Hide and Seek (8 page)

When the trail riders had left for the day and Shelby had finished making up the feeds, she continued with her investigation.

She wandered up the laneway between the stable blocks. There were lots of people around making a day of it as the weather had cleared and the trails were much drier.

Over near the jumping arena one family had set up a barbecue and were selling sausage sandwiches for a dollar a pop. Shelby could smell the frying onion and her mouth watered. She felt in her pockets but she didn't have any change.

She stopped at the stable rented by her friend Monica, who had a fine thoroughbred hack that she showed with some success. Monica was sitting on the step to her tack shed, cleaning her bridle. There was a pile of dirty rugs and saddle blankets near the gate. Shelby assumed that Monica was taking them home to wash.

'Good time for a clean out,' Shelby observed.

'Yep, every school holidays. Mum dreads it. She says I'm wrecking her washing machine.'

'Weird about Diablo going missing, eh? Wonder how he got out?' Shelby stole a glance at Monica.

Monica put down the bridle. 'Actually, I saw some-thing funny around then, but it wasn't to do with Diablo. I was going to tell Mrs E. Come on, I'll show you.'

Monica led Shelby down the laneway and into the broodmares' paddock. 'Now, where is she?' she muttered to herself. Having spotted the horse she was after, Monica led the big mare towards the gate to the back paddock – the one with the latch that Shelby had noticed before. Now it was tied closed with baling twine.

'That's the mare that Lindsey thought was Diablo,' Shelby said.

'You think?' Monica looked the mare up and down. 'Maybe in the dark. Can you untie that baling twine for me?'

Shelby did so and waited on the other side.

The big mare strode purposefully towards the gate. 'Be ready to catch her!' warned Monica.

The mare nosed at the latch, at the same time kicking the bottom of the gate. She flicked the latch with her lips. Soon she had the latch lifted, and simul-taneously her kicking of the gate made it ricochet forwards. She nudged the gate open with her nose and squeezed through.

Shelby caught hold of the mare's hood to prevent her from escaping any further.

'She's clever, isn't she?' said Monica, smiling. 'I've found her in here a few times. That's why I put the baling twine around it. All she does is stand on the other side wanting to be let back in again.'

'Have you seen any of the others come through?' Shelby asked.

'She can't do it from the other side,' Monica explained. 'The gate always swings back and relocks itself. It's weird, though, because I told Kim about it, and she said that she found her in the laneway between this paddock and Diablo's the other day. So she must be able to open that gate as well, but I've only ever seen her open this one.'

'What day was that?' Shelby asked.

'One afternoon last week. I can't remember.' Monica shrugged.

'Was it Good Friday?'

'It could have been. Yes, I think it was. Kim was helping Mrs Edel with the poo vac.'

Shelby remembered seeing Lindsey's mum drive through the breezeway on the quad bike while she had been talking to Mrs Crook.

'I'll tell Mrs Edel,' Shelby said. 'She should probably replace this latch.'

'Good idea. Although the baling twine seems to be working for now. They can only escape into the back paddock, so it's not a huge risk, and besides, none of the other horses seem to have mastered the trick.' Shelby nodded. She wondered if Diablo knew a trick like that – or maybe he had help.

That night Shelby updated the timeline on the blackboard.

'Friday 5 pm – Kim finds accomplice equine in alleyway.'

Afterwards, she lay in bed thinking it through. The mare must have opened the gate again later on Good Friday night, and opened both the electric and metal gates to Diablo's paddock, and then the two of them must have gone back into the mare's paddock, and down to the far gate. Then the mare opened the gate to the back paddock – the one with the latch that Shelby had seen that day – and somehow Diablo got through before the mare did. Then he headed over the broken fence and into the Gully, and miraculously, out of all the trails he could have chosen, he took the path to the far side and turned up at the property belonging to the circus people.

Shelby rolled over. That didn't make sense either! Only one of the gates was self-closing. How did they manage to lock the other three gates behind them – one of them electric? There was no churned-up grass in the alley, as you would expect if the two horses were galloping up and down in a storm. Why would the stallion leave all those mares to go into the back paddock? And then leave those horses to go into the Gully? Why didn't the others follow him? If the mare had opened the second gate into the alleyway twice on that night, then why hadn't she done it again since?

Shelby tossed over again. There was no way Diablo escaped on his own. She was equally convinced that the circus people weren't after the stallion specif-ically. Someone set Diablo free.

Who would do that? Why?

Shelby kicked back the covers and lay in the dark, watching the shadows play over the ceiling.

The gate mystery wasn't the only thing troubling her. Shelby had been so wrong about Lindsey not having much money. Now she had time in the quiet to think over the things Lindsey had said that day – her 'poor people' philosophy. It was so different from the beliefs and values that Shelby had grown up with. She had always been taught to respect people for who they were rather than how much they earned. Her parents had always showed compassion for people who were worse off.

Shelby remembered once a woman had approached her mother in the shopping centre. She had wild eyes and smelt of old sweat and cigarettes. She had several facial piercings and Shelby couldn't help staring. The woman said she had lost her wallet and need some change to catch the bus. Shelby's mother gave her five dollars. Shelby waited until the woman walked away and then she said, 'I don't think that lady was telling the truth. She'll spend it on cigarettes or drugs.'

Shelby's mother had sighed. 'You're probably right, honey, but it would be so awful to have to beg from strangers.'

When she said that Shelby had thought about what it would be like to feel so desperate that you would ask a complete stranger for help, and then to have people sneer at you and turn their heads away as though you weren't even worth looking at. Shelby couldn't imagine how bad that would feel from the inside.

She wriggled with discomfort. Was it possible to remain friends with someone whose attitudes to people were so different from your own? Should she tell Lindsey that she thought her way of thinking was wrong?

Shelby linked her fingers behind her head. She had been so shocked to discover that Lindsey was rich – and disappointed too. Were their beliefs so different? Didn't Shelby really, in her heart, think the same sort of thing as Lindsey, but in reverse? Wasn't she prejudiced against rich people?

She hoped she wasn't prejudiced. She wondered if it was just plain old jealousy. That would be better, because she could decide right this minute to be a bigger person. Maybe it was neither.

There in the dark Shelby could see her old broken saddle lying in a heap on the floor. She'd stared at it night after night, having dreams of what she might do in the future – making plans for her own life. She'd always thought it was a symbol of what she didn't have, but now she thought something different. Shelby funded her hobby with her own sweat, and that was something to be proud of.

'How goes Operation Beelzebub?' Shelby's mum asked at breakfast the next morning.

Shelby explained all the contradictions to her mother while she cut Blake's toast into soldiers. Blake took the plate from his sister and returned to his cartoon show. Connor lay on his stomach on the floor in the lounge room spooning cereal into his mouth.

'Did you know the Edels were rich?' Shelby asked.

'I would have thought so, yes,' said her mother. 'You're ignoring a whole avenue of investigation, though. Perhaps you should talk to these circus people. Find out what happened from their end.'

'They wouldn't talk to me!'

'Maybe not as Shelby Shaw, private investigator, or even as Shelby-friend-of-the-Edels. There's nothing for it, Cherub,' her mother said, taking a sip of coffee. 'You're going to have to go deep undercover.'

'What would be my disguise?'

Her mother shrugged. 'You could go wild and crazy and pretend you are a girl with an interest in horses.'

'I have just the outfit!' Shelby grinned at her mother and then ran down the hallway to get dressed. She put on her jodhpurs and old joggers, tucking her boots under her arm.

On the way to the stables in the car Shelby asked her mother, 'And so when I go deep undercover, this isn't lying? This is hide and seek too?'

'If they ask, you tell them the truth. You tell them your name is Shelby Shaw. You can even say you keep your horse at the stables.'

'What if they ask if I'm friends with the Edels?'

'Then tell them that you are . . . associates.' Her mother paused. 'You could try not to give them reason to ask that. Maybe you could highlight your friendship with Chad first?'

'Highlight?' Shelby looked out the window. 'Sounds like a fib to me.'

Her mother pulled up at the front of the stables. 'It's a delicate balance.'

Shelby stared at her mother.

'You know when your father puts on those bright orange tracksuit pants with the stripe? I don't mention that he looks as though he's just escaped from a high security facility. Or when Connor makes me a cup of tea with two teaspoons of what he thinks is sugar, but is actually bicarbonate of soda. Or any one of Blake's homemade birthday presents.'

'You don't even have sugar in tea.'

'Nor bicarb, usually.'

Shelby unlocked her seat belt. 'But they are all to do with not hurting people's feelings. This is a bit different.'

'It's a delicate balance,' her mother repeated. 'Part of being a grown-up is finding the line and staying on the right side of it.'

Shelby helped to saddle up the riding school ponies, but she avoided the trail ride in the morning by offering to get a head start on mucking out the stables. It was not a job any of the girls enjoyed.

The Crooks had arrived back from the Royal Easter Show early that morning, crowing with victory. Hayley and Ditto had won their class, although they missed out on Champion.

'It was a strong field we were up against. All in all it was a good campaign this year,' Mrs Crook told the assembled crowd of well-wishers. 'Next year we'll unleash Scamp. He's our secret weapon. Right, Hales?'

Erin, Lindsey and Shelby had exchanged a knowing smile over Mrs Crook's unconscious military terminology.

Hayley handed out show bags she'd bought for each of her friends.

'Thanks, Hales! You're the best!' said Erin, and then started bartering for all the chocolate in the other girls' bags. 'What have we got here? A plastic whistle! In a fetching yellow! Guaranteed to last a lifetime, while your Chokito will be gone in a moment. How can you lose? I have a medical condition, you know – chronic choc deficiency. I could go into spasm any minute. You'd be saving my life.'

Shelby had swapped one of her chocolate bars for a lollipop and wandered away, leaving Hayley and the other girls chatting before they led the trail ride.

Shelby had always found mucking stables good daydreaming time. The Edels used rice hulls for stable bedding. There was something meditative in the motion of lifting and shaking all the clean rice hulls through the rake's tines, like a big sifter.

Shelby hummed to herself as she worked. Surrounded by the sounds and smells of horses, she could escape into a fantasy world where she had the perfect horse, all the gear she needed, and no catastrophes.

On this day she dreamed of different floats – straight-load with an extended front in dark blue and her sponsor's logo sign-written on it, or a three-horse angle-load in hot pink with silver stars down the side and a built-in saddle-rack. Better still, a sparkly lilac gooseneck with 'Shaw Show Ponies' written on the back, and '5H31BY' number plates.

Soon she had made her way down one whole row of stables. She left her barrow at the end of the laneway and rushed into the feed shed to make up the dinners. She was keen to get out into the Gully, but the Edels let her keep Blue at the stables for free in exchange for her helping out. She didn't want to dodge her responsibilities to them, just because she had a mystery to solve.

Soon she had the trolley full of dinner buckets. She propped a bale of hay on the end, so the evening meals were ready to go. Then she brushed the dust from her hands and ran over to the paddock where Blue was waiting.

Her favourite western saddle was being used for the trail rides, so she slipped on Blue's bridle and then jumped on him bareback.

As she reached the back gate she saw the other girls leading the trail riders across the top of the ridge on their way home. She waved to her friends and they waved back – so did some of the trail riders.

Halfway along the trail she saw that the tree that had obstructed the way, the one she had had to slip under, had been cut down. There was fresh sawdust on the trail and the limb was now in hefty chunks out of harm's way to the side of the trail.

Down at the bottom of the Gully it was shady and the cool air carried hints of winter. Shelby was only wearing a tee-shirt. She dropped the reins and rubbed her arms. Then across the other side she was riding in the sunshine again and her skin tingled, the way it does after a swim in cold water.

Now that the days were getting shorter she wondered if she would still have lessons with Miss Anita. Winter was a pain. There was not as much sunlight, so less time for riding. She would still have to attend to the horses before school. She wasn't looking forward to getting up in the dark and cold.

In the bushes to the side of the track Shelby saw a small grey joey. She pulled up Blue so she could get a better look. Now that it was getting cooler she was seeing far fewer reptiles on the trails, but because she was riding closer to sunrise and sunset she should start to see more marsupials. Winter did have some benefits.

The joey scratched its belly. Shelby thought it looked too young to be out on its own, but then a movement caught her eye and she could see the mother as well. One second they were relaxed, and the next they both stood upright, ears twitching, and then they bounded away.

A few seconds later Shelby heard the hoof beats of a horse cantering. She moved Blue over to the side of the trail.

When the rider saw Shelby she slowed to a trot and then a walk. It was the circus girl – the very person Shelby had hoped to meet. She was riding one of the beautiful white Lipizzans that Shelby had seen in the stables next to Diablo.

The horse was striking. It was pure white with a long mane and full, flowing tail, like a horse from the movies. Its coat was very fine, and clean. She could see the black colour of its skin around its eyes and muzzle where the hair was the finest. It looked pretty fit, as well.

The horse had shoes on. Shelby stared, fascinated, at the nails driven up through the hoof wall – at how small the horse's feet were compared to the barefoot horses at the stables. The bit the girl was using was equally strange to Shelby, with long, curved shanks hanging down from either side of the horse's mouth.

'Great day for it,' said Shelby, dragging her eyes away.

Close up she could see why Erin thought the girl was 'foreign'. She had olive skin, thick black hair and dark shapely eyebrows.

The girl nodded, but kept her horse moving along the trail.

'My name is Shelby.'

'Good for you,' the girl said and rode on.

Shelby watched her retreating back, feeling flustered. Normally she would just ride on, or yell out something rude. More likely she would ride on, and then a few minutes later think of the clever thing she could have yelled out – but she was deep undercover. She had to make friends, otherwise she wouldn't find out what she needed to know.

'Are you new around here? I could show you the best trails. What's your name?'

'Narnia,' the girl called over her shoulder.

'Narnia? I've never heard of anyone called that. Like the movie?' asked Shelby.

'No, like Narnia business.'

'That's a good one,' Shelby said with genuine admiration, pushing Blue into a trot to catch up.

'So where are you from, Narnia?'

'No.'

Shelby paused, 'Oh I get it. You're quick! Why are you working so hard not to be friends with me?'

This time it was the girl's turn to pause. 'Because you're one of those Edel people. You don't want to be friends. You're just snooping.'

Shelby didn't try to deny it. She decided to 'high-light' instead. 'I'm friends with Chad. You're Keisha, right? He told me about you. He said we'd get along.'

They came to an intersection on the trail. Keisha stopped her horse and looked down each path. Even on a loose rein the horse held its head vertical. Shelby admired its muscly crest. Everything about it was majestic and strong. Shelby thought if she had a horse like that she wouldn't even care if she rode it. She could just watch it in the paddock all day long.

Shelby pointed. 'That way leads up to the corner shop. There's a lookout, but you can turn off before that and go to the Pony Club grounds. They have jumps and sporting poles, but they lock it away in a shed so people don't steal them.' Shelby blanched, worried Keisha might think she meant that Keisha would steal the equipment. 'They leave out the cavalletti, though, and there's a dressage arena. If you go straight ahead you'll end up at the causeway over the creek. There's a place we call the dippers, where the trail goes up and down through the water, but it's better in summer.'

Keisha frowned, but she didn't say anything.

'If I were you I would go left. After a little way there's a windy hill and it's pretty. You'll see a rock face with a spring coming out of it. The water drips down and there's moss and ferns growing underneath it. There's also a waterfall a bit further along on the other side. You can gallop up the hill and there are some good turns. Watch out for bushwalkers, though. Or if you walk up you usually see a family of choughs.'

'Of what?'

'They're birds. They look like a crow but they're white under their wings. They travel in a big family. Have you seen
The Princess Bride
?'

Keisha nodded.

'Remember the "shrieking eels"? The choughs have a call kind of like that.'

'Thanks,' Keisha said, turning her horse to the left.

Shelby watched her ride away, thinking that going undercover was harder than she had imagined. Now the whole afternoon stretched out in front of her, and she hadn't learned anything new.