Just then Nancy heard a menacing growl behind her. The hair stood up on the back of her neck. Ned tensed and his eyes widened as he looked at something behind Nancy. “Don’t move,” he whispered.
“Good advice, Mr. Nickerson.”
Slowly Nancy turned her head to look over her shoulder. Klaus stood on the path about eight feet behind her. Beside him, Andy Brackett, still dressed in his security uniform, a gun in a holster on his hip, held the two rottweilers on short leashes.
“It was you who stole Aristocrat,” she said accusingly. “You and Brackett were in it together.”
“So you figured it out,” Klaus said smoothly. “I thought I had you convinced that it was all the doing of the hapless Mr. Brackett.” He jerked his head toward Andy. “But I guess I didn’t. Too bad, Miss Drew,” he continued, his voice so cold it gave Nancy shivers. “I liked you. Now I’m afraid you and your friend will have an unfortunate accident like poor Gilly. Only this time we won’t make a mistake.”
14
Seeing Double
“You were the one who hurt Gilly!” Nancy exclaimed as she spun to face Klaus. “Why? Did she figure out you stole your own horse?”
Klaus made a disdainful noise in his throat. “I can tell you haven’t quite figured out my brilliant scheme yet, Miss Drew, and that makes me feel disappointed. I thought you were a worthy opponent.”
“Nancy discovered your trailer,” Ned said, his eyes on the dogs. They were straining against the leash. “You should have hidden it better.”
“That was Brackett’s stupidity.” Klaus spat the last word. “If I’d been able to pull off the heist without an accomplice, I never would have trusted such an incompetent person.”
Nancy threw Brackett a quick glance to see how he was taking Klaus’s insults. The guard’s face reddened, but he didn’t say a word.
Her gaze shifted back to Klaus as she pondered the statement he had just made. What did he mean when he said she hadn’t yet figured out his brilliant scheme?
“At least Brackett didn’t bungle the fire and attempted theft of the other horse,” Klaus continued. “They were nice distractions, don’t you agree? They had Texel and his guards running every which way.”
“Why did you frame Michael for Gilly’s assault? How could you do that to someone you claim is like a son?” Nancy asked.
Klaus snorted. “The charges against Michael will never stick, though the frame-up went perfectly, except for you, Miss Drew. It was our misfortune that you scared Brackett away before he could silence Gilly for good.”
“So you were the shadow I saw sneaking off,” Nancy said to the guard.
Klaus arched an eyebrow. “He was. I was the person who drove the station wagon from the parking lot. Brackett ran from the barn, signaled to me, then hid.”
“You had Michael’s pass?” Ned asked.
“Slipped it off his dresser. Piece of cake, as you kids say.”
“Klaus, what are we going to do with these two?” Andy Brackett finally spoke. His voice was squeaky and lacked confidence. He wasn’t the mastermind behind the theft, Nancy decided, but he must have been the perfect accomplice—easy to boss around.
“We’ll take them back to the farm. Texel and the police already suspect you’re the thief, Brackett. I’ll say the two nosy teens discovered you trying to steal Salut, so you shot them, then ran off when I drove up.”
“Sh-shot them?” Brackett stammered, raising his eyebrows. He opened his mouth as if to protest, but shut it quickly when Klaus spoke.
“You have a better idea?” the trainer snapped. “Don’t worry, I’ll give you enough money to leave the country. When this is over, I’ll have lots of money.”
He turned back to Ned and Nancy. “Now get moving.” He nodded toward the tracks leading from the grove. “We’ve got to do this quickly. I will not allow two kids to ruin what took me years to plan.”
Arms crossed, Nancy stood her ground a minute while her mind searched for a way out of the mess they were in. She and Ned couldn’t just walk back to the farm. Once there, they’d be sitting ducks for whatever evil ending Klaus had in mind.
Narrowing his eyes, Klaus gave her a look of warning. “Do not doubt that Andy will turn the dogs on you at any time. He has trained them well. I can claim they were just doing their job when they found you trespassing on my property, but it would be a messy and painful way to go.”
Nancy stifled a shudder. Linking his hand with hers, Ned tugged her gently toward the path. “Come on, Nancy. Let’s do as he says.”
Reluctantly, Nancy went with him. Klaus, Andy, and the two dogs followed right behind. They stepped into the pasture, startling the mares and foals, who quit grazing long enough to stare at them.
They walked down the hill toward the barn, Nancy’s mind racing as she tried to figure out Klaus’s scheme. He said the crime had taken him years to plan and he was going to make lots of money. Obviously, there was more to his scheme than the theft of one horse.
Since Klaus wouldn’t receive that much insurance money from the loss of Aristocrat, he had to be making more money somehow. That was the puzzle. Unless…
Unless Aristocrat hadn’t been stolen.
Gilly’s hurried remark about not finding the scar on Aristocrat’s hock stuck in Nancy’s mind. If the horse at the park wasn’t Aristocrat, then Klaus would get the insurance money—and he’d still have his horse. But what could he do with a horse that was supposed to have been stolen?
“Tell me, Klaus.” Nancy slowed so she’d be walking right in front of the trainer. “How long did it take you to find a ringer for Aristocrat?”
“So you are finally putting it together, are you?” Klaus replied, a touch of admiration in his voice. “I hoped to be able to share my brilliance with someone who would appreciate it.”
“I know you’re a smart man,” Nancy said. “You wouldn’t have planned something as risky as the theft of your own horse unless you could count on a big payoff. The insurance money obviously won’t be enough.”
They reached the fence in front of the barn. Stopping in the shade of a huge tree, Nancy faced him. “So you had another horse stolen, one that everybody thought was Aristocrat—everybody except Gilly.”
“Yes, she figured it out, poor girl. She didn’t even have to say anything. I knew it from the way she avoided me like a frightened rabbit.”
“Then which horse was stolen?” Ned asked. He had climbed the fence and swung one leg over so he was straddling it. Below him, the dogs stared up hungrily.
“Tell them about the horse you stole, Brackett,” Klaus said gruffly.
