Camp Club Girls Get a Clue!

by Renae Brumbaugh

  “I don’t get it,” Bailey remarked. “She couldn’t have disappeared into thin air.”

  McKenzie sat in the saddle. “The only other opening into the pasture is next to the stable,” she told Bailey. “Surely Diamond Girl didn’t leave that way. Surely a thief couldn’t just walk out the front gate with her without anyone seeing them.”

  “This just doesn’t make sense!” Bailey said.

  McKenzie wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. “These horses need a drink. Let’s head to the stream, and then we’ll head back. I’m hot.”

  The girls rode slower now that the late afternoon sun was beating down on them. At the top of the rise, McKenzie stopped and gazed at the stream below them. After leading the horses to the creek bank, the girls dismounted to let them drink. McKenzie pulled off her boots and socks. She rolled up her jeans and waded into the stream, letting the cool water bubble around her ankles as it tumbled over rocks from high in the mountains.

  “Come on in,” McKenzie called to Bailey. “The water’s great.”

  As the horses drank, the girls splashed in the foaming water. Within minutes they were laughing and playfully shoving each other.

  “We’d better head back,” McKenzie said through her laughter. “Emma will wonder what happened to us.”

  Bailey walked up the bank, with water streaming down her legs. Her black hair was plastered to her head. Water trickled down her face onto her red tank top. Little globs of mud stuck to her like an explosion in a chocolate bar factory.

  “You look like a river rat,” McKenzie teased as she wiped her face with her T-shirt hem.

  Bailey stuck her tongue out at her friend. “I can’t look as bad as you, can I?” she kidded McKenzie.

  “All right. That does it. You’re getting dunked.” McKenzie laughed as she lunged toward the younger girl, grabbing her arm.

  Bailey twisted out of her grasp and fell into the shallow creek. Even with Bailey on her knees, the water only reached the tops of her thighs. “Hey, look what I found,” she said as she reached into the water. “An old horseshoe.”

  With water dripping from her elbows, she stood and handed it to McKenzie, who examined it.

  “Bailey,” McKenzie said as she scrutinized the horseshoe. “You’re a genius! This isn’t any old horseshoe. It’s Diamond Girl’s!”

  A Wild Ride!

  “How do you know the horseshoe is Diamond Girl’s?” Bailey asked as the girls walked up the grassy bank.

  “Emma had custom horseshoes made for her. See the little diamond shapes on the arch.” McKenzie traced her finger along the engravings. “But I guess it really doesn’t mean anything. It just means she came down here to drink, and all the horses do that.”

  “I think we should consider this a clue,” Bailey said. “Detectives should take every piece of evidence very seriously. She had to lose the shoe yesterday before she disappeared or someone would have noticed, right? We just need to figure out where she went from here.”

  “You’ve got a good point. Maybe she wandered out through a hole in the fence.” McKenzie surveyed the barbed wire fence stretched across the shallow part of the creek, looking for a broken wire. But every wire was secured tightly.

  “What about tracks?” Bailey asked. “Wouldn’t it be easy to track a horse with one missing shoe?”

  McKenzie looked up with a grin. “Great idea, Bailey.”

  Both girls returned to the creek’s edge, looking for tracks in the dirt.

  “You mean, not so great,” Bailey grumbled after a few minutes. “All the hoof prints around here have been washed away from our splashing.”

  McKenzie continued to look, searching for tracks farther up the creek. All the tracks seemed to come from horses with all four shoes in place. She sighed hopelessly. “I feel like we’ve overlooked a clue, but I don’t know what else to do.”

  “Detectives take pictures of the crime scene to go over later. Maybe you could do that,” Bailey suggested. “Your cell phone takes pictures, doesn’t it?”

  “Brilliant!” McKenzie said as she pulled her phone from her jeans pocket. “I hope it didn’t get too wet.”

  She flipped open the phone. It seemed dry, so she quickly snapped pictures of the ground. She didn’t really know what she hoped to find, but maybe they would see a clue they had missed when they reviewed the pictures later.

  Applejack and Sahara had waded into the stream to cool off and waited patiently. After leading their horses up the bank, the girls slipped into their boots and headed for home. Though the sun was still hot, the breeze felt almost cool against their wet clothes.

  After arriving back at the stables, the girls removed the horses’ tack and led them to the corral and the watering trough.

  “Let’s find Derek or Emma and show them the horseshoe,” McKenzie suggested.

  They found Derek at the far end of the stables and showed him their find. They explained their theory to him.

  “It’s Diamond Girl’s all right,” Derek said. “I’m sure she went to the creek yesterday to drink, but that part of the creek has a lot of large rocks to catch a horse’s shoe. I really don’t think it’s a clue to her disappearance. I’m sorry, girls.”

  McKenzie’s face fell at Derek’s remark. She had convinced herself that the horseshoe was the first real lead they had found. Now she was beginning to think it didn’t mean a thing.

  As Derek left with a wheelbarrow full of old hay and manure, the girls headed through the stable.

  “I was hoping the horseshoe was a clue,” McKenzie said with a sigh.

  “Me, too,” Bailey said dismally. “But maybe we’ll find a real clue soon.”

  McKenzie suddenly stopped and peered into the nearest stall. “Let me show you one of Emma’s special horses. Her name is Krissy, and you’ll like her. But first I need to get Derek to help.”

  The girls stood to the side as the stable hands hauled wheelbarrows of hay to the stalls. Nightly feeding and grooming had already begun. McKenzie would quickly show Krissy to Bailey, and then they would need to help with chores.

  McKenzie hurried to the supply room and grabbed a handful of baby carrots from the fridge. She asked Derek to help with Krissy. Then she returned to Bailey’s side.

  McKenzie opened the stall door and stepped inside. An older black horse covered with white splotches lifted its head at the sound of the girls’ voices.

  Bailey gasped and flung her hands over her mouth while her dark eyes gleamed. After a few seconds she finally spoke, “An Appaloosa! This is my favorite breed of horse. I’ve always wanted one!”

  McKenzie laughed as she stepped to Krissy’s side and patted her back. “See the big white spots that look like snowflakes? They look like Christmas snow, so Emma named her Krissy, like Kris Kringle.”

  Bailey ran her hands through Krissy’s mane. The horse tipped her head toward Bailey and whinnied. Krissy obviously loved the attention. The horse stood still as Bailey stroked her spotted back.

  Soon Derek arrived carrying a stack of bright cardboard signs.

  “Are you ready for the good part?” McKenzie asked as she untied Krissy’s lead rope. “This horse is very talented.”

  McKenzie turned the horse around and held on to the rope. “We’re ready if you are,” she said to Derek.

  He held up three cards and looked at the horse. “Okay, Krissy. How many signs am I holding? Count for me,” Derek said.

  Bailey looked skeptically at McKenzie. Then she turned her gaze back to Krissy. The horse lifted her head and nodded one, two, three times. Bailey’s mouth fell open as she turned back to McKenzie.

  “Did that horse just count?” Bailey asked with surprise.

  “Yep, she sure did,” McKenzie assured her as she offered Krissy a carrot.

  “Do you want to try it?” Derek asked Bailey.

  “Sure,” Bailey said eagerly.

  Derek handed Bailey the stack of cards then grabbed a pitchfork and stepped into the next stall.


  Bailey held up four cards. “Okay, Krissy. How many cards am I holding?”

  The horse simply looked at Bailey, refusing to nod. Again, Bailey asked Krissy to count.

  This time the words “one, two, three, four” came out of Krissy’s mouth. Bailey jumped back, dropping the signs. For a minute she stood speechless, staring at the horse.

  Finally McKenzie could control herself no longer. She burst out laughing and cried, “Derek, that’s a mean trick to play on your new friend.”

  Derek’s head popped over the top of the stall, and his laughter filled the stable. “Haven’t you ever seen a talking horse before?” he said, though his mouth didn’t move.

  Bailey stared at him for a minute then grabbed a handful of straw and threw it at him, laughing. “Are you a ventriloquist?”

  He dodged the straw and turned back to Bailey. Again, his mouth didn’t move as he spoke, “Only when I need to be.”

  “Wow, you are really good,” Bailey exclaimed. “How do you do it? And how did you get the horse to count by nodding her head?”

  Derek continued to scoop hay and manure. “I’ve been practicing ever since I was a kid. I performed in a few talent shows when I was younger. As for teaching Krissy to count, that’s my little secret.” He turned to McKenzie and winked.

  Though McKenzie had tried to get Derek to tell her the secret, he wouldn’t let her in on it. McKenzie turned to Krissy and secured her lead rope. After grabbing a brush from the ledge, she began stroking the horse’s back. “I wish you could talk, Krissy. Then maybe you could tell us what happened to Diamond Girl.”

  No one answered for a few seconds. Derek leaned on his pitchfork and took off his cowboy hat. He pulled a bandana from his back jeans pocket and wiped the sweat from his face. “I know you girls are worried about that horse. But there’s really not much anybody can do.”

  McKenzie grew worried at his words. Did he think no one would ever find Diamond Girl? Surely he didn’t really believe that.

  Bailey seemed to read McKenzie’s mind. “Can’t the sheriff find her?” The younger girl pulled a tube of watermelon lip balm from her pocket and ran it across her lips.

  “He’s called all the auction companies in the area, but no thief would try to sell a prize horse like Diamond Girl around here. She would be easily recognized. But some thieves know how to disguise a horse, so she could be sold anywhere. No one would ever find her.” Derek shook his head dismally.

  McKenzie stared at Derek. Surely God wouldn’t let Diamond Girl just disappear off the face of the earth. They just had to find her, and she would keep trying until they did.

  McKenzie wanted to tell Derek and Bailey not to give up hope, but as soon as she opened her mouth, a figure at the end of the stables caught her eye. She turned as a woman approached them.

  McKenzie recognized Maggie Preston—the neighbor Emma had been on the phone with the night before. She owned Cedar Creek Ranch, which was next to Sunshine Stables. McKenzie wondered how long Maggie had been standing there. Had the woman been listening to their conversation?

  “Derek, I’m surprised to see you’re still around here. I thought you’d be gone by now.” The woman flicked a piece of straw off her red T-shirt. “Is Emma around? I need to talk to her.”

  Derek pushed the wheelbarrow to the next stall. “She ran into town to pick up a load of feed. Can I do anything for you?”

  Maggie handed Derek a flyer. “Would you mind posting this somewhere so your riders can see it? I’m offering calfroping sessions for teams who want to practice for the rodeo, and I only have two time slots left.”

  Derek took the flyer and looked it over as Maggie continued. “I mainly wanted to ask her about Diamond Girl, though. I’m so worried that something awful might have happened to her. I came by to tell her I’ll do anything I can to help. If she doesn’t feel up to taking on all those kids this week, she can feel free to send them my way. After all, Emma owes me.”

  Without another word, she turned and marched out of the stable. Derek shook his head as he watched her leave.

  “Why was she surprised to see you here, Derek? Are you leaving Sunshine Stables?” McKenzie asked.

  “No. I’m not leaving. Not yet, anyway. But I would like to start my own stable someday, and I need to save a lot of money before I can do that,” Derek said as he stepped back into a stall.

  McKenzie hoped Derek wouldn’t leave. She’d had so much fun since he had come to Sunshine Stables.

  “What did she mean by saying Emma owes her?” McKenzie grabbed another pitchfork and began scooping old hay and manure from another stall.

  “Several of Maggie’s riding students dropped out and are going to Emma’s Kids’ Camp instead. I guess she’s a little upset about that,” Derek said.

  McKenzie couldn’t believe anyone could be angry with Emma. She was such a sweet person. McKenzie had often thought that if she had an older sister, she would want her to be like Emma. Could Maggie really be upset because she had lost a couple of her young riders to Kids’ Camp? It was just a one-week program. McKenzie wondered if something else was bothering the woman. Could Maggie know something about Diamond Girl?

  “Well, Emma would never take Maggie’s riders on purpose.” Bailey folded her arms across her chest as she defended her instructor.

  Derek nodded. The three raked old hay out of the stalls in silence. After they had filled several wheelbarrows, Derek stood up and stretched.

  “Emma wanted that lean-to off the barn cleaned today,” he said. “Some old machinery is in there, but everything else can be thrown on the trailer to be hauled off. It shouldn’t take long. Would you girls do that?”

  “Sure,” McKenzie agreed. She loved messing around in the hayloft of that old red barn. Emma’s cat, Cheetah, often had a litter of kittens up there. Working in the barn sounded good.

  On their way out of the stable, McKenzie stopped in the supply room for a pair of binoculars. From the hayloft in the barn, a person could see the countryside for miles. She thought Bailey might enjoy the view.

  McKenzie led Bailey through a gate leading to the back of the barn. She swung the door open and stepped inside, breathing the musty smell of old hay. Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the walls.

  The barn was a large, tall building supported by heavy wooden beams. The hayloft stretched across one end of the barn and was piled with hay bales. An old, wooden ladder stood at one side reaching to the floor of the loft.

  McKenzie hung the binoculars around her neck by the leather strap and tugged on Bailey’s arm. “Do you want to go up?” McKenzie asked as she headed toward the ladder.

  Bailey stood at the foot of the ladder and peered up, frown-

  ing. “Oooh, I don’t know about this,” she said in a trembling voice. “It’s awful high up.”

  “Oh, you’ll love it once you get up there,” McKenzie said,

  stepping onto the first rung. “I’ll go first.”

  McKenzie continued climbing until she stepped onto the loft. She knelt and peered down over the edge. “Come on. It’s really neat up here.”

  Bailey wrinkled her brow as she stared at McKenzie. “I don’t like high places. I don’t think I can do it.”

  “Sure you can. Step on the first rung and take it one step at a time, but don’t look down. You’ll do fine.” McKenzie held out her arm toward Bailey.

  Taking a deep breath, Bailey stepped on the ladder.

  Climbing slowly, she finally reached the loft as McKenzie clutched her arm.

  Bailey glanced around at the bales. “Wow, this really is cool,” she said, brushing the dust from her hands.

  “Come to this window.” McKenzie scampered to a pile of bales and climbed almost to the top of the barn. She turned and leaned out the open window as the breeze brushed her cheeks.

  She could almost reach out and grab a branch in the treetop.

  Bailey’s hands trembled as she held the binoculars to her eyes. She gasped. “Hey, I can see the old windm
ill turning at

  Old Towne and the barber shop and…I see someone in the woods behind Old Towne.”

  McKenzie grasped the binoculars and peered into the distance. “I see it, too,” she said as a flash of red moved slowly through the trees. But whoever it was disappeared quickly into the timber.

  Bailey wrinkled up her nose and sneezed. “Ooh, it’s dusty in here,” she said as she covered her nose with her hand.

  McKenzie knew that because of Bailey’s asthma, sometimes hay and dust bothered her. “Why don’t you go outside? I’ll start carrying out those boxes.”

  Bailey frowned. “I have my inhaler. I can help.”

  McKenzie didn’t want to take the risk of her friend having an asthma attack. “I’ll do it,” she assured Bailey. “But see those two horses near the fence. Bring the brown mare, Molly, in here through that other gate. Grab a brush and give her a rubdown, and she’ll love you forever.”

  The girls climbed down the ladder and headed outside,

  Bailey to get Molly and McKenzie to the lean-to.

  As McKenzie’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw the shapes of old machinery at one end. Boxes and cans littered the other end. She grabbed a box filled with old leather straps and tack and loaded it onto the trailer parked outside the door.

  She carried box after box, and as she was finishing, something furry rubbed against her leg. She shrieked and jumped back.

  After glancing nervously at her feet, she chuckled. “Cheetah, you scared me half to death.” McKenzie bent over to pet the cat’s soft fur.

  As she stood up, she noticed several crates behind an old wooden horse cart. The crates were crammed into the corner, so she would have to move the cart to get to them. McKenzie grabbed the cart and rolled it outside.

  “This is a great horse, McKenzie,” Bailey called out as she brushed the mare’s back. “She’s as gentle as a bunny.”

  “I thought you’d like her. Her eyesight is going bad, but she can still run,” McKenzie said as she headed back for the crates. They were heavier than they looked, so she rearranged the contents before she could lift them. She looked up as a shadow filled the doorway.