Ned chuckled as he pulled into the showgrounds. “You make it sound so easy.”
“Don’t worry.” Nancy squeezed his fingers. “It’ll be a piece of cake.”
“I found the guards’ schedule,” Nancy whispered to Ned. She was rummaging through the top drawer of Texel’s desk. Ned was hunting through the file cabinets.
It was after ten o’clock at night. Bess was out with Gunter. Lee Anne had fallen into an exhausted sleep. Earlier, when the four teens visited Gilly, they’d found her unconscious. Still, the doctor remained optimistic.
“When she does regain consciousness,” Lee Anne had stated firmly, “she’ll clear Michael.”
The doctor wasn’t sure when Gilly would wake up, however, and Nancy didn’t want to wait. If someone else was guilty, she wanted to nab the culprit as soon as possible.
“According to this schedule,” Nancy told Ned, “the culprit timed the theft perfectly. He stole Aristocrat at midnight, during the guards’ shift change.”
“So he must have known their schedule.” Ned opened the second file drawer quietly. “Here are the guards’ employment records.”
“Better check them out.” Nancy ran her finger across the schedule, noting who was on guard that night. Quickly she wrote down the names and what times they worked on a small pad.
“Hey. This is interesting,” Ned said softly. “One guard, Andy Brackett, used to work for Klaus.”
“Really?” Sliding the desk drawer shut, Nancy joined Ned. “How long ago?”
“Just last year.”
“Wow.” Nancy’s mind whirled. “Not only would he know about Aristocrat but he’d know how valuable the horse was.”
Flipping open the pad, she glanced at the names of the guards who’d been on duty the night before. When she saw Andy’s name, her heart skipped a beat.
“Ned.” Nancy held the pad up so Ned could see it in the dim light. “Andy was on duty from midnight until eight o’clock this morning. That means he could have been hanging around right before his shift. No one would have questioned why he was in one of the barns.”
“So he could have stolen Aristocrat,” Ned said.
Nancy waved the pad excitedly. “It also means one other thing: he was on duty when Gilly was attacked. What if Gilly found out that Andy Brackett had stolen the horse?”
“He would have been able to sneak into the barn and go after her without anyone suspecting,” Ned said.
“Right.” A gleam came into Nancy’s eyes, and she snapped her fingers. “And one more thing—the police officer reported that Andy Brackett was the guard who checked Michael’s pass at five o’clock. What if he was lying? What if it wasn’t Michael who drove in?”
Ned grinned excitedly. “Then we might be able to prove he’s innocent!”
11
A Surprising Twist
“If we can prove Andy Brackett is the culprit, we would clear Michael,” Nancy explained. “Now that I think of it, even though Brackett was supposed to be working at midnight, I don’t remember seeing him when we searched for Aristocrat.” In her excitement, her voice rose.
Ned put a finger to his lips. “Shh. Somebody might hear you.”
For a moment they stood and listened for any sounds coming from beyond the closed office door. When Nancy was certain no one had heard her, she whispered, “And maybe Gilly knew one of the guards was the thief. That would explain why she wouldn’t confide in Texel.”
“But what about Michael’s car leaving the barn after Gilly was killed?” Ned asked.
“Maybe Michael was working with Brackett,” Nancy said, her spirits sinking. “They may have known each other.”
“Or maybe Brackett or someone else used the car to make it look as if Michael was guilty,” Ned suggested.
“Good thought.” Before tucking the file folder back in the drawer, Nancy wrote down Andy Brackett’s address. “We need proof other than Brackett’s schedule and the fact that he used to work for Klaus.”
“Let’s ask Klaus about the guy,” Ned said. “Maybe he fired Andy or something. Revenge is a powerful motive.”
Nancy closed the drawer. “Klaus will know what kind of a guy Brackett is, too.”
For a minute she tried to picture the guard. The man was so unremarkable she barely remembered what he looked like. Short and balding?
When they got back to the motel, Bess was saying good night to Gunter in the lobby. They were laughing together and didn’t notice Nancy and Ned until the two came right up to them.
“Oh!” Bess jumped back, blushing. “We didn’t see you come in.”
“No wonder. You were too busy,” Nancy teased. “Did you have fun tonight?”
“A great time.” Gunter smiled. “We went Rollerblading.” His expression turned serious. “Though I hear I missed much excitement last night and this morning. I am sorry about your friend Gilly.”
“We are, too,” Ned said. Bess reluctantly waved goodbye when Gunter headed for his room. “He’s so much fun,” she said with a sigh.
Ned walked with Nancy and Bess to their room. Bess unlocked the door, then pushed it open and peeked in. “I think Lee Anne is still asleep,” she told the others.
“I’ll say good night, then,” Ned said, yawning. “All that snooping around wore me out, too.”
Nancy gave him a quick kiss. “Thanks for your help.” When she and Bess went inside, Lee Anne was sitting up in bed. Her hair was tousled, her cheeks pale. Bess had already gone into the bathroom.
