Hide & Seek - Alyssa Brugman [25]
'That's your theory?'
'Yes. What's wrong with it?'
Shelby snorted and put her pen down. 'If they are going to come in the back way, wouldn't it have been easier to steal one of the horses from the back paddock? There are broodmares in there that are pretty valuable, and that are actually in foal to Diablo, which is like a two-for-one. Why didn't they steal all the horses in the back paddock? Why Diablo? Why would they put a big branch on the fence to cover up the fact that they knocked the fence down when they could have just used the gate? Doesn't that seem like a lot of trouble to go to? You know, Erin, the more I think about it, you couldn't have come up with a dumber theory!'
'OK, Miss Smarty-Know-Everything, how do you think they did it?'
'I don't know. I can't figure out why they would want him.'
Erin scoffed. 'Diablo was a champion dressage horse, Shel. Don't you know anything?'
Shelby swapped the phone to the other ear. 'Yeah, but he's old now, Erin. He's the equivalent of about sixty in human years. What good is he to them? A circus is not going to lug around an animal that doesn't perform. I don't get it.'
'Maybe they didn't know he was old?' Erin sug-gested. 'It was dark and stormy, remember?'
'Maybe,' Shelby mumbled. Even if it was dark and they couldn't tell how old he was, that didn't explain why they went past so many good quality horses to single out the stallion.
If they did steal him, why didn't they try to hide him? They could at the very least have put a hood over his head! They had made no attempt to even disguise him.
One interview down, and Shelby didn't think she was any closer to what really happened – if anything, she had more questions.
16 Capital
Lindsey wasn't much more help than Erin in solving the mystery of Diablo's disappearance, although Shelby did find out some things she didn't know before.
In the morning, before any of the trail riders arrived, Shelby, Lindsey, Erin and Hayley wormed the riding school ponies. All the horses were in the small triangular yard in the far corner of their paddock, which had once been a cattle race. It was a funny shape so they didn't use it very often.
The girls worked in pairs – one holding onto the halter while the other squirted the worming paste into the horse's mouth. Once they were sure the horses had swallowed the paste the girls let them back into the larger paddock.
'Wow, your horses are heaps easier to worm than mine!' Hayley remarked.
'That's because your mum comes at them with the worming plunger as though it's a weapon,' Lindsey answered. 'It's no wonder they freak out. You can tell just by looking at her face that she expects a war.'
Hayley shrugged. 'My mum attacks everything like it's a war.'
'But she gets lots of things done,' Shelby added. She liked Mrs Crook, even though she could be aggressive.
'How much do you think he weighs?' Lindsey asked, tilting her head towards the roan gelding Shelby was holding.
'I'll get the measure.' Shelby fetched the weight/height tape that the girls had brought with them and passed it around the horse's girth. 'Three hundred and seventy-five kilos,' she told her friend.
Lindsey wound the measuring dial on the tube of worming paste to the appropriate mark.
'I heard those people who found Diablo got arrested,' Shelby said, trying to sound casual.
'Where did you hear that?' Lindsey asked.
'Mum told me,' answered Shelby.
'I reckon they're gypsies, like in Famous Five,' said Erin.
'They're not gypsies! Besides, those people call themselves "Romany", you ignoramus!' Shelby told her.
'Nobody says "ignoramus". That is so 1985,' Erin retorted.
'How would you know?' Shelby snapped. 'You weren't even born then!'
'I do have pay television, for your information,' Erin replied, raising her chin.
'Romany,' repeated Hayley. 'Maybe I'll call Smarty's foal Romany?'
Not long ago Hayley had bought a pony from the other three girls. She'd called the pony 'Quicksmart', and now the pony was being agisted at a stud with a view to being put in