Sundancer

by Shelley Peterson

  Pete answered proudly, “My extremely talented wife.”

  “How did you make it so fast?” asked Hannah, incredulously. “The show’s barely over!”

  Laura smiled mysteriously. “You’ll never get my secrets out of me.” Then she leaned over to Bird and whispered, “I made it yesterday. Even if you hadn’t done well, it still would’ve been an achievement to compete.”

  Bird smiled broadly at Laura, and then, without even thinking, reached out and hugged her. A few days ago, this woman had been a mere acquaintance — someone to smile at or wave to in a store or on the road. Now she felt like family. Bird was grateful for her love and support, and hoped the hug would say that to Laura. Laura hugged her back — a wonderful tight squeeze. Then, she held Bird at arm’s length and looked her straight in the eye. “You’re a very special girl, Alberta Simms — and you must be starving.” Bird swallowed the lump in her throat, and nodded.

  Everyone took a plate and loaded it up with delicious food. There was much chatter about the show and Leon and Hurricane and Sunny. The house was full of love. Bird felt included and warm inside. She caught sight of Alec across the room. He saw her and grinned. He put down his lemonade and applauded her. Bird blushed crimson. This day could not possibly get better.

  There was an impatient knock on the front door. Bird froze. It could only be one person. Bird quietly followed Hannah as she went to open it.

  Kenneth Bradley stood on the doorstep.

  “Dad!” said Hannah, surprised. “Come on in! We’re all in the kitchen.”

  “Who’s here?” asked Kenneth.

  Hannah answered uncertainly, “Paul, Alec, Eva, Stuart, Julia, Kimberly, Abby, and the Piersons. And Bird, of course, and me.”

  “Kimberly’s here?” “Yes.”

  “Did you ask her mother?”

  Hannah furrowed her brow. “She’s been with us all day, Dad. Lavinia knows that.”

  “Nobody asked if Kimberly could come home with you. Lavinia’s in the car. She’s very angry.”

  “Oh, no.” Hannah looked out and saw Lavinia sitting stiffly in

  the passenger seat. Hannah waved. Lavinia didn’t wave back. “Look, let me go out to the car and invite her in. You go into the kitchen and fill up a plate.”

  “Actually, we’re going out to dinner. I’ll tell her that Kimberly is safe. She’ll stay here tonight.”

  From her position in the kitchen doorway, Bird felt herself growing angry on Hannah’s behalf. When would people stop taking advantage of her? Of course Hannah wasn’t going to say no to her father’s request, but he hadn’t given her much of a chance.

  “Sure, Dad, Kimberly’s always welcome here.” Bird heard an emptiness — an unhappiness — in her aunt’s voice.

  “Good.” Kenneth rocked back on his heels and smiled mirthlessly. He watched Hannah closely as he said, “Oh, one more thing. Sundancer is sold to a good stable in California. He’s being picked up tomorrow morning at nine o’clock.”

  Hannah’s jaw literally dropped open. “Sunny? Sold?”

  “Yes. Do you have a problem with that?”

  “Of course I have a problem with that.”

  Kenneth stood ramrod straight. “You have no right.” He spoke with a controlled anger. “The horse belongs to Owens Enterprises. You merely train him and board him. I thought that was clear.”

  “We had a deal. Bird was to ride him in shows, and he was to live here.”

  “That’s what I said. You train and board him. We own him, so we can sell him.”

  Hannah watched, dumbstruck, as her father calmly walked to his car, blithely taking all his granddaughter’s hopes and dreams with him.

  A million thoughts raced through Bird’s mind. She needed to do something, and she needed to do it now. Hannah had to know about Silver and Leon. It might make a difference.

  “Ha … nn … ah?”

  Hannah turned quickly, surprised at both Bird’s presence and the sound of her voice. “I’m so sorry, Bird. I’m so sorry you had to hear it like that. He’s right. They own him, so they have the right to sell him. I don’t think there’s anything we can do.”

  Bird had no intention of giving up so easily. She put her hands on Hannah’s arms to keep her from walking away. “Leon … dea … d m … eat. Pin. Leon.” It was a big effort, and Bird felt exhausted.

  Hannah tried to understand. “What about Leon? And dead meat? And what pin?”

  Bird sighed. She’d have to think of another way to tell Hannah. But how? Speaking was simply too hard, and it wasn’t fair to make Hannah guess. She’d write it down on paper. That’s what she’d do. But all at once, she had another thought. Paul! He’d know what she was trying to say! Bird ran into the kitchen and found him, helping himself to another piece of chicken. She grabbed him and pulled him out into the hall.

  “What’s up, Bird?” he said good-naturedly as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.

  Hannah answered hollowly. “My father was just here. I guess Lavinia didn’t know where Kimberly was. And then he mentioned, rather casually, that Sunny is sold. Bird was trying to tell me something about Leon and dead meat and a pin, then she ran and got you, I don’t know why …”

  “Hold on,” Paul raised his arms to stop Hannah from continuing. “That’s a lot to absorb. As for Kimberly, I know that Lavinia saw her leave with Eva and Stuart and Julia. They waved goodbye to each other.”

  Bird tapped him impatiently on his arm. Frustration was welling up inside her. Why were they wasting time talking about Kimberly? She put out her hand, palm up. “P … in?”

  “Pin?” Paul looked puzzled. “What pin?”

  Bird trotted like a horse, then jumped up in the air howling with pain. She put her hand on her back.

  “Oh, the pin that was stuck in Hurricane’s back.” Bird nodded eagerly, then stuck her hand out again. “Are you asking if I have it?”

  Bird nodded.

  “It just so happens that I do.” Paul reached into his back pocket and brought out a small tin box. He opened it. Inside was a silver pin, about an inch and a half long, with a tiny diamond embedded in the middle. “I didn’t have time to change. Good thing you asked. I’d forgotten all about it.”

  Bird looked at it closely. Sure enough there was a “sparkle” in the middle, as Hurricane called it. A small diamond. “Le … on’s.” Hannah and Paul glanced at each other.

  “It’s Leon’s stock pin?” asked Hannah.

  Bird nodded. She had no doubt about it.

  “Why would he do that to Owens’ best horse?” asked Hannah.

  “For thirty thousand dollars,” asserted Paul. “Bird would have done quite well on Hurricane. He eliminated the competition.”

  “How could he have done it, though? Logistically, I mean. Bird put her own saddle on Hurricane.”

  “But the Owens Enterprises saddle pad remained on the horse. Leon could’ve stuck the pin in the saddle pad when he removed his saddle, then waited for it to stab Hurricane.”

  Hannah grimaced at the thought.

  “It would have moved around under the saddle when Bird was warming up, until it eventually stabbed right into his flesh.”

  Hannah shook her head. “Do you think Elvin had anything to do with this?”

  “It’s not his style,” answered Paul. “He’s a lot of things, but he wouldn’t hurt a valuable horse like Hurricane. Elvin would’ve wanted him to win, anyway. Upped his value.”

  Bird agreed with Paul’s assessment. But there were a few things about Elvin that these two didn’t know. She made dog yapping noises and mimed Sunny spooking at a jump.

  “Are you saying that Elvin sent that dog out to ruin your ride?” asked Hannah in disbelief.

  Bird put her hand on her heart and nodded forcefully. Paul pursed his lips. “I wondered if that was his dog.”

  Bird said, “Bu … zz.”

  “If Elvin finds out who planted the stock pin, he’ll be furious.” Paul closed his fingers around the pin. “It’ll be easy e
nough to prove if this is Leon’s pin.”

  Bird had more to say. “S … unn … y d … ead m … eat. Leon.”

  Paul and Hannah exchanged confused glances. A second later, though, Paul dropped to his knee in front of Bird. “Bird.” He spoke with a seriousness in his tone that she was not used to hearing. “Did Leon say that Sunny was dead meat?” Bird smiled in relief, and nodded.

  Paul stood again, and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m just guessing here, but I think he meant that Sundancer is dead on paper. In other words, he’s been pronounced dead — as I suspected from the first — and they’ve collected the insurance money for him.” Paul began to pace. “Very interesting. And now Kenneth has sold him far, far away to California. For more money. Very interesting. I’m not sure we can prove anything, though. I have no access to the insurance company.”

  “What a bunch!” exclaimed Hannah. “Elvin doesn’t know what Leon’s up to and Leon doesn’t know what Elvin’s up to, and my father doesn’t know what either of them are doing, but he trumps them all in the underhanded department! Should we involve the police?” she asked.

  Paul considered it. Eventually, he shook his head. “We don’t have enough to tell them yet. At this point, we’re just speculating.”

  Bird’s stomach flipped and flopped. A moment ago she’d been ready to eat a big meal and finish it off with cake. Now she felt as though she might be sick. It wasn’t fair! They were up against dishonest people, and the bad guys were winning. She couldn’t let Sunny go to California. She had to do something — and she only had until nine the next morning.

  The kitchen door opened and Eva came out. “There you are! Everybody’s asking about you.”

  Hannah said, “We’ll be just a minute, Eva. Keep the party going.”

  Eva put her hands on her hips and looked at Bird. “The guest of honour has to cut the cake. For good luck.”

  Bird managed a smile for her mother’s sake. Eva had no idea how much luck Bird would need.

  Paul was still pacing. “I wonder what papers they’re using to sell him. If they’re using Prince Redwood papers, then we need to prove that they’ve collected insurance money on his death, and the deal is off. If they’re using the passport with Sundancer as his name, then we must prove that Sundancer is really Prince Redwood. I can do that with DNA. Prince Redwood’s DNA is on file because he’s a registered Canadian Sport Horse. They owe me a favour at Equine Research in Guelph. I’ll get a few hairs from Sunny, and trot on down to the lab.”

  “Right now?” Hannah asked.

  “There’s no time to waste.” Paul stopped at the door. “Unless you want him sold, Hannah. Tell me now. It might not be a bad idea.”

  Hannah looked at Bird, who’d gone rigid. “No, Paul, I don’t want him sold. I want him to stay here with Bird. He’s her horse.”

  Bird’s face relaxed. She ran out the door with Paul. She was going to help in every way she could.

  They turned on the lights in the barn. All the horses leaned out of their stall doors, blinking as their eyes adjusted to the light. Pastor yawned loudly, and Zachary began to relieve his bladder, which sounded like a water bucket overflowing.

  Sunny was lying down. He was unhappy about being disturbed.

  I’ve had a long day, Bird girl.

  Don’t get up. We need to take a few hairs from your mane.

  Why?

  For a test. That’s all.

  What kind of test includes mane hairs?

  A DNA test. It’ll tell us who your mother and father are.

  You want to know who my father is? Now?

  Stop asking questions, Sunny. It’s no big deal.

  Do it fast. I want to get back to sleep.

  Bird walked into Sundancer’s stall and bent over the resting horse. She quickly pulled four hairs — with roots attached — from the big chestnut’s mane and patted his neck.

  Thanks, Sunny.

  Go away. I’ll see you tomorrow.

  Right. See you tomorrow.

  Wait. Something’s wrong. Tell me, Bird girl.

  Nothing’s wrong. I’ll see you tomorrow.

  You’re a bad liar, but I’m too tired to argue.

  Bird and Paul walked out of the barn after turning off the lights. The hairs were safely folded into a small plastic bag in Paul’s pocket. “Thanks, Bird. You got those hairs much more easily than I could have. He trusts you.”

  Because I can talk to him, Bird thought. In his own language. Nobody else does that.

  “It’s almost like you talk to him,” said Paul. Bird was startled. He was a perceptive man.

  “I’m going directly to the lab to get this organized as quickly as possible.” Paul opened the cab of his truck and jumped in. “I’ll be back for Alec in a bit.”

  Bird pointed to herself then opened her hands and lifted them. She wanted to help.

  “Thanks, Bird, but there’s nothing for you to do. Don’t worry. The DNA test will be done well before the truck arrives.” Paul started up the engine. “You did great today, Bird. You rode brilliantly, plus you proved to us all that Sunny needs to stay here. Get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

  Paul Daniels drove away, leaving Bird on the driveway. She felt a presence beside her. It was Alec.

  “Bird, I have to say, I was, like, really impressed today. I didn’t know you could ride like that. I sure couldn’t.”

  Bird smiled at the handsome boy. She put her hand on her heart.

  “I wish you could talk, Bird. I don’t know what you think, or anything.” He stood on one foot, then the other. “I just wanted to tell you that. That you were great. No matter if you won or not.”

  BIRD WOKE UP AFTER a few hours sleep. The surprise party was long over and the guests gone. The dishes had been washed and put away. She tried to drift off again, but she could not get comfortable, no matter which way she tried to position her body or the pillows.

  It had been a really nice party, Bird thought. They’d waited for Bird to come back from the barn, and then everyone had sung “For She’s a Jolly Good Fellow” while Bird cut the cake. Alec couldn’t sing on key, but somehow that made Bird like him even better. And the cake had been delicious. But still, Bird’s heart had not been in it. She kept thinking about Sunny. She still was.

  Bird looked at her bedside clock. Three minutes past three. Should she run away with Sunny, like the last time? But where? Not to the Piersons. That would be the first place they’d look.

  It wasn’t fair! Sunny jumped beautifully at the horse show, so he gets punished by being sold? To whom? Hmm. Bird thought back to the man with her grandfather at the show. The one who was in the judge’s booth then went to the Owens stalls with him. That must be him. He had a California tan. He seemed like a nice enough man. He probably had no idea that he’d just bought a horse that might kill him. Not on purpose. But still.

  Bird could not stay in bed for another minute. She got up and pulled her jeans and T-shirt on over her nightie. Downstairs she crept, step by step, careful not to wake anyone. She took a drink of orange juice, right out of the carton, and put it back.

  As she closed the refrigerator door, she noticed a light moving on the driveway. She went to the kitchen window to get a better view. The light was coming from the dashboard of a truck. The truck had no headlights on, and it was pulling a two-horse trailer slowly up the driveway.

  Her grandfather had said they were coming at nine in the morning. It was three. Something wasn’t right. She slipped out the door and followed the truck to the barn.

  The night air was much cooler than the daytime heat. Fall was coming. Soon she wouldn’t be able to walk outside barefoot, Bird mused, as her feet felt the moisture of the grass along the driveway. Then again, by fall she hoped her nighttime visits to barns would be a thing of the past. She neared the barn door.

  Elvin Wainright got out of the truck. He felt his pockets for something, then pulled a small syringe from his breast pocket. Bird watched,
then followed as he entered the barn, feeling his way cautiously in the dark. As he neared Sunny’s stall, she flicked on the lights and stepped out of the shadows.

  “Bird!” Elvin stammered. “You scared me out of my wits.”

  Good. Bird darted in front of Elvin and planted herself firmly in front of Sunny’s stall. She put her hands on her hips and stared at him.

  What’s going on, Bird girl?

  Nothing. If I can help it.

  “The plans changed. Our client wants Sundancer shipped down sooner. We’re getting a head start. Please step aside. Let me do my job.”

  Bird didn’t budge.

  The Tall Man. He’s here to take me away.

  Not if I can stop him.

  “Look, Bird, please. Move out of the way. I’m asking you nicely.” Despite his words, Elvin’s tone was getting less nice.

  Bird pointed to Elvin’s hand, which still held the syringe. He’d slyly hidden it behind his back.

  “He’ll need a little Ace for the long ride. To keep him calm.” Elvin’s patience had just run out. “Bird, I’m telling you to move out of my way. Sundancer’s sold. It’s a done deal.”

  He said sold.

  Yes.

  You didn’t tell me.

  I found out last night.

  And now you plan to stop him?

  Yes.

  How, Bird girl? He’s much bigger than you.

  I don’t know, Sunny.

  Bird tilted her head and continued to stare at Elvin.

  “You are a freak show.” Elvin grabbed Bird by the shoulders, spun her around and picked her up.“ Don’t say you didn’t ask for it.” Elvin carried Bird to the dark tack room and tossed her inside.

  He closed the door firmly as she rolled into the saddle racks and crashed to the floor. Bird struggled to get up. She heard something heavy being dragged across the tack room door.

  She also heard Sunny kicking and whinnying. He was putting up a fight. So could she. Bird staggered to the door and tried to push it open. It wouldn’t budge.

  Get help, Bird girl! Get help!

  Just then she remembered the phone. It was hidden in a cupboard behind the horse coolers, to keep the cats from knocking it off the hook. Bird opened the cupboard and picked up the phone. Above it was a list of important numbers. Bob Kleinpaste the farrier, Jim Lyons the hay supplier, Bill the carrot man, Robert McCarron at the Victoria feed store. And at the very top was Paul Daniels, the veterinarian.