A Dream Come True

by Olivia Tuffin

  Ugh, Alice thought. She bet the girl wouldn’t have approached Nick if she knew what he’d been like with Leah earlier. Then Alice remembered that only a couple of days ago she herself had been green with envy over Leah’s gorgeous rugs and coats and sponsorship too.

  Catching Leah’s eye, Alice gave a small wave and Leah gestured for Alice to join her. Seizing the opportunity, Alice sneaked in round the side to say hello.

  “All OK?”

  Leah rolled her eyes. “Seems I’m not too popular right now,” she said in a low voice. “Nick agreed we can withdraw Kite but he cancelled the meet and greet. Only he didn’t tell me, so it’s all a bit awkward.”

  “Oh,” Alice said. “But that’s good he agreed you can withdraw, if you’re sure?”

  Leah nodded. “One hundred per cent,” she said. “I know Kite wouldn’t have coped with the atmosphere. He wouldn’t have performed well. He needs to mature a bit more. And Nick was actually OK about it in the end, so that’s good. He’s arranged for a lorry to come and get him. I can go home with him tomorrow.”

  Alice smiled. She thought fondly of her own little gelding tucked up safely in his stable, who’d never minded an overnight stay away and who loved an audience. In fact, the bigger the crowd, the better the performance!

  “But even though I’m sad not to be jumping now,” Leah continued, “it’s been a nice week. Thanks so much,” she said a little awkwardly. “For inviting me riding, and hanging out and stuff.” She smiled. “Sorry I was so spiky when we met.”

  “It’s fine,” Alice said. “Really. It’s been good to have someone to hang out with.” She thought of Finn, who was so busy with the Rebel Riders, now doing some sort of promo thing for the camera crews. Their lives were so different these days, so it was good to have a new friend by her side.

  “Leah, this is Finn,” she said, as Finn rode up on Horatio a bit later. In his blue jacket and with his black hair tousled, Alice couldn’t stop her tummy flipping over. She’d noticed that Finn was attracting quite a bit of attention, and earlier in the week had even signed some autographs for girls who grinned up at him, tossing their hair over shoulders, practically elbowing Alice out of the way!

  Leah and Finn shook hands politely, before Finn headed off to get ready for his entrance with the Rebel Riders.

  Leah turned to Alice, a glint in her eye. “Um, hello?!” she said. “He’s pretty gorgeous, isn’t he? Is he your boyfriend?”

  Alice blushed and told Leah about how she and Finn had become close. It was actually really nice to have Leah to chat to. She’d never told anyone at school about Finn, and it could be a bit awkward at pony club with Angus working there!

  Then they watched the display together, clapping and cheering throughout.

  “OK, my week has got even better now,” Leah grinned as the Rebel Riders galloped off to thunderous applause. “That’s seriously cool!”

  Later on Alice went to get a hot chocolate for herself, Finn and Leah, and found herself standing behind Nick and another man in the queue at one of the coffee stands. Nick’s earlier charm from the trade stand was gone, replaced with a cold tone as he talked to the man next to him.

  “Is the trade lorry still leaving Golden Fields?” he said, his voice soft but somehow menacing.

  The man nodded. “As discussed, boss. Two containers. They’ve already been dropped off.”

  “Well, tell them to wait,” Nick continued. “I want to add another container. Something last minute, you get what I mean?”

  “Sure,” the man replied. “I can get one of the boys on it if you give me the pick-up location. Is it a Talisman scenari—”

  But he was interrupted as a woman glided up, a member’s badge dangling from her expensive-looking handbag.

  “Nick!” she cried. “Great to see you.” And in an instant, the smooth grin was back on Nick’s face as he air-kissed the woman on both cheeks, proclaiming loudly how wonderful it was to see her and how great she looked.

  Alice paid for her hot chocolates, frowning as she watched Nick and his associate leave with the lady. She knew Hadley distributed high-end horse feed all over Europe, but what was the reference to Talisman? She thought of Kite, going home tomorrow, and hoped Leah would be OK.

  Then she shook herself, remembering Finn’s words. She was jumping on Sunday and then she and Leah would go back to their own lives and their paths wouldn’t cross again. She just had to focus on herself and Secret!

  During the interval, Alice had an urge to go and see her pony rather than watch the second half of the show. It had been a long day and she just wanted to have a few moments with Secret in his stable. She had plenty of time to get back to Olympia afterwards to meet her mum. She told Leah her plan, who smiled.

  “Good idea,” she said. “Can I come with you?”

  Alice nodded happily and then texted her mum, who replied quickly.

  No problem, the message read. As long as you’re with your friend. Just about to go into the restaurant now, love you!

  And Alice smiled, glad her mum was having a rare night off.

  The two girls chatted companionably as they made the short journey by bus, hopping off outside the stables.

  Kite popped his handsome conker head over his door, uttering a low, rumbly whinny as he caught sight of Leah.

  “Hello, boy,” Leah said softly, and Alice smiled. The affection between the pair was only too obvious. She was glad she’d been able to help in a small way, swapping stables to help the nervy gelding relax.

  Secret was probably flat out, snoozing in his shavings bed, Alice thought fondly as she approached his stable. But then she felt a wave of confusion as she noticed that although the stable door remained closed, the special clip she’d brought from home to stop Secret escaping was lying discarded on the cobbles. Surely Secret hadn’t learned how to get that off?

  “Secret?” she said, awaiting the familiar whicker and sounds of hooves on concrete as he scrabbled up to see her, flecked with shavings. “What have you been up to?”

  But then she neared the stable and her heart stopped.

  Secret was gone.

  For a moment time stood still as the rational part of Alice’s brain tried to reason with her thudding heart. Looking again, she scanned every part of the stable, desperately hoping her eyes were playing tricks and Secret had tucked himself into a corner. Then she took a deep breath. It was Secret! Of course, he would have just got out and would be making friends somewhere in another part of the yard. She tried to ignore the fact that his stable door had been bolted neatly behind him.

  “Leah?” she called, her voice higher than normal. “It’s Secret. He’s not here!”

  Looking confused, Leah gave Kite a pat and came to join her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think he’s got out,” Alice said, trying to quell the rising panic that told her it was more than that. “You look left, I’ll look right.”

  Racing around the yard, peering down every walkway and behind every block of stables, the panic started to rise further, blocking her throat and crushing her chest as horses blinked sleepily at Alice, disturbed by her running. Then she looked up as a man came through the gates, whistling a cheery tune that seemed quite at odds with the fear she felt.

  “Hello,” the man smiled. “I’m Gareth. I help Clare from time to time when she’s away. You must be Alice and Leah, am I right?”

  Then he frowned, noticing Alice’s white face. Alice was trying to stop a sob escaping. What if Secret was out on the roads? But the stable door had been bolted. She knew that he hadn’t escaped. Something else was going on.

  “My pony, Secret.” Her voice came out in ragged gasps. “He’s been taken!”

  Gareth looked confused. “No,” he said. “Secret’s still here. Only one pony has gone tonight. I signed him out. Kite B?”

  Alice and Leah stared at each other, desperately trying to work out what was going on.

  “Kite’s still here,” Leah said in a tre
mbling voice.

  Gareth started to look worried. “Hang on,” he said, as if trying to make sense of everything. “Clare asked me to come in and do the feeds while she was at Olympia. She said Kite’s owners were visiting, so when they took him out I assumed they’d already agreed that with Clare.”

  “He’s meant to be going home tomorrow,” Leah said. “With me. What’s going on?”

  Alice shook her head. “Kite’s owner, Nick, was at Olympia earlier this evening,” she said to Gareth. “What did the person look like?”

  Gareth frowned deeply. “He was tall with blond hair, drove a white horsebox,” he said. “He had all the paperwork … everything. He had a lanyard with his name on from Hadley Feeds. Nick.”

  Alice shook her head, feeling like she might be sick.

  “That’s not Nick,” she whispered. “And why have they taken my Secret?”

  Leah had grown even whiter, her hands trembling as she placed a hand on Alice’s arm.

  “Alice,” she said in a horrified voice. “That man was meant to take Kite, Nick must have sent him. And he’s taken the wrong pony!”

  The first person Alice called was her mum, but there was no answer and despite calling seven times, it went to voicemail.

  “Mum, call me!” Alice left a message in a shaky voice.

  With nothing to suggest where Secret had been taken, Alice and Leah caught the nearest taxi back to Olympia to see Finn.

  Barely able to sit still, her legs drumming up and down as she willed the cab to get to Olympia as fast as it could, Alice’s brain was in overdrive. She thought of the little red gelding boarding a strange lorry. He’d be looking around for her. Sometimes he stopped at the bottom of the ramp, just to sniff it, but what if that made whoever was loading him impatient and cross? What if they hit him, to move him up the ramp faster? He always got a mint when he was tied up, but no one would have given him one tonight. He’d be so confused, Alice thought, fear rising in her. She thought about the stable swap earlier in the day; sweet, trusting Secret, who’d saved the day and allowed Kite to settle a bit. And had unwittingly been placed right into the heart of danger.

  Then she frowned as she remembered The Talisman, and the mistake Nick had made about his fate when he was talking to the journalist … then the way the other man had mentioned him in the coffee queue. What was supposed to happen to Kite? Why had Nick arranged for him to be picked up earlier? And now, what would happen to Secret, taken by mistake? All Alice knew was that she had to find him, and fast!

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sniffing, and, looking over, Alice could see Leah crying.

  “I’m sorry,” was all she would say.

  “It’s not your fault.” Alice meant it. How was Leah to know?

  “Maybe not,” Leah said quietly. “But,” she looked up at Alice, “truthfully, I thought something was up. But Nick … Nick…” Her voice trailed off.

  “Nick what?” Alice said impatiently.

  “He told me to keep out of it, if I knew what was good for me.” Leah’s voice was barely a whisper, and an icy hand gripped Alice’s spine.

  “There were just things I noticed,” Leah continued, face downcast as Alice listened intently. “Like he arranged for a vetting to be done last week, but it wasn’t the vet I normally saw, and Nick told me not to mention it to anyone. He just said that the insurers had asked for another opinion.” She paused. “Remember when I said how scared I was about losing my ride on Kite?” Alice nodded. “I’d have done anything to keep him, but things have felt wrong recently. I should have insisted he be withdrawn much earlier. Then Secret would be safe. It’s all my fault.” And she started to cry.

  “Leah,” Alice said, almost fiercely. “You have to stay strong. I need your help finding my pony!”

  After quickly finding Finn, the friends set off in search of Nick.

  “It might just be an honest mistake,” reassured Finn. “He has to know what’s going on.”

  With Finn and Leah in hot pursuit Alice raced out into the trade-stand area, heading straight for the scarlet and gold stall. A girl in her early twenties was just packing up.

  “That’s Jen,” Leah said to Alice as they approached. “Nick’s assistant.”

  “Hey.” Jen gave a start as she saw Leah. “I thought you’d gone home already? Nick said he’d pulled you out of the competition because you no longer wanted to ride Kite. Everyone’s been talking about it…” Her voice trailed off as she looked at Leah’s face. “Is everything OK?”

  “Jen, do you know where Nick is?” Leah said urgently, obviously shocked by what Jen had said about her not wanting to ride Kite. More twisting of the truth, Alice thought.

  Jen looked genuinely confused. “What?” she said. “No I don’t, sorry. He said something about going out for dinner somewhere with some investors, but he left in a bit of a hurry.”

  “OK.” Alice took a deep breath. Her mind was whirring, sharpening things into focus. “Let’s think about why Nick would have taken Kite away early. Then maybe we can find Secret.”

  “Why don’t we just ring him?” Finn said, looking perplexed. “Surely it’s just a mix-up? Maybe the transporter just changed the time he was being taken home?”

  But Alice shook her head. “No,” she said. “That will only alert him to the fact we know something. I’m sure something dodgy is going on. I just don’t know what.”

  Just then Devon appeared by the stand.

  “Alice?” Devon’s normally smiley face was concerned as she placed a hand on Alice’s arm. “I heard something had happened with the Hadley Feeds pony.”

  Alice shook her head. “It was supposed to be Kite, but Secret was taken instead.”

  “But Kite is a completely different colour, isn’t he?” Devon frowned, and Alice nodded.

  “Whoever took him wasn’t Nick. The description didn’t fit,” she explained. “I’m guessing they were told to take the pony in stable two – and didn’t know what they were meant to be taking. Both ponies were in hoods… It was dark…”

  Seeing Devon again was making Alice’s head spin. She was sure that there was a connection between what had happened to The Talisman and what was planned for Kite. There were just too many similarities!

  “Devon.” She turned the older girl. “Do you remember who took The Talisman home from his last competition?”

  Devon frowned. “The same transporters who always took him everywhere,” she said. “A man called Charlie.”

  “Did you ever ask him for his version about what happened?” Alice pressed.

  Devon shook her head. “No,” she said. “I didn’t. Nick just shut me out. ‘He’s dead, that’s all you need to know,’ he told me.” She paused. “All I had was the mane cutting and the vet’s report on his injuries. Nick didn’t even tell me where he’d been cremated. Tally was just an asset to him, nothing more.”

  “Could we contact Charlie?” Alice asked, desperately clutching at straws.

  “I have a number,” Devon said, biting her lip. “But I don’t know if it still works. It’s been six years.”

  “Please try,” Alice pleaded. This could be their one lead.

  Nodding, Devon pulled out her phone and scrolled through it, before putting the phone hesitantly to her ear.

  Alice, Finn and Leah held their breath collectively as Devon spoke.

  “Charlie?” she said, her voice nervous. “It’s Devon Jenkins.” She gave a small smile, seeming to relax. “I know, it’s been too long. Thank you, yes, the horses are going great. Listen, this is going to sound strange but I wanted to ask you something … about what happened six years ago.”

  Alice paced up and down as Devon looked serious, nodding at various intervals as she listened. Alice just wanted to run, to run round the whole of the city until she found her beloved pony.

  “OK,” Devon finally said, her voice quiet. “Thanks so much, Charlie. I appreciate it.”

  Hanging up, she turned to Alice. The older girl’s eyes we
re filled with tears, but she had a quiet anger about her.

  “Charlie told me that he dropped Tally off at a pick-up point,” she said. “He was told Nick would take him on, with me, for some extra training at a jumping yard. Charlie told me Tally was fine, that he hadn’t suffered any injury with him, so it must have been when he was with Nick. But Nick said Tally had been injured in Charlie’s box. He never said anything about swapping horseboxes.” She put a hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. “I was just too upset, knowing he’d died. Why didn’t I ask more questions at the time?” she said, almost to herself.

  “Does Charlie remember anything about where he dropped him off?” Finn asked, and Devon frowned.

  “No,” she said. “Only that it was somewhere in south London. It was just some random drop-off point with a few stables, he said. But he does remember Nick having a white horsebox, and he thought it was odd because he’d always hired Charlie to take Tally to the shows. So why would he suddenly need a horsebox?”

  Alice and Leah exchanged glances. Gareth at the Hyde Park yard had mentioned a white horsebox. But that was all they had. Secret could be heading anywhere in the country. Groaning, she slumped back, before feeling Finn’s hand on her arm, steadying her.

  “Alice,” he said, and Alice tried to focus on her friend. He drew her close.

  “This is Secret. We’ll find him, we will.”

  But Alice could hear the worry in his voice. She had to believe his words. She wasn’t going to let herself think of the alternative. Not yet.

  The minutes were ticking by fast and Alice felt as if she was wading in treacle, unsure where to turn, her mind heavy with worry. What would Nick do when he realised he had the wrong pony? Alice shuddered, wishing she hadn’t thought about that.

  Then she sat up straight, thinking back to what Leah had said in the stables after they rode together. Kite was worth a huge amount of money; he was an incredibly valuable asset to Nick. But what if that was exactly how he viewed him? As no more than an asset, just as Devon had said he saw Talisman. Tally had been worth a similar amount. Leah said he barely looked at Kite, much less showed any sort of affection for him. Her thoughts were interrupted by Jen, who was walking over, clutching something.