The sheriff jammed his hands into his utility belt. “That creepy carnival guy, as you girls call him, is Evan Wangston. He and his partners broke into a pretty big jewelry store in Seattle. Wangston dreamed up this idea that he would bring the jewels to Canada with this traveling carnival coming through Oregon. Nobody would think to look for him there and nobody would suspect that millions of dollars—”
A sharp intake of breath from each person at the table. The Squad gulped.
Sunny recalled The Shirt’s panic over Bob. She asked, “Why was the guy so freaked out about Bob the goat? I mean, he’s just a little goat.”
The sheriff laughed deep in his throat. “During the heist, Wangston got scared and shot a night guard who had woken up just as they were departing with the loot. Wangston was sure he’d killed him. His guilty conscience thought the guard’s ghost was haunting him. Wangston’s not the sharpest tack in the box.” Sheriff Bucholtz rocked back on his heels. “The guard’s name is Bob, and he’s not dead.”
Vee had the next question, and everyone learned that Wangston had conceived the idea to double-cross his buddies and disappear when the girls offered to buy the zoo. He planned to give the gang the slip and stash the gems at the ranch. Then when he was sure his gang didn’t know where he was, he’d circle back and collect the bag. Except his great idea had collided with Sunny’s mission to regain her family’s trust in finishing things.
“His great idea,” Sunny murmured.
Raising a crutch instead of his hand, Uncle Dave asked, “I’ve got a question. Why would the guy be so stupid to say he didn’t have the jewels when he had to know you were going to search him?”
“That is something we just can’t figure out,” the sheriff said. “It was a pretty stupid bluff.”
“Some criminals are stupid. Eleven-year-olds are not,” Sunny said, her heart light again, lighter than the moon and shining as brightly. Major was staying. Piggles, Which Way, and Bob would help other kids learn to read on ranch visits. Major the reading mini. Major, who knew when to have a Great Idea at just the right time. Evan Wangston knew that.
Complete yayness.
Uncle Dave reached under the table and brought out a small paper bag. “Just to show you there’s no hard feelings about you girls and my accident and recovery …”
He dug into the bag and handed four jewelry boxes to Aneta’s mom. “Could you deliver? I’m not sure I could get around the table without clubbing someone.”
Ms. Jasper popped up and handed the boxes around. Once each girl had her box, they shut their eyes and said, “Okay, on three. One-two-three!”
Sunny opened her eyes. In her palm was a glass bead in the shape of a horseshoe fixed to a small, gleaming piece of wood. There were red, green, and crystal sparkle dots curving around it. A tiny silver loop hung at the top.
“Beautiful, and these are the jewels!” Aneta untied her bracelet.
The other girls followed and added the bead, knotting the soft leather cord before and after the bead as they had the others. Then they put their wrists together. “The S.A.V.E. Squad! Together!”
Vee was having some trouble with timing. “Mr. Martin, it was only yesterday that we caught the bad guy. How did you get these so fast?”
Uncle Dave tipped his head toward Aneta’s mom who had returned to her chair. “FedEx and knowing a woman who has family members who know everybody everywhere.”
“Are the jewels real?” Esther wanted to know, holding up her arm to see the bead twinkle in the overhead light.
“No,” Uncle Dave said with a grin and then jerked a thumb toward the sheriff.
The sheriff headed for the door with a slight wave. “No real gems on that bead, girls,” and then with a wink at Uncle Dave, who covered his ears, “but the insurance reward money for the recovery of the rubies, emeralds, and diamonds is very real.”
“Yes!” the Squad shrieked—loudly.
But then, so did everyone else.
Shirley the palomino was enjoying Esther’s attention while Mondo stood just far enough from the railing so no one could touch him. Major, Mystery, and Bob were playing animal soccer with the giant ball. Starbright wiggled himself in between Shirley and Mondo so he wouldn’t miss any nose scratches. The girls were on their own with Uncle Dave at the ranch for the rest of the weekend.
“The Squad was amazing,” Sunny said reflectively. She couldn’t stop smiling and had only ceased spinning when her dinner felt threatened. She clambered up next to Vee.
“I want us to always be together,” Esther agreed. “I would hate it if we weren’t the Squad anymore.”
“I love us,” Aneta said inside the corral so she could better watch the soccer game.
“What? Yes, we’re the best squad on the planet.” Vee obviously was worrying about something. “I still don’t get it.” She hunkered on the top railing, her brow furrowed, absently braiding Starbright’s mane. “You had the bag in your pocket. Then it wasn’t in your pocket. It was in Wangston’s pocket.”
In the corral, Major picked up a hoof and placed it on the ball, rolling it back and forth. He looked straight at Sunny, lowered his head, and butted the ball toward her. Hard. Then stomped his foot as though to say, “Go ahead, tell ’em!”
“Let’s just say, it was a secondhand mini being Major with a bumping nose.” Sunny hugged her arms around herself, smiling at the miniature horse. Oh yes.
She loved being a Squader.
And she loved a Great Idea.
Lauraine Snelling is an award-winning author with more than seventy-five published titles including two horse-themed series for kids. With more than three million books in print, Lauraine still finds time to create great stories as she travels around the country to meet readers with her husband and rescued basset Winston.
When Kathleen Wright’s not dreaming up adventures for her characters, she’s riding bikes with her husband, playing pickleball, and trying to convince her rescued border collie that Mom knows best. She taught writing to fifth graders and up and loves how kids think.
Since they can’t save the whole world, what about a small piece of it? Four sixth-grade girls join together as The S.A.V.E. Squad and set out to rescue homeless dogs, Dumpster cats, secondhand horses, and owls.
Get your parents’ permission and go to The S.A.V.E. Squad’s website to check out a quiz and read all about kids and pets!
www.TheSAVESquad.com
Catch Up on The S.A.V.E. Squad Adventures with Books 1 & 2
Dog Daze
ISBN 978-1-61626-560-1
The Great Cat Caper
ISBN 978-1-61626-566-3
Available wherever books are sold
Secondhand Horses Page 13