Pony Detectives

by Soraya Nicholas

  Katie and Milly looked back at her with blank looks on their faces.

  ‘We each take turns at keeping watch, so we can get some sleep and make sure everything is okay.’

  ‘Sounds like a good plan,’ Katie said, sitting cross-legged on the concrete floor, stroking Casper.

  Poppy slumped outside Crystal’s stall after she’d checked the other horses. She was feeling exhausted. The only thing keeping her going was the excitement of what they were doing, but that was starting to wear off, and she could feel her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Crystal hung her head out every now and then to watch her, no doubt wondering what all the fuss was about. Milly and Katie sat almost opposite her, on guard outside Joe’s and Cody’s stables.

  ‘You think we’re safe out here?’ Katie’s voice broke the silence.

  ‘No,’ moaned Poppy, her eyes half-closed. ‘But what other option do we have?’

  ‘Have you set the alarm yet?’ asked Milly. ‘We have to be back inside by 6 a.m., when the Ds wake up.’

  ‘Couldn’t we just go back now?’ whimpered Katie.

  ‘No!’ Poppy and Milly exclaimed together.

  ‘I’ve waited years to get my own horse,’ said Poppy. ‘There’s no way I’m going to let anyone steal her, or even get near her.’ Because without her horse, she’d feel like she had nothing in her life to look forward to again. Coming here was one thing, but thinking about a holiday without Crystal? She didn’t know how she could ever go back to not having her.

  They sat in silence, huddled in sleeping-bags but still cold. Poppy wasn’t enjoying this any more than the others, but what she’d said was true. There was no way anyone was going to take Crystal from her. Ever.

  ‘Heels down, Poppy, and keep your eyes ahead,’ called Aunt Sophie.

  Poppy tried to concentrate, but her eyes would hardly stay open, let alone face forward.

  ‘Katie, come on! Push him on.’

  They all trotted around the arena, trying their best, but they were a mess, Poppy knew.

  ‘Into the middle, now!’ barked Sophie.

  Crystal, Cody and Joe all turned in when the girls told them to, halting in the middle.

  ‘Come on, girls. What’s happening out there today? You can all do so much better.’

  Milly yawned, Katie looked guilty, and so Sophie looked to Poppy for an answer. Poppy struggled with what to say. She’d never been any good at lying.

  ‘We didn’t get much sleep last night,’ she finally mumbled.

  ‘What do you mean? You girls were in bed before nine o’clock.’

  That made them all look at the ground.

  ‘No secrets, girls. What’s going on?’

  Poppy was surprised when Milly spoke up first. ‘We kind of spent the night in the stables.’

  ‘We were worried about the ponies, you know, with the horse thief on the loose,’ chimed in Poppy. She wanted to make her aunt understand, hoping that would make her less mad at them.

  But Aunt Sophie glared at them.

  ‘You mean to say you snuck out once Mark and I were asleep?’

  They all nodded.

  She at least smiled at them then, shaking her head. Now she looked more amused than angry. ‘Well, I understand, but it was wrong to lie. We would have taken air beds down had we known you were that worried.’

  ‘So you’re not mad?’ asked Katie.

  ‘No, girls, I’m not mad, but you’re still in trouble for not being honest with me. I do remember what it was like to love a pony as each of you do, but I’m also responsible for your safety while you’re here, and I promised your parents that I would look after you.’

  Milly’s head snapped back and Poppy’s eyes opened a little wider.

  ‘Punishment?’ she asked.

  ‘See those cavaletti over there?’ Aunt Sophie pointed.

  Poppy and the others looked to where she was indicating. A row of six small cross jumps, set in a line. When they all looked back to her, she smiled and continued.

  ‘No stirrups or reins. Today we are going to make sure you all have nice deep jumping seats. Knot your reins and let them go as you approach the jump, grip with your knees, arms out wide, bending at the hips. We’re going to practise until you can do it with your eyes shut.’

  Poppy, Milly and Katie all groaned, but Aunt Sophie wasn’t taking no for an answer. Poppy knew that by the end of the day, her legs were going to ache so bad she would hardly be able to feel them. Going without reins was one thing, but riding without stirrups? It was torture, especially jumping. By the time they crawled into bed tonight their bodies would be beyond sore.

  ‘Knot your reins and cross your stirrups now, and start a circle. Poppy, you’re first. I want a nice balanced canter, and then keep going round and over the cavaletti until I tell you to stop.’

  That night, the girls sat around the table, exhausted. They had hardly said a word since sitting down. Poppy was used to Sophie pushing her hard, but even she was feeling the pain this evening. At least having Milly and Katie here meant she had help with chores. Her muscles ached so much, she didn’t think she’d have got through them without their help.

  Poppy suddenly felt a kick under the table.

  ‘Ouch!’ She glowered at Milly, who was sat next to her. But Milly was holding her head funny.

  Aunt Sophie and Uncle Mark looked their way.

  ‘Sorry,’ Poppy muttered. ‘My legs are just sore from riding.’

  But they hardly gave the girls a second look, going back to their conversation.

  Poppy had no idea what was going on, or why Milly had felt the need to kick her. She was rubbing her leg when Katie bent in close.

  ‘I think she wants you to listen to Mr and Mrs D,’ she whispered.

  Poppy quickly tuned in to her uncle’s and aunt’s voices. It wasn’t like it was hard to hear them, she just hadn’t bothered to listen.

  ‘We’re going to have to padlock the paddock gates, too,’ Mark said. ‘The fact that it’s happened again means we could easily be next.’

  That got her attention. More horses had been stolen?

  ‘The worse thing is not knowing what happened to those horses. They could have ended up anywhere! How many went this time?’ Aunt Sophie asked, her voice getting quieter.

  Poppy kicked Milly back. This was interesting.

  ‘Only two, from a roadside paddock. But still no clues for the police.’

  ‘Ah, Mrs D, can I ask you something?’ asked Milly.

  ‘Sure.’ Aunt Sophie wasn’t even looking their way.

  ‘It’s just that Poppy said we can’t ride on the farmland adjoining the trail. What did you say his name was, Pop?’

  Poppy felt her eyes bulge. Why would Milly ask them that? Why would she even want to bring up the subject? Did she want them to know what they’d been doing?

  Aunt Sophie looked down, and Poppy found herself wondering again what Old Smithy could have done to upset her aunt that much.

  ‘I don’t want to discuss him, Milly,’ Uncle Mark said. ‘But he’s a horrible and dangerous man, and I don’t want you girls going near him or his land, understood? He does a lot of hunting on his land, too – shoots rabbits, that sort of thing – and so it’s not safe to be riding there in case of stray bullets, or the loud shots could spook the horses. And . . . I just don’t trust him.’

  ‘It’s just that there were hoof prints near the boundary, so I thought maybe Poppy had got it wrong.’ Milly’s voice was sweet as pie, but it still made a cool shiver go down Poppy’s back. ‘Poppy sounded scared of him and I wondered why.’

  Poppy watched as her aunt and uncle exchanged looks.

  ‘Poppy was right,’ Aunt Sophie said. ‘No one from Starlight goes riding there, so don’t even think about it.’

  Uncle Mark cleared his throat and shook his head when her aunt touched his arm. ‘Tell them,’ he said, his voice low.

  She sighed and looked at Poppy. Poppy blinked back at her, scared of what she was about to hear.
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  ‘Mark was witness to Smithy breaking another man’s jaw in an argument outside a bar once, and if you’d seen the state of some of his animals in the past . . .’ Her aunt pressed her palm into her forehead and stopped talking. ‘We’ve made complaints before to animal welfare, so our relationship with him isn’t exactly good. When we say we don’t want you girls going near him, we mean it.’

  Poppy couldn’t breathe, she was so scared. So her aunt hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d told her the old man was dangerous.

  ‘Are we clear, girls?’ Aunt Sophie asked.

  Poppy nodded and watched her friends do the same. Even Milly was quiet for once. Poppy got up from the table then and took her plate into the kitchen. She was sick to her stomach. Her aunt and uncle had gone back to their own conversation, and Milly and Katie followed her into the kitchen. They formed a quick huddle.

  ‘We have to stay with the horses again tonight,’ Poppy said, not wanting to leave Crystal unguarded for even a moment, even if she was beyond terrified of their neighbour now.

  Milly looked at each of them, her eyes sparkling. ‘You know what this means?’ she said.

  Poppy groaned, knowing exactly what Milly meant. But no way was she going to risk snooping around on Old Smithy’s land again. It was too dangerous. ‘Didn’t you hear what they said, Milly? What if he thinks we’re wild animals or something? What about what Mark saw him do that night?’

  ‘We’re going looking for the horses again tomorrow, and we’re starting at that creepy guy’s farm. We just need to be a bit smarter about it this time.’ Milly was determined.

  Poppy sighed and looked at Katie, who was staying very quiet. Poppy doubted Katie would ever want to go over there again either.

  ‘The hoof prints do kind of make me wonder still,’ said Poppy, thinking out loud. ‘And the fact that we heard noises from inside that old barn. ‘

  ‘You bet!’ said Milly.

  But before Poppy could say anything else, like how that didn’t mean she was willing to risk running into Old Smithy again, Uncle Mark’s deep voice made them all jump.

  ‘What’s going on, girls?’

  ‘Ah, nothing, Mr D,’ said Milly, giving him a beamer of a smile. Poppy was amazed at how Milly could just turn on the innocent charm like that. She and Katie probably looked guilty, but Milly’s little act had given them time to compose themselves.

  ‘Sounds like something’s up,’ he said, not missing a beat, and eyeing Poppy and Katie suspiciously.

  Poppy felt her cheeks blush under his stare.

  Aunt Sophie entered the kitchen then, sizing them all up.

  ‘I’d say they’re deciding whether or not to sleep down at the stables tonight,’ she said.

  ‘Stables?’ Mark looked confused. ‘Am I missing something here? Girls . . .?’

  ‘Seems they’ve taken it upon themselves to guard their ponies. Are you planning on heading down again tonight?’ Aunt Sophie asked.

  They all nodded.

  ‘Okay, well, let’s get some bedding for you.’

  ‘No, don’t worry, Mrs D,’ said Milly, linking arms with Poppy and Katie. ‘We’re fine on the straw in the spare stall. We’ll just take our sleeping-bags.’

  ‘Suit yourselves.’ She sighed. ‘Keep the cordless phone with you. If anything happens, call the house straightaway. And make sure the doors are locked.’

  Poppy and the others scurried off upstairs then, before Sophie and Mark could change their minds.

  ‘Why did you say no to the beds?’ moaned Katie as soon as they were in the bedroom.

  ‘Duh,’ said Milly. ‘We need to get to the stables now and start planning for tomorrow. No time for beds being lugged about!’

  Poppy didn’t say anything, but she had to agree with Katie. Her back and legs were aching, half from the jumping this afternoon and half from the bad sleep, or no sleep, last night. She would have done anything to sleep in a bed tonight, or at least on an air bed, but it clearly wasn’t meant to be.

  The phone rang then outside their room, and Poppy jumped. Ever since they had been almost caught by the truck the day before, she was terrified a certain someone was going to call and complain. And that was all they needed.

  Poppy huddled closer to Milly and Katie, each of them tucked up in sleeping-bags. The odd nicker of a horse alerted them to the fact that they were most definitely not alone, but that didn’t stop Poppy from feeling scared.

  ‘Do you think we’re safe here?’ asked Katie, repeating her question from the previous night.

  No, we’re not safe, thought Poppy. There’s a horse thief out there on the loose, a crazy old man who possibly is that thief on the next farm, and the only protection we have is a sleeping dog who is snoring so loud he isn’t going to hear a thing!

  ‘Yeah, we’ve got Casper,’ she lied, looking over at the sleeping lump of fur on a pile of horse covers. ‘No one could get close to the place without him knowing.’

  Looking at the dog, Katie seemed less than convinced. Milly, on the other hand, didn’t seem a bit worried.

  ‘Okay, so the first time didn’t go down so well, but can you imagine when we actually find the stolen horses? We’ll be famous around here!’

  A loud bang made them all jump. Poppy almost screamed, but her tongue got in the way, and it sounded more like a duck quacking.

  ‘Did you hear that?’ whispered Katie.

  ‘Why are we whispering?’ asked Milly.

  A thud followed by heavy footsteps made them all jump again, their three sleeping-bag bodies almost on top of one another. Poppy struggled to sit up and get to Casper.

  ‘Casper!’ Poppy shrieked. ‘Casper, wake up!’

  The dog raised his head, tail thumping. Next thing, the door handle rattled before being flung open. Poppy felt her heart pumping hard in her chest, and all three girls screamed as a large man was silhouetted in the doorway.

  ‘Hey!’ The dark silhouette in the doorway was suddenly illuminated, and Poppy saw it was Mark who stood under the light. ‘What’s with the screaming?’

  Poppy slithered to the ground in a heap. She had never been so terrified.

  ‘Uncle Mark! We thought you were the thief.’

  Katie looked as white as a sheet, but Milly bounced forward, clearly interested in what Mark was holding.

  ‘Hungry, anyone?’

  That got Casper’s attention. He leapt from his makeshift bed and sat to attention.

  ‘Yes, bud, you get something for being a good guard dog.’

  ‘Guard dog?’ Poppy had never heard anything so funny. To think she’d been worried about big brave Casper being down here at night. He would probably sleep straight through all their ponies being stolen!

  Uncle Mark emptied a bag of goodies onto an overturned bucket. ‘Potato chips, Tim Tams and some lemonade to wash it all down,’ he said. ‘And I even have three raspberry lamingtons in here that I was going to give you for dessert tomorrow.’

  ‘You’re the best, Mr D.’ Katie had come back to life.

  ‘Thanks, Uncle Mark,’ chimed Poppy. He really was the best. She hadn’t seen a lot of her dad growing up, but he’d been the same as Mark, kind and easy going, never upset by anything and always smiling.

  ‘You girls need to remember to lock the door this time. Then, if someone does come snooping around, they won’t be able to get in. Promise?’

  Poppy gulped, her mouth full of soft lamington. Promise? How could they have forgotten in the first place?

  He gave them a final wave and disappeared. Poppy jumped up to turn the lock and then shuffled back to the others, trying not to get tangled in her sleeping-bag, while licking her sticky fingers.

  ‘They’re pretty cool, huh?’ said Milly.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Your aunt and uncle.’

  ‘Um, yeah, I guess.’ They were, it was just that, sometimes, being with her uncle made her think too much about her dad, and then she started missing him all over again.

  ‘Poppy, wha
t’s wrong?’ Katie shuffled closer. She was sipping her lemonade, eyes wide with concern.

  Poppy sighed. She’d only ever talked about what it was like for her at home with her best friend, but she’d known Sarah for such a long time and so that had seemed okay. But then not telling Milly and Katie seemed wrong, too, because even though they hadn’t known each other more than a week, she felt like she could trust them. She bet if Sarah was here, she’d be nudging her and telling her just to explain to them what had happened.

  ‘They are your aunt and uncle, right?’ Milly asked, grinning.

  ‘Of course. It’s just, well, this year has kind of sucked.’

  Milly passed her the packet of Tim Tams and she pulled one of the chocolate biscuits out. ‘What happened?’ Milly asked.

  Katie was waiting, too, watching her. Poppy sipped at her Sprite and took a deep breath. ‘My dad was in the army and . . . he died a few months ago.’

  Katie and Milly both stopped eating, frozen mid-bite, and stared at Poppy. Poppy’s cheeks burned because she was embarrassed and wished she’d never said anything. She was about to cry, but she had to keep telling them now because otherwise she’d definitely cry and she didn’t want that to happen.

  ‘We had to move house, and it’s been really hard on my mum, so I’ve kind of had to look after my little brother a lot.’

  Milly still wasn’t saying anything. It was probably the first time Poppy had known her to be quiet, but Katie sprang into action. She put her drink down and threw her arms around Poppy, hugging her so tight that Poppy couldn’t move.

  ‘That’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard,’ Katie said, keeping an arm around Poppy’s shoulder.

  ‘I’m really sorry, Poppy. I wouldn’t have moaned about my parents if I’d known.’ Milly looked embarrassed.

  ‘It’s fine, really.’ Poppy smiled, trying to be brave. ‘The hardest thing is seeing my mum sad all the time, because I hadn’t seen my dad in so long anyway.’

  She looked around the barn, wishing she knew what to say to change the subject. Then she spied Casper. ‘He snores so loud, don’t you think?’ she asked.