“Angelica, look at this,” she said. “Someone threw some old clothes into…” Suddenly a wall of terror slammed into her and she staggered backward. Angelica reached out and grabbed her before she fell.
“What is it, Lisa?” she asked, but Lisa couldn’t speak. She couldn’t tell Angelica about the thin hand that had been extruding from the dirty clothing. The grey mop of hair in disarray. She couldn’t form the words. All she could do is point. Angelica led Lisa to the bale of straw Jimmy had beaten the day before and helped her sit down. Behind them, Jupiter’s panicky neigh rang out again and his hoof hit the stall door with a loud bang.
“Lay your head down onto your knees,” Angelica suggested. “That way the dizziness will pass. And breathe slowly. I will be right back.”
With her head on her knees, Lisa watched Angelica’s feet hurry toward Jupiter’s stall. She raised her head when the older girl opened the stall door and then stood back to let Jupiter out of his enclosure. The black gelding leaped out of the stall and trotted stiff-legged past Lisa to the far end of the stable. Firefly neighed to him, and Lisa heard the clunk of his hooves as he went to stand beside her.
Lisa watched Angelica walk into the stall and then disappear as she knelt down. Like a sleepwalker, Lisa stood and walked to the stall door. Angelica was kneeling in the straw beside the still form lying face down in the straw. Lisa saw her reach out and touch the exposed wrist, then her hand moved to his neck. Finally she turned to Lisa.
“He is dead,” Angelica said.
Chapter 20
Poor, poor Mr. Pickering. Could I have saved him? Was there something I could have done, something the Great One would have allowed me to do? What Mr. Pickering’s last hour must have been like, I can only imagine. He did not deserve this. And poor Lisa. She liked him so much. She recognized he was a lonely man and a good man.
Jupiter is going to be blamed. The police will assume he killed his owner. Is this why I was sent here? To save Jupiter from being destroyed? Or are he and Lisa and the others still in danger from the one who did this? I must ask Jupiter what happened, as soon as Lisa is safe at home.
Chapter 21
Tears erupted from Lisa’s eyes, instantly blinding her.
“He is Mr. Pickering, is he not?” asked Angelica.
Lisa could only nod in reply. She put her head down and buried her face in her hands. Sobs started to shake her shoulders. She felt Angelica’s arms around her, leading her back to the bale of straw, then pulling her down to sit beside her. She felt Jupiter touch her shoulder with his muzzle and heard him nicker to her.
“It’s my fault,” the strangled words emerged from Lisa’s throat.
“It is not your fault,” said Angelica beside her. “You did nothing wrong.”
“But you were right. We should have told someone he was sick,” said Lisa, gasping. “I was so weak, afraid my dad would be too angry with me if I said anything. And I thought Jimmy wouldn’t leave him if he was too sick. Why did he leave? Didn’t he care that Mr. Pickering might die?”
“He did not die because he was sick, Lisa,” said Angelica softly. Her voice sounded different, and Lisa looked up into her golden eyes.
“What do you mean?” asked Lisa, dumbfounded.
“He was killed,” said Angelica.
“What?” said Lisa, not sure she had understood. “You mean someone murdered him?”
Solemnly Angelica nodded her head.
“But why? Who?” asked Lisa, her mind beginning to buzz.
“I do not know why. But who? Maybe …”
Angelica’s mouth continued to move, but suddenly Lisa couldn’t hear her anymore. Her head swelled with the words she had heard only two nights before. I’ll get it back even if I have to kill Pickering to get it. All she could think of was her dad’s pale face and sunken eyes when he walked in the door that night. She pictured him trying to smile, trying to convince her that everything was okay, that everything was normal.
Lisa felt a strange numbness begin to creep over her. It started at her lips, and spread slowly to her face and neck and arms. Nothing seemed real anymore. The stable was like a dream. She stared at the straw strewn floor, trying to think of anything other than Mr. Pickering lying dead in Jupiter’s stall. Trying to imagine anyone but her dad leaning over him. Angelica sat beside her for a few moments and tried to get her to talk, but Lisa couldn’t say a single word. She was afraid she would let everything spill out if she opened her mouth. And I can’t tell anyone, she thought. I can’t let anyone know what he did. He’s my dad. I have to protect him. He didn’t know what he was doing.
When Angelica stood, Lisa barely noticed. “I am going to telephone the police,” she said and touched Lisa’s arm. “Will you be okay here or do you want to come with me?” she asked.
Lisa barely shook her head. “I’ll stay. I have Jupiter with me. Can you call my mom too?” she asked in a small voice.
“Of course,” said Angelica and began to walk toward the door to the stable. Just before leaving, she turned back. “Umm, Lisa?” she said, her voice unsure for the first time. “I can not be here when the police come. Please, do not tell them about me, okay?”
Lisa looked up puzzled and then climbed to her feet. She turned toward Jupiter, leaned her cheek on his lowered face and looked at Angelica with red eyes. “Why not?” she asked.
“I can not tell you why now. You and Jupiter need help and there is no time. But trust me, okay?” said Angelica. Her amber eyes pleaded with Lisa.
Lisa was silent for a moment and then she nodded her head. She would keep Angelica’s secret too, whatever it was. She watched as Angelica slipped out the stable door into the night.
The moment she was gone, Lisa pulled away from Jupiter. She gathered her courage and stepped toward the stall. I only have a few minutes, she thought. If there is anything here that shows my dad did this, I’ve got to find it now.
When she saw Mr. Pickering’s body, so thin and frail in the straw, the tears sprung to her eyes again. I’m so sorry, she thought as she knelt in the straw beside him. “I’m so sorry my dad did this to you,” she whispered. “And I’m sorry I’m trying to hide what he did. He just loved this place too much. You loved it too. You told me, remember? On that day we had the picnic.”
Lisa remembered the day vividly. It was a sunny summer afternoon just three weeks before Jimmy had come to stay with Mr. Pickering. Mr. Pickering had made a picnic lunch for her and they had eaten it in one of the horse paddocks, the one with the big maple tree. Dakota kept trying to steal the buns, and Mr. Pickering had laughed until he had had tears in his eyes. Then he had told Lisa he had worked at Evergreen Manor as a boy. His father had been the head groom and his young son, not called Mr. Pickering then but Charlie, had loved working with the horses and helping his dad. He told her it had been the happiest time of his life. His family had fallen on hard times shortly after they left Evergreen Manor and, for the rest of his life, Mr. Pickering had wanted to return. When he heard the Manor was up for sale, he could hardly believe his luck and had sold almost everything he owned so he could buy it.
Lisa remembered vividly the look in his eyes when he told her he was sorry for taking her home away from her. She had smiled and told him she was just glad she could still see Jupiter, but he could tell her smile was sad. He had leaned back against the tree and the two of them watched the horses in silence. When they began to pack up their picnic leftovers, he had promised Lisa he would never sell the horses and told her again that she was always welcome at Evergreen Manor.
Lisa reached out and put her hand in the pocket of Mr. Pickering’s robe. It was empty. Quickly she stood and glanced toward the door. There was still no sign of Angelica. She stepped to the other side of Mr. Pickering and tried to check the other pocket. It was partially beneath his body, and she pulled on the material. She could hear sirens in the distance coming closer and closer. The police, thought Lisa, I need to hurry.
She gave the material a sharp tug to fre
e the pocket and Mr. Pickering’s arm slid toward her. Lisa jumped backward and fell into the straw, her fear instantly rising around her, blocking her breathing and roaring in her ears. She stared in horror at the dark bruises blooming over Mr. Pickering’s exposed arm like black flowers and then, mercifully, tears clouded her vision again. Through the blur, Lisa noticed something white in Mr. Pickering’s hand. She reached out and gingerly pulled the piece of paper from his stiff fingers then, holding her breath, she checked his other robe pocket. Nothing again. She slipped the piece of paper into her jeans pocket as she stood and moved away from the body.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she backed toward the door. “I’m sorry this wasn’t the perfect place you thought it was, Mr. Pickering. You have no idea how much I wish it had been.”
Suddenly, Lisa heard someone run up behind her. As she began to turn around, a firm hand fell onto her shoulder, rooting her in place. Then her dad’s voice boomed out. “Why are you here, Lisa? What have you done?”
Chapter 22
Slowly Lisa turned toward her father, but no words came out of her mouth. His face looked even more haggard than before and a strange light was in his eyes. Without meaning to, she pulled from his grasp and stepped away from him.
“Are you okay?” her dad asked, his voice cracking with emotion. Lisa stared at him, her eyes filled with fear. Slowly she nodded, though she didn’t feel okay at all. She felt worse than she had ever felt in her life, but how could she tell him the horrible accusations that were running through her head.
Mr. Pickering worked his whole life just to save enough money to return to a place where he remembered being happy, she thought. If my dad killed him, he must be a monster. But how can I condemn him? It’s my fault too. I helped to kill Mr. Pickering by not letting anyone know what my dad said. And by becoming Mr. Pickering’s friend. If I hadn’t done that, Dad wouldn’t have hated him so much.
Lisa watched her dad’s eyes move to the body lying in the straw inside Jupiter’s stall. She was surprised to see sadness and pity crawl onto his face and then the sirens were right outside the stable. Lisa could see the lights flashing through the darkness outside the open door, scattering the moonlight into oblivion. Within seconds, the police burst into the stable.
Lisa watched as the mask closed over her father’s face and he became professional and businesslike, emotionless. She shut her eyes and tried to remember his exact expression from moments before. She had seen compassion on his face, hadn’t she? Hadn’t he looked sorry for Mr. Pickering? But the expression had disappeared so quickly, she just wasn’t sure. She slipped her hand into her pocket and clutched at the slip of paper she had picked from Mr. Pickering’s fingers.
A loud thud caught her attention, and she turned around. Jupiter was standing with his head in Firefly’s stall and his back to the officers, rolling his eyes. Lisa could see he was terrified. Being locked in a stall with Mr. Pickering had taken its toll and now, with all the strangers in the stable, Jupiter was becoming frightened beyond reason.
“Wait,” she called to a policewoman who was approaching Jupiter with a halter in her hand. “Let me do it. He knows me.” Jupiter’s front hoof flashed out and struck the door of Firefly’s stall again, sending the sound ricocheting through the stable.
Lisa hurried to his side. “It’s okay, Jupie,” she said. “I’ll take you outside so you can run in the paddock a bit, okay?” She reached out and took the halter the policewoman held toward her and slipped it over Jupiter’s head.
“Just hold him there for a few minutes, will you?” said another officer, as he approached. “Will he let us examine him?”
“As long as I hold him, he will,” said Lisa. “But he’s very frightened.” More people walked into the stable and the officer called one of the women over.
“I’m Inspector Frederick,” he introduced himself to Lisa. “And this is Dr. Callick, one of our forensic specialists. She’ll need to examine the horse before we turn him out.”
“Why?” asked Lisa suspiciously.
“The body is in the stall that this horse came out of, isn’t it?” asked Dr. Callick as she slid her hand over Jupiter’s neck.
“Yes,” said Lisa slowly. Then suddenly she understood. “You think he killed Mr. Pickering?” she asked incredulously. “Jupiter wouldn’t hurt anyone, especially Mr. Pickering. He liked Mr. Pickering.”
Dr. Callick ran her hand down Jupiter’s front leg and asked him to pick up his hoof. Jupiter tossed his head as he raised his foreleg. Lisa could tell he didn’t like Dr. Callick very much, probably because he could sense she didn’t like him. “You don’t understand,” Lisa tried again. “There is absolutely no way Jupiter would attack Mr. Pickering, I swear.”
Dr. Callick took some dirt samples from Jupiter’s hoof, then pared away a little from the hoof itself. Lisa noticed the part she pared away had a dark spot on it. “That isn’t blood on his hoof,” she said defensively.
“Please,” said Dr. Callick, putting Jupiter’s hoof down and turning to Lisa. “If you are so sure he didn’t do it, then there’s nothing to worry about, is there? The tests will only prove he is innocent.” She moved around to Jupiter’s off side, took samples from his other front hoof and put them into another neatly labelled container. Then she took samples from Jupiter’s back hooves.
When she was finished, Dr. Callick went back to Jupiter’s head. She reached up to stroke Jupiter’s neck. He rolled his eyes at her and her hand froze in midair. Then she lowered it to his muzzle so he could sniff at her. Jupiter inhaled her scent, his eyes on her face. “He’s very frightened, isn’t he? It must have been hard for him, locked in the stall with his owner dead,” she said. She glanced toward the police officers standing with Lisa’s dad and Mr. Pickering’s body, then leaned toward Lisa. “Try not to worry. I know horses and, you’re right, he doesn’t act like a killer.”
“Thanks,” whispered Lisa. The unexpected kindness made her want to cry again. She blinked her tears back and leaned on Jupiter’s neck.
“You can turn him out now if you want,” suggested Dr. Callick and patted her on the shoulder. “He looks like he could use the peace and quiet for a while. And like I said, don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”
I’ve heard that so many times tonight, thought Lisa. Everything is not okay! Mr. Pickering has been killed, maybe by my own father, Jupiter may be blamed for it and Angelica left me here to face it all alone. How is that okay?
“Come on, Jupie,” she said aloud and began to lead him toward the stable door. Inspector Frederick saw her begin to leave and left the group standing around the body. “Wait, Lisa,” he called after her. “I don’t want you to take him out alone.”
“You’re right. He should have company,” said Lisa, though she knew Inspector Frederick meant he was afraid Jupiter would attack her too. “I’ll take Topper out with him.”
She turned back to Topper’s stall and grabbed his halter hanging on the hook outside the stall door. She slipped inside the stall, leaving Jupiter’s lead rope hanging over the door and put the halter on the grey gelding’s head. “Good boy, Topper,” she murmured when the halter was in place. “You get to go outside tonight, you lucky boy.” Lisa picked up Jupiter’s lead rope and led the two horses toward Inspector Frederick standing at the stable door.
“You can take Topper,” she said to the Inspector, holding the grey’s lead rope out to him. Then she walked outside with Jupiter. The same magical moon glowed in the sky, and Lisa stopped to look up at it. Jupiter nickered to her and nuzzled her back.
Suddenly, Lisa thought of leaping onto Jupiter’s back and galloping away. Away from Mr. Pickering’s body lying in the straw—away from her dad and the police, and their accusing eyes. Away from the home that wasn’t her home anymore. Just ride and ride and ride in the moonlight, and never come back. She twisted her fingers in Jupiter’s mane. It would only take a second to vault onto his back and, thanks to Angelica, she already knew how to ride him without a
saddle or bridle. The Inspector wouldn’t be able to stop her. They would be gone almost before he would realize it, fading into the night, never to return.
Unconsciously, her hand slipped into her pocket and touched the slip of paper. She had only gotten a glimpse of it, but she knew it was a car rental slip. She had seen them before at home: slips from the same company that her dad usually rented from when he needed a car in the city and had to leave the family car for her mom to use.
How could she leave her dad? Maybe he needed her help still. And her mom and Molly, how could she leave them? And Neptune, Topper, Firefly, and Dakota? They all needed her, especially now that Mr. Pickering had been killed. Lisa hung her head. There was no escape. There would be no riding off in the moonlight. She had to stay. There was no choice. I’ll have to trust that Dr. Callick is right, she thought. I’ll have to trust that they can prove Jupiter’s innocence.
She opened the gate to the front paddock and led Jupiter through. Inspector Frederick led Topper in behind her. Silently, Lisa slipped Jupiter’s halter from his head, and then showed Inspector Frederick how to undo the buckle and let Topper free. The two horses wandered slowly away, picking at the autumn grass as Lisa closed and latched the gate behind them. As she walked beside the Inspector back to the stable she looked over her shoulder one last time. Topper was a silver horse in the moonlight and Jupiter a dark shadow beside him. They were walking toward the other side of the paddock and looked relaxed and calm.
Then Lisa saw something else: a glimmer of gold rippling in the soft light on the other side of the paddock. Angelica. Lisa turned quickly away. She didn’t want Inspector Frederick to look in Angelica’s direction. A small smile played on her lips. So she didn’t abandon me. I’m so glad she’s here, thought Lisa. She’ll take care of Jupiter while I talk to the police.
Chapter 23
Back in the stable, Inspector Frederick asked Lisa to sit on the bale of straw and wait. He had some questions for her, but needed to do a few things first. Lisa watched and listened to the police officers as they investigated the crime scene. They looked at everything in Jupiter’s stall, even searching through the straw and checking the floor underneath. Then they began to examine the rest of the stable. The police photographer took pictures of everything. Then Inspector Frederick began to ask her questions.
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