Mystery at Saddle Creek

by Shelley Peterson

  Hannah inhaled deeply. “We never saw each other after that, but I always listened for news of him. He was a star in high school. Lots of sports teams and clubs. The girls loved him, and it seemed like he was a popular guy. He went off to university in Toronto and got his Bachelor of Arts.”

  Bird pictured the wild man, and tried to connect him to the person her aunt was describing. Could they really be the same? And was this why he was hanging around Saddle Creek? Was he looking for his family? It made sense. But if so, why now? It was odd that he’d turned up at exactly the same time as Sandra Hall’s murder. Could he have done it?

  Hannah went on. “It was after university that things started unravelling for Tanbark. He had some kind of mental breakdown when he was in his early twenties. His mother tried to get help for him, but he refused to see that there was anything wrong. He couldn’t get a job. He borrowed money. He slept on people’s couches and ate their food. He always said he was looking for work, but he never did. It didn’t take long before he’d used up all his friendships. But Alison never gave up on him. She kept trying to get him some help, some guidance, but he ran away. That broke her heart. There were stories about him—sightings. Begging on the street in Toronto. Squeegee kid stuff. As far as I know, no one has heard from him, or about him, for years.” Hannah shook her head in wonder. “Imagine him showing up here.”

  Bird wrote: Why did it happen? She still couldn’t fit the person Hannah had described with the man who’d been scaring them.

  Hannah raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “Some people say it’s genetic, that it runs in the family. Some people say it’s a chemical reaction to drugs or something. The answer is that there’s no clear answer.”

  Bird knew she’d have to settle for this, at least for now. We’d better tell the police.

  Hannah nodded. “I’ve already called. They’re on their way now. I gave them Alison Wedger’s name, too. I didn’t say anything about my father, since he’s never owned up to it. He’s got enough on his plate, anyway, with his insurance fraud case coming up.” Hannah straightened her back and stretched. “The police want to know all about your adventures, too, Bird. I told them about the scratch on the car. That was very helpful. It’s been impounded. They’re going over it with a fine-toothed comb at the police station as we speak.”

  Bird wrote, Is he OK?

  Hannah nodded. “The police put a guard at his door.”

  Bird let out her breath in a long sigh. What a relief! Tanbark was so helpless in his present state. What did the man do 2 him? she scribbled.

  “I was going to ask you. The police will only say he harmed him.”

  Bird nodded. He’d sure shaken him hard. She wondered if his plan was to smother him with a pillow, or pull out the intravenous lines. Either way, it made her sick.

  Hannah stretched her arms again and yawned. “I called my father this morning. Your grandfather. He should at least know. I left a message. I don’t really expect an answer.” Hannah stood up and ran her fingers nervously through her hair. Bird knew that gesture, and how often it was connected to her grandfather.

  Bird thought about the summer before, and how her grandfather, Kenneth Bradley, had tried to sell Sundancer out from under them. The resulting charges against him included insurance fraud, misleading the police and conspiring to thwart justice. But to Bird’s mind, the most serious problem with her grandfather could be summed up in a few words: she couldn’t trust him.

  “Enough of this,” Hannah said, suddenly all business. Bird was used to her aunt’s sudden shifts away from the subject of Kenneth Bradley. “We’ve got three others coming with us to the show tomorrow. Liz and Julia will be in the low pony jumper, and Kimberly is doing the metre jumper with Pastor. He’s going well for her, now that she’s decided she likes him.”

  Bird was looking forward to seeing Kimberly again.At school, Kimberly was one of Bird’s best friends. Spunky, funny and very kind-hearted, Kimberly understood Bird better than almost any other human. Their common love of horses was another bond they shared.

  “We’ll get you up on Sundancer after the police are gone,” Hannah continued. “You haven’t had much time in the saddle lately.”

  Bird felt butterflies in her stomach. She didn’t feel at all prepared. She was going to make a fool of herself tomorrow, she just knew it!

  Bird didn’t have long to fret. After just a few moments, the police cruiser arrived and stopped in front of the house. The same two officers who’d come the night of the town meeting got out of the car and walked up to the front door. Hannah was there to meet them.

  “Please come in,” she said. “It’s Officer Polito and Officer Richardson, if I remember correctly.”

  Officer Richardson nodded and smiled. “Good memory, Miss Bradley.”

  “Please call me Hannah. And come on in. Coffee?”

  Officer Polito took off his hat. “That would be nice, thank you. Milk and double sugar. Officer Richardson here takes milk.”

  They got settled in the kitchen, coffee, cookies and notepads at the ready. Bird watched them and wondered if she was in trouble.

  Officer Polito spoke first. “Let me review things, if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” said Hannah.

  “You left a message telling us that Bird found a note in your mailbox at two in the morning. She overheard a one-sided conversation that led her to believe that the man who’d helped her save the horses in the barn fire — a man we now know is Tanbark Wedger — was in danger. She rode her bike to the Orangeville hospital and noticed a car that might have been involved in a hit and run. She also was present when a person was in the process of injuring the patient.”

  Officer Polito lifted his head from his notes and stared at Bird. “What possessed you to ride your bike to the hospital in the middle of the night?”

  Bird could only stare back.

  “Bird was trying to help.” Hannah came to her defence. “And her throat was scorched in the barn fire, officer. She can’t talk.”

  Officer Polito spoke louder, “Why didn’t you contact the police?”

  Bird was used to people doing that, as if speaking louder would somehow help her understand. She shrugged and picked up a pen and pad. It seemed like the right thing 2 do at the time.

  He was not pleased. “It was not the right thing to do. You should have walked back into your house and picked up the phone. Period.”

  Bird noted how quickly he’d forgotten that she could not speak.

  Officer Richardson spoke. “Officer Polito is quite correct. But you sure are a brave young woman.” She caught her partner’s glare. “You really should have alerted us, though. You could have been hurt.”

  The police had many questions, all of which Bird tried to answer honestly and fully. They wanted descriptions and details and exact recall. Although she listened carefully to their questions, she could not figure out where they were going with the investigation or how all the pieces were connecting. It was still a big mystery.

  When the officers were finished, Bird had some questions of her own. She looked at Officer Richardson, who seemed to be the more reasonable of the two. Is the man I saw in the hospital in jail?

  “He’s in custody. We’re questioning him now.”

  What’s his name?

  “We can’t release his name.”

  Why’s he leaving those notes?

  “We can’t confirm who’s leaving the notes,” the policewoman answered. “We’re still trying to find out who’s doing that, and why.”

  Why did he hit Phil with his car?

  Officer Polito interjected. “We don’t know that he did, and we’re not at liberty to discuss the case.”

  Why was he hurting Tanbark?

  “I was clear before,” said Officer Polito. “We can’t discuss the case.”

  Was the barn fire 2 hurt Pierre, or only scare him?

  Officer Polito was getting impatient, but Officer Richardson smiled kindly at Bird. “Your q
uestions are all good, but I’m afraid we don’t know the answers. Yet. We’ll get them, though.”

  Bird knew there was no point in asking anything more, even though questions kept popping into her head.

  Officer Richardson turned to Hannah. “Can we talk about Tanbark Wedger for a moment?”

  “Of course.”

  Bird relaxed. It was Hannah’s turn to be questioned.

  “You recognized him from the picture in the paper?”

  “Yes.”

  “And contacted us this morning with his name?”

  “Yes. I called you as soon as I opened the paper.”

  “We’ve been able to locate and speak to his mother. She has positively identified him, and is with him now.”

  “That’s good.” Hannah was pleased, and turned to Bird and smiled. Bird felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She realized how much she wanted Tanbark to be okay.

  Hannah turned back to the officers. “How is he?”

  “Better than yesterday,” Officer Polito answered. “Tell us, how do you know him?”

  Hannah hesitated. Bird guessed that she wasn’t sure how to answer.

  “Let me put it this way,” he said. “Is he, to your knowledge, related to you in any way? Before you answer, let me advise you that Miss Wedger has already spoken to us.”

  Hannah looked at her hands. “It is my suspicion that my father is Tanbark’s father as well. Please understand, my father has never confirmed this, and will probably deny it.”

  Officer Polito wrote in his notebook. “And, just to confirm, your father’s name is Kenneth Bradley.”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you know that Tanbark was in the neighbourhood?”

  Hannah shook her head. “No.”

  “Did you identify him as ‘the wild man’?”

  “Yes. We referred to him as ‘the wild man,’ but I never knew that the wild man was Tanbark. He stayed well away from us, and ran whenever anybody was around. I never got a good look at him. I’ll admit, I wondered, though. Something nagged at me about him, and then this morning the penny dropped.”

  “Do you know Tanbark well?” Officer Polito asked.

  “Not at all. I met him once when he was about fifteen years old, and haven’t seen him since.”

  “And yet you were able to identify him correctly from the photo?”

  Hannah nodded. “Yes. There’s a clear family resemblance.”

  “Is there anything more you can tell us about him?”

  “Only that I’ve heard he has mental health issues.”

  The meeting wrapped up quickly after that, and the officers rose to leave. After the cruiser disappeared down the driveway, Hannah turned to Bird. “You did very well, honey. I’m proud of you.”

  Bird nodded her thanks,but she couldn’t quite return Hannah’s smile. The police were no closer to stopping this nonsense than they were before. Everything was a complete mess — a murder, a new relative and a horse show for which she was completely unprepared. Not to mention the fact that she couldn’t speak. When would things get back to normal?

  Reading Bird’s look, Hannah put a hand on her niece’s head. “Cheer up, sweetie. Put this all out of your mind for now. We’ve got a show tomorrow. Go get your clothes organized in case we need to clean them or sew on a button.”

  14

  NOT ENOUGH PRACTICE

  Tan was healing. He knew it—he could feel it. He willed every cell to heal itself, and it was working. This was his full-time job right now. Perhaps when he wrote his book he would instruct people how to do it. He would make a fortune.

  HEEDING HANNAH’S INSTRUCTIONS, Bird went upstairs and rummaged around for her show clothes. Her helmet still fit, but her boots were too tight to pull on, and she could barely squeeze into her pants, jacket and shirt. Just another thing that was all messed up. She had no time to practice, let alone go shopping! Maybe she should just cancel.

  Dressed in her too-small riding clothes, and carrying her boots, Bird found her aunt in the kitchen.

  Hannah burst out laughing at the sight. “You’ve been busy growing this year.”

  Bird frowned. It wasn’t funny.

  “Well, as it happens, I saw this coming. Last week as I was passing Bahr’s I noticed a huge sign in their window and stopped in for their big sale. Want to see what I bought?”

  Bird watched as Hannah opened the broom closet and reached for a large bag. She pulled out a soft blue, short-sleeved riding shirt with matching rat-catcher collar, then a pair of beige breeches and a well-cut navy coat.

  “Try them on! I’ve been dying to show you. I might have bought them a little roomy, but you’ve got more growing to do.”

  Quickly, Bird slipped out of her old clothes and donned the new. They smelled like the saddle shop and felt just perfect. Bird hugged Hannah tightly and tried not to cry. She wanted to thank her, but her voice wasn’t working. Bird ran to the phone where the pad and pens were, and scribbled THANK YOU!!! as large as she could.

  “You’re very welcome. They look great on you, and were a really good price.” Hannah was obviously pleased. “I love a good sale.”

  Bird didn’t want to be greedy or ungrateful, but there was still the problem of the boots. She looked at them, and tried to figure out how to raise the issue.

  Hannah saw her look, and beat her to it. She went back to the broom closet. “Try these on. I think they’ll be fine.” She handed her a used, but polished, pair of tall black riding boots.

  Bird pulled them on over her breeches. They fit just right! Bird looked at Hannah in astonishment.

  “They belong to Abby. Before she left for New York she dropped them off. For you. She said they’re good luck.”

  This was too much! Bird dissolved into tears. Abby had lent her these same boots long ago, the first time she’d shown Sunny. Then, they’d been too big for her, but now they fit. Abby Malone, who’d encouraged her and been her mentor and her hero, had actually taken the time to deliver these boots to Hannah. For her.

  Hannah hugged her again. “There are a lot of people out there cheering for you, Bird. The Piersons called this morning while you were sleeping. They’re coming tomorrow, too.”

  Bird was overcome. The Piersons had helped her so much the previous year, when Sundancer’s future was in jeopardy. What if she made a mess at the show? Her stomach flipped and she plopped down in a chair. She didn’t want to disappoint anyone — not Hannah or Abby or the Piersons—but it seemed inevitable that she would. She was so unready!

  “Come on, Bird,” said Hannah. “It’ll be fine. Take these new clothes off and let’s go to work.”

  The steel in Hannah’s voice worked wonders. Bird ran upstairs to change into her old things. She folded her new clothes neatly and placed them on top of her dresser, then reached for Abby’s boots. She was about to put them safely away in her closet until the show, but then reconsidered. That her saddle and boots felt familiar was an essential part of her confidence heading into a show. Abby had lent her these boots, and Bird wanted to make her proud. She would practice in them.

  Hannah and Bird set up a low course in the front paddock, with an in-and-out, an oxer, a water jump and the hedge. Hannah readied another standard to add to the in-and-out to make it a triple. They were ready. There was only one problem. No horse.

  Sunny, where are you?

  Hiding in the apple trees.

  Come on! We have to practice for tomorrow. It’s the show!

  Show, schmoe. I don’t feel like it.

  Sunny, you’re the one who wanted to do this, remember? To win? You carried the wild man up the Escarpment for this!

  I changed my mind.

  Why?

  I just did. I don’t have to give you a reason.

  Yes, you do. You owe me that.

  Why?

  You just do.

  Very mature, Bird.

  Yeah. You’re mature, too.

  “Where is that horse? He was here a minute ago, grazing right there
beside the fence with Charlie.”

  Bird shrugged abruptly. She was mad. She wanted to chase him down and beat him up, prove who was boss — even knowing how counterproductive that would be. Even if she did catch him, in his present mood he’d be unrideable. She wanted to scream.

  “What’s wrong, Bird?” asked Hannah. “You look upset.”

  Upset? thought Bird. Upset? They desperately needed to practice, and the wretched horse was deliberately hiding from her and ruining everything! Bird had thought they were past all this nonsense. She resisted the urge to stomp off toward the farmhouse. She needed to think. She had a bigger brain, so she should be smarter. Think! The beginnings of a smile crept across her mouth.

  Bird climbed the fence. Do you want to jump a little, Charlie horse?

  Sure, Bird.

  Let’s get you tacked up.

  “Bird?” questioned Hannah,looking at her watch. “What are you doing? We don’t have time to work two horses. I have some beginners coming in half an hour.”

  Bird shrugged. She had something to prove to Sunny. Charlie came to the fence and Bird hopped up on him bareback. She trotted him up to the barn and saddled him. Within five minutes they were ready to jump.

  Sundancer had come out of hiding. He glared at them over the fence. Why are you wasting your time with Charlie? he asked.

  I’m not wasting my time. I’m going to the show tomorrow, with or without you.

  Bird and Charlie picked up a nice easy canter and jumped around the course. Charlie was an old pro and caught his leads without effort. He brought his front knees up together and carefully tucked his hind legs over each jump. His tempo never varied.

  “Wonderful, Bird!” shouted Hannah. “I haven’t seen Charlie jump this well in years. Let me raise the jumps and then I want you to go again.” Hannah paused. “Why don’t we take Charlie to the show tomorrow? Kimberly can ride him. Up in the barn just now, Cliff told me that Pastor’s got an abscess in his hoof and is dead lame.”

  I’m going to the show? asked Charlie.

  If Hannah says so, then you’re going. You did that great, Charlie!