Hide & Seek - Alyssa Brugman [21]
'You know, like, of Middle Eastern appearance. They stole Diablo! And your boyfriend was there – he's friends with them!'
'He's not my boyfriend.' Shelby concentrated on hosing around Blue's face and ears for a moment, hoping that Erin wouldn't notice her expression. She wished she'd hadn't brought up the whole hot chips business with Erin. She was never going to let it go, and every time she brought it up Shelby would feel like a goose. 'So you know for sure they stole Diablo?'
Erin put her hands on her hips. 'Of course they did! He was there, wasn't he? You saw! They didn't even try to deny it. Anyway, you haven't heard the whole story. We arrive and Mrs Edel is yelling at them and they are yelling back, but we couldn't understand them, because half of it was in, you know, like, Arabic or whatever. Lindsey's mum swore! She goes, "You stole my horse, you bleep"– insert swear word here – and then they yelled back that she couldn't prove it. And then the police arrived with sirens and everything. Then there was kind of a tussle. That little guy says that Lindsey's mum owes him for a new fence or vet bills or something! Can you believe it? I'm sure Mrs Edel would have punched him if the police weren't watching. Meanwhile, Lindsey is practically dragging Diablo out of the stable and this other girl tries to stop her. But we got Diablo on the float and he's fine. I can't believe you missed it! It was très dramatic.'
'Très?' Shelby took the scraper from the fence and began sloughing the water from Blue's back.
'It's French. Here, check out the pics.' Erin pulled her mobile out of her pocket and started pressing buttons.
'You were taking photos?' Shelby asked.
Erin stared at her. 'For evidence, Shel. Jeez!' She handed across the phone.
Shelby squinted at the picture. There was Diablo, head up, eyes wide and nostrils flared. The lead rope was taut. Hanging on to one end was Lindsey, red-faced. The trick-riding girl was holding on to the other end.
'Look at the next one,' Erin said.
Shelby pressed the forward button. There was Mrs Edel, toe-to-toe with the man in the waistcoat. She could just make out Constable Bidgood behind them.
Erin peeked over her shoulder. 'No, look at the next one.'
Shelby switched to the next picture. It was Chad. His eyes were squeezed shut, making his face crease into angles. His hands were bunched into fists at his sides and he was shouting. Chad was one of them. He was part of it all.
'I don't think you should see him any more, Shel. Not after this. I wouldn't have anything to do with him if I were you.'
'I wasn't "seeing him", Erin,' Shelby mumbled.
'Hurry up.' Erin tugged at her shirt. 'I want to hear what's happening now.'
'You go. I have to finish with Blue.' Shelby shrugged away from her friend. She was grouchy. She knew there was going to be a fight. She knew the whole time.
14 A Different Version
Shelby huffed as she climbed into the car. 'That's the last time I come to you for advice! You said that Mrs Edel was a grown-up. Now there's been a barney, and it's my fault!'
They drove for a while in silence. Shelby had her arms folded and glared out the window.
Her mother took a deep breath. 'Your um friend rang. He told me what happened.'
'Great,' Shelby grumbled.
Questions tumbled around in her head. Did Chad ring because he had seen her hiding in the bushes? Had her mother told Chad that Shelby was the one who informed the Edels where Diablo was? Most of all, why was she feeling guilty when the circus people were the ones in the wrong?
'This will blow over, Shelby. I know it seems like a big deal now, but by next week everyone will have calmed down and will be able to see the situation with a different perspective.'
'Yeah, right,' Shelby scoffed.
Her mother went on. 'What you need to under-stand is that when people are emotional – when they are afraid – they will lash out. They're not able to listen to anything else even when it's logical and reasonable. They're so busy being emotional about their own thing that they don't want to hear someone