Ponies at Owls' Wood (5 page)

She'd start by taking Polly for a ride though, she decided. Then bike up towards High Farm to have another look, knowing that she could always turn back. She'd taken the precaution of bringing some crisps and biscuits to the field with her, and had told Talia that she wouldn't be home till much later.

For a horrible moment it had seemed as if Talia might be feeling bored enough to want to come with her, but luckily one of her mates texted just in time and she'd gone off to see her instead. The last thing Hannah wanted was her big sister finding out about Jack.

It was going to be a warm day, and Hannah was thankful that the summer holidays stretched for several weeks ahead, leaving her free to be with Polly. And Jack, she realised, for as long as he was there.

When Hannah got there Tom and his bike were nowhere to be seen, even though it was still early, and Hannah wasn't sure whether she felt relieved or disappointed. She guessed he'd gone off with his mum already.

She opened the gate and patted Jack, who came over to greet her. She fetched some ointment from the shed and managed to smear a little more onto his neck. He was already much more relaxed with her. Then she caught Polly and tacked her up.

‘I'll groom you later,' Hannah told her, checking only that there was no mud under the girth line. ‘But I want to get out for a canter before the dew dries and the ground gets too hard.' Polly looked as though she understood.

She led her pony to the gate, thinking that it might be fun to go down towards her own village a little way, and come back round the farm tracks in a circle. She wondered how Polly and Jack had got on together, and was just embarking on a fantasy about Jack telling Polly all about his life and how he'd come to be there, when she caught sight of a scrap of paper stuffed down the back of her painted notice. She picked it up, mounted Polly, and set off down the road at a brisk walk.

Polly knew the way so Hannah let her walk on while she opened the note and read the few words written there:

My name is Jess. Thank you for looking after the coloured pony. I don't know his name. Would you be able to help me with a problem? If so, please text and come to Owls' Wood as soon as possible.

There was a phone number in brackets.

Hannah read the note two or three times. Who was this Jess, and why had she chosen to put Jack in with Polly without even asking? Hannah had no idea, and it made her feel funny to think that somebody knew who she was and trusted her enough to leave a note asking for help. She couldn't guess at Jess's age from the writing, except that it wasn't very good. But then, nor was hers, as a number of her teachers had pointed out.

Realising that Polly was beginning to sidle over towards a particularly delicious-looking hawthorn hedge, Hannah picked up her reins and began to pay attention to her riding. She decided to cut short her route and make up her mind about Owls' Wood as she rode.

She cantered Polly twice round a big field, hoping some of her weight would go, then turned along a bridle path that she knew would bring her in a full circle back out onto the lane. No matter how she tried to concentrate on Polly, her thoughts kept returning to the note.

‘What would you do Polls?' she asked her pony, running her hands through Polly's thick mane as she slowed her pace and turned onto the final track towards home. Polly tossed her head and gave a little buck. Hannah decided to take this as reassurance. ‘You think I should go, don't you? There may be ponies in trouble and I have to be brave and think about them, and not me.' It was just that there was a big difference between her own plan to take a quiet look at the back of the farm when she could whizz home if need be, and this direct invitation to help from someone she'd never met.

As she and Polly came to the end of the track they were both surprised to find their way blocked by a blue car parked across the junction. Polly took a step back and gave a snort. The car had pulled in from the road, and Hannah, whilst wondering how they were going to get by since it had taken up most of the road, recognised the woman sitting in the driver's seat from their collision outside the shop. The woman was just putting away a mobile phone.

‘Good morning!' The woman called out but showed no sign of recognising Hannah.

‘Is that your pony?' she asked.

Hannah replied that it was, and asked if the woman might move her car. ‘I'm sorry, but I can't get past,' she explained.

‘In a minute. Are you always in such a hurry?' The woman smiled at her. She was wearing black Lycra shorts today with a quieter sort of top, but she still looked lumpy and her hair, which was tied up in a ponytail, was greasy and thin.

‘You look like someone who might know what's what locally,' the woman said. ‘My name's Mrs Jones, and I run a shelter for horses and ponies. I've got some vacancies at the moment so I thought I'd ask around and see if anyone's got a problem horse or one that's too old to ride any more. I specialise in children's ponies, as a matter of fact, and I can often find new, loving homes for them. I'm a registered charity and I'm always willing to help. I've read that some people in these straitened times are just abandoning their animals because they can't afford to feed them, and I hate to think of that.'

In fact, Hannah had heard of people leaving horses in fields because they couldn't afford to keep them too, but she'd never thought it would happen near her. She looked at Mrs Jones and wondered whether she could be quite so bad as she'd imagined. It was certainly very kind of her to try and help, although Hannah had never known an animal shelter that had to go out looking for horses. She'd thought they were always full. It crossed her mind to mention High Farm, but she stopped herself because she didn't really know that there were any horses there, and telling grownups
anything
could lead to trouble, in her experience.

‘I'll keep an eye out,' she promised, and as the woman moved her car, Hannah rode off with a goodbye wave.
It's funny she didn't give me a phone number or website,
she thought,
and I didn't think to ask.

It was only half-past ten when Hannah got back to her field. She found herself wishing that Tom hadn't had to go off with his mum today, as she looked yet again at Jess's note.

OK. I'll go,
she decided.

She took Polly back into the field and rubbed her down with cool water.

‘Wish me luck,' she said. She got her mobile and sent a text to the number on the note:

On my way.

Hannah picked up her bike from the verge and set off. She cycled the same way that she'd ridden the day before, except that this time she turned off to the left shortly before the brow of the hill. She could see the van parked in the yard but everything around the farm appeared quiet. The path to the woods dropped down steeply after the first few metres, and the mid-summer grass was high. She was soon out of sight of any horrible men or dogs.

Brambles were beginning to spread their thorns across the path and so she left her bike against a tree before continuing on foot. Owls' Wood appeared at the bottom of the slope and, even in the late morning sun, the trees looked dark and spooky. Hannah could see a rough path between them, carpeted by pine needles and edged with clumps of bracken.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I do actually wish that Tom was here,
she thought to herself, remembering how he'd marched off bravely the last time they'd come, even if he had come straight back.
Or Charley, or Polly, or even Dad or Liam.
She jumped as a stone landed near her feet, and she looked around to see where it had come from. A girl appeared in front of her. The girl was small and slight, with very short brown hair and striking dark eyes. Hannah thought she must only be about 10.

The girl held out a grubby hand.

‘I'm Jess.'

Hannah looked doubtfully at her.

‘I'm Hannah,' she said. ‘I thought you'd be older!' Then, realising that this didn't sound very friendly, Hannah added, ‘Sorry! I don't mean to be rude.'

‘It's because I'm small,' said the girl. ‘But I'm nearly 12.'

As the two girls looked at each other, there was a crash above their heads and a shower of twigs landed on Hannah, who jumped.

‘Damn pigeons!' Hannah said.

‘My uncle shoots them,' said Jess.

They both laughed, and then Hannah wondered what to say next.

‘You said you wanted help?'

Jess was quiet for a moment but her dark eyes looked at Hannah intently.

‘Yes, I do need help,' she said. ‘I'm sorry about my note, but I couldn't think what else to do. I thought you must care about animals, because your pony always seems so well looked after. Will you come with me, so I can show you something?'

‘All right,' said Hannah, though she began to feel even more nervous.

Jess led off and Hannah followed with uncertain steps. There were nettles to skirt around and bumps to trip over. Jess moved quickly, and didn't look behind to see whether Hannah was following. Hannah was almost tempted to turn and run back the way she'd come, particularly as the wood appeared to be getting darker by the minute. But pride kept her going and made sure that she didn't fall too far behind.
This girl doesn't say much,
she thought.

After a few minutes Jess stopped and turned to her. ‘I saw you try and come past the farm on Monday with your friend. Were you looking for ponies?' She looked around anxiously, and then appeared to be listening. ‘I'm scared my mum's boyfriend will come,' she explained. ‘If he does, say I know you from the village. If he mentions ponies just act like you know nothing.'

‘I
do
know nothing,' said Hannah. She looked around, too. ‘Where are we going?'

‘You'll see,' said Jess. She gave Hannah another long look, ‘I hope I can trust you?'

‘I
think
you can,' said Hannah. ‘That boy, Tom, that you saw me with yesterday, said I should call the police, I mean when the skewbald appeared in my field. But I wanted to know what was going on. I was sure he was something to do with the ponies on the news. So I haven't done anything except come here. But I've never been to this part of the wood before and it feels a bit spooky.'

‘Well, I'm going to trust
you
,' said Jess. ‘I know you like horses and Gran says that if someone likes horses they're probably all right. So, come and see.'

‘OK,' said Hannah, still wondering what she'd got herself into.

Jess opened her mouth to say something else, but a sudden noise from the trees to their right made the girls stare at each other in alarm. Jess grabbed Hannah's arm and pulled her down onto the ground. She held up one finger for silence. Hannah felt her t-shirt pull up above her jeans and knew that there were nettles just waiting to sting her bare stomach. She didn't dare move, and was sure her breathing could be heard miles away.

Jess mouthed the word ‘Pete'. Thankfully, the noise stopped and after a few minutes they heard a chain saw start up at a further point in the wood. Slowly, Hannah risked moving, and Jess stood up looking pale.

‘I don't want him to find you here.'

‘Nor do I!' said Hannah.

‘Come on then.' Jess set off more slowly this time. But Hannah caught her arm and pulled her back.

‘It feels scary not knowing where we're going,' she said, ‘can't you tell me what's going on?'

‘You've got to promise not to call the police.'

‘I promise,' said Hannah, ‘I told you I didn't when Tom wanted to.'

Jess took a deep breath as if it was difficult for her to begin. ‘It's my aunt's boyfriend,' she said. ‘He's got some stuff going on that's all wrong. He says if I don't keep my mouth shut he'll take his belt to me.' As she talked she glanced around her again.

‘What about your mum and dad?'

‘I haven't got a mum.'

Hannah didn't ask any more.

‘Listen,' Jess said, drawing Hannah away from the path into the trees, ‘Pete's got in with some dodgy people – even more dodgy than usual. He's always done a bit of horse dealing, and he's horrible to the horses, but this time I'm sure he's stealing children's ponies, or at least keeping them for a gang that are stealing them. They're really rough types – more scary even than Pete.'

‘So why haven't
you
called the police?' asked Hannah.

Jess looked impatient. ‘The police
have
been called haven't they, but they won't do anything. Those kids that came up from the village called them. But they come here in their cars and the first things they see are the dogs. Then when they can't see any ponies they just go away again.'

Jess went on, ‘Pete took me to the horse sales a few weeks ago. He had a couple of New Forest ponies to sell, and we were standing around with him getting into one of his moods when a man and a woman came up to him. I didn't hear much of the conversation, but they were saying that in hard times when there's not much money in children's ponies you can still get money from the meat men. Of course Pete knew that, but then they all went off to the beer tent and I got left with the ponies.' Jess looked tearful and Hannah wondered whether she had been fond of the two New Forests.