“So did Michael,” Gilly said. “I need to find him and congratulate him.”
“And I need to apologize to him,” Nancy murmured.
Putting an arm around her shoulders, Ned gave her a squeeze. “You didn’t put Michael in jail, Nan. The evidence did.”
The two went over to the edge of the crowd where Michael had halted Curio. When he dismounted, he was grinning.
“Perfect ride!” Lee Anne exclaimed when she ran up to him. Nancy half expected Michael to scoff at her. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close, and gave her a big kiss.
“Thanks to you,” he said when he straightened up.
Lee Anne blushed bright red.
“One thing jail did for me was give me plenty of time to think,” he told her. “I know I need to concentrate on my riding to win, but I also decided that riding isn’t the only important thing in life.”
“Good attitude,” Gunter said. He offered Michael his hand. “Which makes for a good ride,” he added.
Still grinning, Michael accepted the handshake and the compliment.
Nancy let out a sigh of relief. She was glad to see that Michael was human after all.
When Lee Anne went off with him and Curio, Nancy turned to Gilly. “Thank you for saving our lives. If you hadn’t told Texel everything you knew, Ned and I would have been dog food.”
Gilly squeezed Nancy’s hand. “Thank you. If you hadn’t come into the barn when you did, I think Klaus would have come into the stall and killed me.” Her face grew pale. “I’ll never forget the evil smirk on his face when I saw him outside the stall that morning. He looked possessed.”
“He was,” Ned said. “With greed.”
Gunter shook his head. “It’s so horrible to see what greed can do to a person. Herr Schaudt had a wonderful reputation. His ex-wife, Ruth, is still in Germany. She is one of the country’s top trainers.”
“Michael knows her,” Gilly said. “He already called and told her what had happened. She’s flying in tonight.”
“I hope not to bail Klaus out,” Bess sputtered angrily.
“No. To help keep the two farms running,” Gilly explained. “Michael hopes she will take them over.”
Gunter nodded. “She would be the one to do it. She will take good care of her horses and her employees.”
“What’s going to happen to Klaus?” Bess asked.
“We don’t know yet.” Just then Nancy spotted Texel lumbering across the showgrounds. “Texel might have an update.”
“Good news!” he called as he approached the teens. “Between Andy Brackett’s testimony and Gilly’s, we should have enough to put Klaus away for a good long time.”
Nancy grinned. Ned punched the air with his fist. “Yes!”
“Andy will be charged with assault,” Texel went on. “But that’s nothing compared to attempted murder.”
“So everything’s wrapped up,” Nancy said. She knew Klaus would probably hire a regiment of lawyers. Still, the evidence was pretty solid against him.
“Not everything.” Ned frowned. “I can’t get that other horse out of my mind.”
“What other horse?” Bess asked.
“The one that was stolen,” Ned told her. “The one that ended up going to the slaughterhouse.”
Texel slapped him on the back. “Don’t look so gloomy, son. Even that has a happy ending.”
“It does?” Ned perked up, and Gilly looked interested, too.
“Seems Brackett couldn’t bear to sell the horse to the killers so he gave it to a friend of his who lives in the boondocks where no one would ever find it,” Texel explained. “He made up some story about its being an old broken-down show horse that the owner wanted to get rid of.”
Gilly smiled. “Even though I only took care of him for a couple of days, I knew he was a nice horse. Does he have a good home now?”
“The best,” Texel said. “I personally checked the place out this morning. After all, that horse is evidence. Lucky is doing well in a pasture full of grass with two little girls to love him.”
“Lucky?” Ned laughed. “That’s a perfect name. He was lucky to escape the auction.”
“A perfect name is right,” Texel agreed. “In fact, I’d say we were all lucky.”
“Why is that?” Bess asked.
Texel grinned at Nancy. “We were lucky you happened to be at this show, Nancy Drew!”
HAVE YOU READ ALL OF THE ALICE BOOKS?
