Schaudt’s gaze didn’t waver. “Then you should have had someone cover for you. I warned you not to leave Aristocrat. There have been too many unexplained incidents.” His eyes swung to Texel.
Nancy exhaled. She hadn’t realized how tense she had become, even though Schaudt hadn’t been reprimanding her.
“We’re working on those incidents,” Texel said. “We’ve had a guard at the front gate all evening. He reports that no horses were transported from the showgrounds. That means your stallion’s here somewhere.”
Schaudt took a step toward Texel, his back ramrod-straight. “Then why aren’t you looking for my horse?” he asked, his tone accusing.
Without a word, Texel met the other man’s gaze. “We are,” he finally drawled. “If you have a photo of the horse, it would help greatly.”
“I brought one just for that purpose.” Schaudt plucked one from his jacket pocket, handed it to Texel, then scowled at Gilly. “I’m not through with you yet, Miss Phillips. But right now I need to look for my horse.”
Whipping around, he marched out of the barn.
Gilly burst into tears. Covering her eyes, she raced in the opposite direction.
For a second no one said a word. Then Texel waved the photo at the two guards. “Look at this; then check every stall in every barn. I’m going to call the county and state police. If we don’t find Aristocrat, I’ll fax them a copy of this photo so they can keep their eyes peeled for any vans on the highway this late at night.”
As Texel and the guards were leaving, Lee Anne and Michael came into the barn from the parking lot.
“What’s going on?” Michael asked. “Klaus called me and told me to come over here. He said there was a problem.”
Michael and Lee Anne were still dressed in the clothes they’d worn to dinner. Since it was almost midnight, Nancy wondered where they’d been since they left the restaurant.
“Aristocrat’s gone,” Nancy explained.
Lee Anne blinked. “Gone?”
“What do you mean he’s gone?” Rushing over to the stallion’s stall, Michael looked inside, then turned to Nancy. “Where’s Gilly? What’s being done to find the horse?”
“Klaus bawled Gilly out, and she ran off,” Nancy explained. “Klaus and the guards are checking all the barns. Texel went to call the state and local police.”
“Poor Gilly.” Lee Anne bit her lip.
“Poor Gilly—nothing,” Michael snapped. “Klaus should have chewed her out. It’s her job to watch Aristocrat.”
While he talked, he walked up and down the aisle, peering into the other stalls. “At least the other horses are okay.” He ran his fingers through his thick hair in a gesture of frustration. “Man, I don’t need this. I’ve got to be ready for my dressage test in the morning.”
“You go and get some sleep,” Lee Anne told him. “I’ll stay here.”
“Are you sure?” Michael glanced down the aisle, his expression anxious. Nancy couldn’t tell if he felt guilty or just worried because the stallion was gone.
“Yes,” Lee Anne reassured him. “Klaus will understand.”
Michael snorted. “True. One thing Klaus does understand is winning. Well, I’m out of here.” His gaze flicked to Nancy before he hurried away.
Nancy faced Lee Anne. “Bess and I were worried when you didn’t come back to the room. Where did you and Michael go?”
Lee Anne seemed to grow tense. “We just went somewhere to talk. Why?”
“Hey, don’t get so uptight,” Bess said. “It was late, and we didn’t know where you were. We came to the barn to look for you.”
“Oh.” Lee Anne’s shoulders relaxed. “Sorry. Today’s just been so crazy. I mean, when I invited you two to come to the show, I never dreamed all this would happen. Then on top of it, Michael’s been so upset. I’ve never seen him like this.” When she looked at Nancy, tears glistened in her eyes.
“Do you think something’s bothering him other than the usual show pressures?” Nancy probed.
“If it is, he’s not telling me.” Lee Anne sniffled. “And now this…” She waved to Aristocrat’s empty stall. “What a nightmare.”
Putting one arm around Lee Anne’s shoulders, Bess gave her friend a hug. “Cheer up. Fortunately, you invited a great detective and her best friend to the show. We’ll help find Aristocrat.”
“Thanks.” Lee Anne wiped her eyes with her fingers.
“Which means we’d better do something.” Nancy thought for a minute. The guards were searching the other barns, so that was covered. She thought about the missing gray trailer. “I think we should check the parking lot. Someone could have loaded Aristocrat into a van or a trailer, just waiting for a chance to drive out.”
Bess nodded. “That makes sense.”
“Gilly keeps one of those big flashlights by her cot,” Lee Anne said. “Poor Gilly,” she said as she went to retrieve it. “Klaus is one of the greatest riders and trainers, but he treats his horses a lot better than he treats his human help.”
Flicking on the flashlight, Lee Anne led the way from the barn to the parking lot. As the trio went from trailer to trailer, Bess huddled close to Nancy. “I don’t want some man in one of those masks to jump out at me,” she confessed.
A half hour later they’d worked their way to the chain-link fence that circled the outer perimeter of the lot. Nancy frowned in frustration. “I think we looked in every vehicle here. No sign of Aristocrat.”
“No sound of him either,” Lee Anne added. “Most horses alone in a trailer are going to stomp or whinny. This place is so silent it’s creepy.”
Taking the flashlight, Nancy aimed it around the lot just to make sure they hadn’t missed anything. When she ran the beam along the fence, her heartbeat quickened. “Look!”
She pointed the light at one section of fence. The metal links had been cut and the fence peeled back.
Lee Anne gasped. “Someone cut a big hole in the chain links!”
