Paige blushed a little. “Well, I wouldn’t say that,” she said quickly, glancing at Alex. “But they’re pretty good.”
“Just pretty good?” Stevie said. “Or really good?”
“Shut up, Stevie,” Alex said testily. “What difference does it make how good she thinks they are?”
“Oh, none at all,” Stevie replied. “Not to me, anyway.” She took a large mouthful of lasagna and chewed busily.
“That’s enough, Stevie,” Mr. Lake said warningly.
Stevie obeyed and kept quiet, but the warning was completely lost on Paige. She was gazing at David with the same look she had so recently directed at Alex. And he was gazing right back, smiling as he chewed his garlic bread.
Chad glanced from one to the other, looking dismayed. It was clear that he saw what was going on, too, and that he didn’t like it. He turned to Carole. “So what’s new at that stable of yours these days?” he asked loudly. “Any new horses or anything?”
Stevie could hardly keep herself from laughing out loud. When one of her brothers actually asked about Pine Hollow, she knew that something strange was going on. She was about to change the topic back to David’s band, but Carole was quicker.
“Actually, there is one new horse there right now,” she told Chad, shooting a look at Stevie. Alex looked so upset about what was happening between Paige and David that Carole felt a little sorry for him. She was glad Chad had decided to change the subject, and she was more than willing to help. “She’s a gray mare we found who had been abused.” She went on to tell them all about the sick mare.
For the rest of the meal the group discussed the mare, Pine Hollow, and other topics. Stevie and her friends noticed that Alex kept shooting Paige sullen looks. They also noticed that Paige was ignoring the looks—if she noticed them at all. The only thing she was definitely noticing at the moment was David.
All in all, as Stevie told her friends later, it had been a very interesting meal—even more interesting than she could have hoped.
“YOU’LL NEVER GUESS what happened in school today,” Stevie exclaimed when she found her friends at the mare’s stall the next afternoon.
“What?” Carole asked, sounding distracted. She and Lisa had been checking on the mare and discussing the fact that she didn’t look any better.
But Stevie had barely noticed the mare yet. She was too eager to share her news. “It’s Alex and Paige,” she announced. “They’re Splitsville!”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Lisa said, leaning against the pitchfork she had brought to muck out the mare’s stall.
“Too bad, nothing,” Stevie said. “This is great. It’s exactly what Alex deserves for being such an annoying sap about the whole thing.”
Carole didn’t think that was a very nice thing for Stevie to say, but she decided not to mention it right then. Stevie had that look on her face that meant she was already dreaming up new ways to torture her brother. “What happened?” she asked instead.
“Paige dumped him like a load of old bricks,” Stevie said gleefully. “She was so impressed with Chad’s friend David last night that she’s skipping the dance tomorrow so she can go to the Rotting Meat show at the bowling alley.”
“Oh, poor Alex,” Lisa said softly. “He was looking forward to it so much.”
“Well, I guess he should have found a girlfriend who doesn’t have a thing for older men,” Stevie said.
“How is he taking it?” Carole asked.
“Let me put it to you this way,” Stevie said. “I ran into him outside of school today when I was getting ready to come over here, and I offered to let him come with me. You know, I thought he might find someone to replace Paige at Pine Hollow. After all, Penny is pretty cute, and everyone knows Delilah is a real beauty, and then there’s Prancer—athletic yet feminine.”
Carole rolled her eyes. Penny, Delilah, and Prancer were all Pine Hollow mares. “Very funny,” she commented.
“Well, I guess Alex didn’t get the joke,” Stevie said. “I don’t think he even heard me talk about the mares. Because I would swear he was about to accept my offer and come here with me. Can you believe that?”
Her friends had to admit that that was more than a little bit strange. They knew that Pine Hollow was the last place any of Stevie’s brothers would want to go.
“That just shows how upset he is,” Lisa said.
“I know,” Stevie said with a grin. “Can you believe it? Who would have thought my very own twin would turn out to be such a fool for love?”
Finally Stevie seemed to realize where they were. She glanced in at the mare. “Oh. How is she?”
“Not so good,” Carole admitted. “I don’t see much difference in her condition, although she did look at us when we arrived today. I think she recognizes us, even if she doesn’t always show it.”
“That’s a good sign,” Lisa said. She looked at the mare and sighed. The mare wasn’t looking back at them now. “But it’s a small one. She still doesn’t seem to care much whether we’re around or not.”
“I already checked on Starlight, so I’ll help you with the stall if you want,” Carole offered. With that, the girls got to work.
Carole and Stevie worked hard, but Lisa worked even harder. She was such a whirlwind of activity that it made Carole and Stevie tired just to watch her. First she turned the mare out in the paddock and helped Carole muck out the stall. Then she cleaned out the water bucket and the hayrack and refilled them. Then she brought the mare back in, changed all her bandages, and repacked her feet with the thrush medicine. After that she gave her a complete grooming from head to toe until the silvery gray coat was more clean than dirty and the mare’s mane and tail were smooth and tangle free.
“She must have been really pretty before all this happened to her,” Stevie commented later as she and Carole leaned over the stall door and watched Lisa fix a bandage that had come loose during the grooming.
Lisa nodded. “I still can’t believe someone could be so cruel to any animal, let alone such a gorgeous little horse,” she said. “I mean, I know it happens. Just look at poor Sal. But it shouldn’t.”
“It’s not right,” Carole agreed. “That’s why it’s important for the police to catch that man and see that he’s properly punished.”
“I called the police this morning before school,” Lisa said. “They still hadn’t found him, but they said they were going to try to send someone out to the farm again today.”
“Let’s call now and see if they got him,” Stevie suggested.
The other girls agreed. Lisa gave the mare a pat and let herself out of the stall, then led the way to the pay phone in the hallway. Carole fished a quarter out of her jeans pocket and dropped it into the phone, and Lisa dialed the number for the Willow Creek police station. By now she knew it by heart.
The sergeant who answered was the same one Lisa had spoken to that morning.
“Sorry,” he said when he found out why the girls were calling. “We were hoping to get out there today, like I told you earlier. But we’ve been so busy around here we didn’t have the chance. People tend to go a little crazy around the holidays—it’s usually our busiest time. Today we had three car accidents, a bar brawl, and half a dozen shoplifters to deal with. And since we have no way of knowing when that fellow will be at home, it’s a waste of time and manpower to keep sending officers out there when we need them here in town.”
“But you’ve got to catch him,” Lisa protested.
“Oh, we will,” the sergeant reassured her. “Don’t you worry about that. But it may have to wait until after Christmas when things quiet down a little.”
Lisa thanked the officer for the update and hung up. She told her friends what he had said. “After Christmas?” she said as the girls drifted back toward the mare’s stall. “That’s weeks away.”
Stevie nodded. “I hate to think of that jerk walking around like nothing happened after what he did. It will be hard to enjoy Christmas as much just knowing that he
’s out there.”
“I just hope he remembers to keep feeding his dog,” Carole put in.
Lisa nodded. “I know. I was thinking about that last night. We heard the dog barking when we were there, remember? For all we know, he could have a whole bunch of other animals that he’s treating just as badly as he treated the mare. What a horrible thought!”
They had reached the stall by now, and they leaned on the half door and looked in. The mare stood dejectedly at the back of the stall, looking much cleaner than when they had first found her, but not much happier.
Finally Stevie stood up straight and looked at her friends. “We can’t wait until after Christmas.”
“I was just about to say the exact same thing,” Lisa said.
“But what can we do?” Carole asked. “The police already told us they don’t have time to go out there.”
“That’s because they don’t know whether he’ll be at home or not,” Stevie pointed out. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind going out right away if they knew he was there, would they?”
“I guess not,” Carole admitted. She looked at her watch. “But if you’re suggesting we go over there ourselves and see if he’s home, you’re crazy.”
Stevie looked hurt. “What do you mean?”
“I mean look at the time,” Carole said, for a moment sounding almost as sensible as Lisa usually did. “We’d have to take the bus from the shopping center over to the park, and then hike along the highway—in the dark, I might add—for a couple of miles.” She shrugged. “We can’t do it.”
“Well, how about tomorrow, then?” Lisa suggested, glancing at the mare, who hadn’t moved. “We could go right after school, before it gets dark.”
“Tomorrow’s the ballet, remember?” Carole said. “We could do it on Saturday, I guess. But to tell you the truth, I’m not too crazy about going near that man’s property. I certainly wouldn’t want to meet him face to face without someone official around.”
Stevie had a very thoughtful look on her face. “No, I think we definitely need to go tonight,” she said. “And I know just the official guy who can drive us.”
“Who?” Carole said suspiciously. When Stevie got that look, it usually meant things were going to happen. Sometimes they were good things, and sometimes they were bad things. With Stevie, there was no predicting.
Stevie smiled at her. “Your father, of course. If we can’t get the police to go with us, we’ll take the Marines.”
A few minutes later it was settled. Carole had called her father and then put Stevie on the phone. It had taken all of her powers of persuasion, but Stevie had finally convinced the colonel to drive them over to have a look at the farm after dinner.
“We’re not actually going to go near the house,” he warned Stevie. “We’ll just see if the lights are on, and if they are we’ll turn around immediately and find the nearest phone to call the police.”
“That’s all we want,” Stevie promised.
IT WASN’T EASY for Carole and Stevie to get Lisa to leave the stable early that evening. But after they had reminded her a few times of the reason, she gave in and went home for dinner.
She was already outside waiting, her arms wrapped around her body for warmth, when the Hansons’ station wagon pulled into her driveway an hour and a half later. Carole was in the front seat with her father. Stevie was in the back.
“Hi, Colonel Hanson,” Lisa said as she climbed in beside Stevie. “Thanks for driving us.”
“Hi, Lisa,” Carole’s father replied. “As I was just telling Carole and Stevie, I’m not at all sure this is a good idea.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how I let you girls talk me into these schemes.”
Stevie knew the “you girls” was directed mostly at her. She decided it was time for a change of subject before the colonel had a change of heart. “So who wants to hear the latest report on the lovelorn and lonely hearted?”
“I assume you’re referring to your poor brother,” Carole said, twisting around as far as her seat belt would allow to talk to her friends.
“Of course,” Stevie said. She grinned. “If our errand here weren’t so important, I would have hated to leave my house tonight. Dinner was fun.”
“Uh-oh,” Lisa said. “What did you do to him?”
“It wasn’t just me,” Stevie informed her. “Michael was helping. It’s not often that I get to team up with one of my brothers against another one. Usually it’s them teaming up against me.”
Carole laughed. She knew that was no exaggeration. “What about Chad? Didn’t he help, too?”
“No. I guess he feels sort of responsible for what happened,” Stevie said. “He didn’t tease Alex at all. In fact, he offered to punch David in the nose if Alex wanted him to.”
Colonel Hanson chuckled. “That’s what I call brotherly love,” he said.
“Whatever it is, it didn’t hold Michael back,” Stevie said with a grin. “It was his idea for us to sing ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ while we set the table.”
“Oh, that’s mean,” Colonel Hanson said. But then he began humming the song under his breath. Carole knew it was one of his favorites—he loved all music from the fifties and sixties, and that definitely included all of Elvis Presley’s hits.
Lisa had turned to watch the scenery pass as they drove. Now she turned back to her friends. “Colonel Hanson is right,” she said. “You really should give Alex a break, Stevie. As annoying as he and Paige might have been, I’m sure he’s hurting right now. And he is your brother.”
“Don’t remind me,” Stevie said, rolling her eyes. “All of Fenton Hall can’t seem to forget it. Anyway, you should have been there tonight. Mom and Dad made us stop singing as soon as they realized what we were doing. But it’s amazing how many different ways it’s possible to work the word page into a conversation.”
She continued to describe the teasing Alex had received until they turned off the highway onto the road that ran past the farm.
“We’re almost there,” Carole told her father. “It’s up about two or three miles on the left.”
After that there was silence as the car approached the mare’s former home. Lisa gripped her armrest so tightly that her fingers were white. Now that they were close, the trip didn’t seem like such a good idea. She hated the thought of driving past the home of the man who had been so cruel to the gray mare. But she knew it was necessary. They had to help bring him to justice if they could.
Colonel Hanson slowed the car a little as they came around a curve in the road. The driveway to the farm was just ahead. Even before they reached it, they knew the owner was at home. The house was set back from the road, but every light in the place seemed to be ablaze and a battered pickup truck was parked in the driveway.
“He’s there,” Carole whispered.
Colonel Hanson nodded grimly. “All right. There was a gas station off the highway a few miles back. We’ll call the police from there.” He pulled into the driveway just far enough to turn around. As the car’s headlights swung around, Lisa caught a flash of movement in the overgrown grass beside the road.
“Wait! Stop!” she cried.
“What is it?” Colonel Hanson asked, slamming on the brakes.
“I saw something,” Lisa said. “It looked like an animal.”
“What was it?” Stevie asked, leaning over to look out Lisa’s window. “A rabbit or something?”
Lisa shook her head. “Too big.” She peered out at the grassy embankment, willing her eyes to see through the darkness. Suddenly she saw the movement again. “There!” she cried, pointing as the animal stumbled into the range of the headlight beams.
“It looks like a dog,” Carole said.
“Not a dog—a puppy,” Stevie corrected. “And I think he’s hurt.”
The puppy cringed, blinking in the light, as Stevie threw open her door.
“Stevie! Stop right there,” Colonel Hanson called in his most commanding voice.
Stevie froze with one leg halfway out
of the car. “But we’ve got to help him.”
“You know better than that. If he’s hurt and frightened, he could lash out and bite you,” Colonel Hanson said.
“But we can’t just leave him here, Dad,” Carole protested. “He might have been hit by a car. He could die if we don’t help him.”
“I didn’t say we should leave him here,” Colonel Hanson told his daughter gently. “You girls wait here. And I mean it.” He unhooked his seat belt and put the car into neutral. Then he grabbed a pair of heavy work gloves out of the glove compartment and pulled them on. The puppy didn’t move as the colonel got out of the car. It just crouched there, watching him.
Colonel Hanson stood by the car for a moment, watching the puppy carefully. The puppy continued to watch him. Then it let out a little whine and tentatively wagged its tail. The colonel whistled softly, and the puppy’s tail wagged harder. It started to run to him but stumbled and fell.
“Oh, look,” Lisa breathed. “His leg is hurt.”
The puppy stood up again, managing to retain its balance this time. As soon as he was sure the animal wasn’t aggressive, Colonel Hanson knelt beside the puppy, blocking the girls’ view.
Stevie bounced up and down impatiently. “What’s he doing?”
“He’s probably checking to see what’s wrong with him,” Carole guessed. She stared at her father’s back, trying to be patient. It wasn’t easy.
When Colonel Hanson stood up and turned around a minute later, the puppy was in his arms. He walked around to Stevie’s door, which was still slightly ajar.
“Could one of you girls help me with the back door?” he said.
Stevie jumped out and ran around to the back of the car. She swung open the door and then reached forward to help with the puppy.
“Be careful of his left hind leg,” Colonel Hanson warned. “I think it might be broken.”
Stevie nodded and crawled into the back of the car. The puppy’s fur felt cold as Colonel Hanson slid him into the back of the station wagon to Stevie, though his tongue felt warm when he licked her hand.
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