“Sure did,” Nancy replied. “Wait right here.”
Nancy inched quietly over to the corner of the house and peeked behind it. She was just in time to see a dark-haired man in a flannel shirt darting around the back wall.
Breaking into a soft jog, Nancy followed him behind the house. He disappeared around the far end. But from the hair color and the build, Nancy was sure the guy was Mark Plonsky.
“Stop!” Nancy shouted. She ran as fast as she could to catch up. In seconds she turned the corner, too, determined to find out what the man was doing. But to her surprise, no one was there.
Nancy glanced quickly at the side of the house. There were no doors, and all the window screens were shut. But a patch of woods skirted the house, and Nancy guessed the man had darted in there.
She dashed toward the front of the house, rounding the last corner. “Did you see anyone?” she asked George breathlessly, stopping at the front door.
“No,” George said, looking puzzled.
Nancy told George about the man. “He must have ducked into the woods,” she said. “They’re just a few feet away from the side of the house.”
“Did you recognize him at all?” George asked.
“I couldn’t see him that well,” Nancy admitted. “But it might have been Mark Plonsky. It clearly wasn’t Peter Greenbriar or Charles Jackson. But what would he be doing at the Shaws’?”
“Maybe he was spying on us,” George suggested.
“How could Mark even know we’re here?” Nancy replied.
“Beats me,” George said with a shrug.
Wearily, Nancy went to knock at the Shaws’ door. After a long day of investigating, she felt hot, tired, and bedraggled. Next to Alexa, she thought, I’ll probably look like a total mess.
Alexa opened the door, looking cool in khaki pants and a crisp white shirt. Her blond hair was held back with tortoiseshell combs.
Looking blankly at Nancy and George, Alexa said, “May I help you?”
Nancy and George exchanged glances. Is it possible she doesn’t even recognize us? Nancy wondered.
“Hi, Alexa,” she said. “I’m Nancy Drew, and this is George Fayne. We met you yesterday at the Passanos’.”
“Oh, yes, now I remember,” Alexa said, still not smiling.
“We were in the neighborhood and thought we could pick up the bridle you borrowed from the Passanos,” Nancy said smoothly.
“It’s in the tack room in the stable—it’s marked ‘Passano,’ of course,” Alexa said in a bored voice. She started to shut the door.
George swiftly blocked the door with her foot. “Would it be possible for me to get a glass of water?” she asked sweetly. “Nancy and I have been on the road all afternoon.”
Alexa heaved a sigh. “There’s some lemonade in the kitchen,” she told them. She turned around and headed down a long hallway, not bothering to look back to see if her guests were following.
In the kitchen, George and Nancy poured themselves glasses of lemonade and sat on stools.
“We’ve been out all day, looking for Morning Glory,” Nancy said innocently. She studied Alexa’s face, hoping for a reaction. “Did Laura tell you he’s missing?”
“Yes, she called me this morning—in tears,” Alexa said, rolling her eyes. “I mean, shouldn’t she try to calm down a little? For Morning Glory’s sake? How can she look for him if she’s so upset?”
Nancy set down her glass of lemonade, her hand shaking in anger. She couldn’t believe Alexa’s attitude. “I understand that you once felt strongly about Morning Glory, too,” Nancy reminded the other girl.
“What exactly do you mean?” Alexa asked, glaring at Nancy.
“When Laura won Morning Glory at the auction, you must have been mad,” Nancy said.
“No,” Alexa said curtly. “Fair is fair. I didn’t have enough money, and Laura did. It’s as simple as that.” Alexa looked at Nancy stonily, as though daring her to ask any more questions about Morning Glory.
“Now, about that bridle,” Alexa went on, standing up and motioning Nancy to the door. “As I said before, it’s in the tack room in the barn—that large red building to the left of the house.”
There was nothing to do but obey Alexa’s not-so-subtle hints. Nancy and George headed for the barn. “She sure wanted to get rid of us,” George said dryly.
“Yes, but it works to our advantage,” Nancy said. “If she doesn’t want to have anything to do with us, she won’t pay much attention to where we go. We’ll have a chance to investigate.”
George nodded. “Still, she didn’t have to be so rude. I feel sorry for Laura, being forced to play with Alexa when they were kids.”
“Me, too,” Nancy agreed.
After looking back to see that Alexa wasn’t watching, the two girls quickly walked past the barn.
“George, I know it’s a long shot, but why don’t you search the paddock for clues, then pick up the bridle?” Nancy suggested. “At first, I thought it would be implausible that Alexa would bring the horse here if she stole it. But Mrs. Shaw seems to dislike horse riding so much that she probably wouldn’t even notice if Morning Glory was in her field. So I’ll check out the field and meet you back at the car.”
“Okay,” George said, then went off to the paddock.
Nancy climbed up a small hill to inspect the field. Morning Glory wasn’t there. Nancy walked down to the field and spent ten minutes or so searching the ground. Finding nothing, she walked back to the stable. But just as she was about to go in, she heard a noise coming from the barn roof. She looked up.
A huge pitchfork was zooming down from the roof—pointing straight at her!
