’d be thrown. You could have been badly hurt!”

  Stevie glanced at her friends across the filly’s back. “And don’t forget, he did it all in a totally out-of-the-way place,” she said. “That way nobody would be likely to see and warn her.”

  “I know,” Carole said. “I’m just lucky Josh happened along when he did, or who knows what might have happened.”

  “Josh?” Stevie said quickly. Carole hadn’t mentioned his role in the story. “Which one?”

  “Win,” Carole said, blushing slightly. “I was just going to mention him. He saw me and came running over, and that’s when Garvey took off.”

  “I see,” Lisa said, smiling a little. Then her face grew serious again. “You are lucky he came by. Garvey sounds dangerous. I think we need to talk to somebody about this right away. Like maybe the police or the track officials.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Carole had started combing out Cookie Cutter’s silky mane while her friends worked on the filly’s coat. Cookie Cutter was relaxed and seemed to be enjoying all the attention. “If you think about it, Garvey hasn’t really said anything very specific. If we talked to someone official, it would be our word against his.”

  Stevie nodded. “And he’s got a good reputation, remember? That’s why Deborah’s writing about him. Why would anyone believe us?”

  “Especially when we don’t even know what we’re accusing him of,” Lisa finished reluctantly. “I see what you mean. Still, we need to do something. Next time Carole might not be so lucky.”

  Stevie grinned. “I don’t know about that. If all she needs is to have a Josh turn up to save the day, I’d say her odds are pretty good.”

  Carole stuck out her tongue at Stevie, then giggled in spite of herself. Talking to her friends was making her feel much better. If The Saddle Club worked on this problem as a team, they’d find a way to solve it. “Maybe we should talk to Deborah,” she suggested.

  Lisa’s face brightened. “That’s a great idea,” she said. “She’ll believe us. And she’ll probably know what we should do next.”

  “Okay,” Stevie said slowly. “I guess maybe we are in over our heads now.” For Stevie, that was an unusual admission. Seeing her friends’ surprised looks, she added, “Hey, I like a good mystery as much as anyone—maybe more—but not enough to put Carole in danger.”

  Carole nodded, her stomach tightening. “And Garvey’s not stupid,” she said. “He’ll probably figure out that I’ve talked to you guys about this, if he hasn’t already. Then we’ll all be in danger.”

  “Come on,” Lisa said, turning her attention back to her grooming. “Let’s hurry up and finish with C.C. Then we’ll go find Deborah.”

  THEY DIDN’T FIND Deborah in any of the nearby barns, so they headed for the track to see if she was there watching the workouts. She was nowhere in sight, but another familiar face was.

  “Uh-oh,” Stevie said under her breath, tugging at Carole’s sleeve. “Mayday. Mayday. Josh alert at three o’clock.”

  But her warning came too late. Josh C, better known now as Show, had already seen them. He was standing near the rail with his parents. His father was taping a group of galloping horses with his camcorder. “Hey, Carole!” Josh called loudly. “Hi! Remember me?”

  “How could I forget?” Carole said quietly with a groan. But she did her best to smile as Josh came toward her. “Hi, Josh,” she greeted him. “I don’t think you met my friends yesterday.” She quickly introduced Stevie and Lisa.

  “Nice to meet you,” Josh said politely. Then he grinned at Car
ole. “I bet you’re surprised to see me here so early,” he said proudly. “After talking to you last night, I convinced my parents to come watch the workouts this morning. They thought it was a really cool idea—you know, as part of the total Kentucky experience.”

  Carole glanced at her watch. It was about eight o’clock. She vaguely remembered telling Josh and his parents about the early-morning schedule at the track the evening before. It hadn’t been easy to come up with things to talk to them about, even in the brief time she had spent taking their picture. Now she wished she had kept her mouth shut. She and her friends didn’t have time to deal with a love-struck Josh right now. They had to find Deborah.

  “That’s nice,” she said. “Um, I don’t want to keep you from enjoying the action. So I guess I’ll see you later.” She started to turn away.

  “Wait.” Josh put a hand on her arm to stop her. Even after she stopped, he left his hand there, squeezing her wrist gently. “I thought maybe you could watch with me for a little while. You know, tell me what’s going on and stuff.” He shrugged and grinned again. “I hardly know anything at all about horses. Maybe you can teach me.”

  Stevie and Lisa exchanged glances. Normally there was nothing Carole liked more than talking to people about horses. But this wasn’t the time for one of her hourlong lectures.

  “Sorry, Josh,” Stevie said. “I’m sure Carole would love to help you out, but I’m afraid we’ve got to drag her away.” She did her best to look apologetic. “She has a lot of work to do.

  She’s taking care of the favorite for one of today’s races.” Noticing that Josh’s father had turned and was taping them now, she added an elaborate shrug. “And unfortunately, work comes first.”

  “One of the favorites?” Josh said, looking impressed. “Wow! That’s really cool. What’s his name? I’ll tell my dad to bet on him.”

  “It’s a filly—um, a girl horse,” Lisa said. “Her name is Cookie Cutter—Uh-oh.”