HOW DO I look?” Bess asked, striking a pose in front of Nancy. In peach cotton pants, a matching oversize shirt, and a silver belt cinching the shirt in, Bess was the picture of chic.
“Terrific,” Nancy proclaimed.
“Thanks.” Bess fluffed her bangs in the mirror. “What are you going to do tonight while I go out with Walt?”
“Actually,” Nancy said, smiling thoughtfully, “I’m going back to the track.”
“So late?” Bess asked.
Nancy nodded. “I think I’ll ask Thea if I can sleep on a cot in the barn tonight. I want to be there if the person who’s been snooping around shows up again.”
Bess hesitated. “Do you want me to stay at the barn with you?” she asked bravely.
“Thanks, but no. You could do me a favor, though. When you’re out with Walt tonight, see what you can find out about Johnson Farms.”
“Sure. Anything else?”
Nancy frowned. “Nope. Except have a good time.”
“I’ll try my best,” Bess said, dimpling.
After Walt picked Bess up, Nancy’s mind turned back to the mystery. Cam had mentioned that Walt was a great jockey. Why, then, had Ken McHugh been chosen to ride Toot Sweet in the Derby? Unless her theories were right and McHugh’s earnings for Johnson Farms would revert to Cam. If that was the case, Cam might be very interested in having McHugh ride—just to make sure he had a fatal accident.
Nancy mulled over the facts as she drove to the track. Cam seemed honest enough, but she’d seen ample evidence of his hot temper. Had he let his emotions run away with him this time?
When Nancy had asked Thea if she could sleep at the barn, Thea promised to give her an extra cot and sleeping bag. All Nancy brought with her was her purse and her penlight. She wasn’t going to be caught in the dark again!
Thea had told her she’d be eating a late dinner at the stable cafeteria and then spending the evening with Cam, so when Nancy arrived one of the grooms showed her where her cot was.
“Thanks,” Nancy told him, laying out her sleeping bag.
It was cool in the barn but pleasant. The smell of hay and feed and the sharp scent of horse liniment filled the air. Nancy inhaled deeply, then stepped outside into the warm evening air.
Moonlight lit faint, ghostly strips over the ground. Her penlight safely tucked in her pocket, Nancy walked around the barns. More lights were on this evening, and there was some activity even that late. The Derby was less than forty-eight hours away, and excitement was building.
When Nancy returned to Pied Piper’s stall, the grooms were already asleep, so she climbed into her sleeping bag, too. She lay awake, though, turning the mystery over in her mind.
Drugging McHugh had been a desperate act, as had been cutting the girth strap. It was clear that someone wanted McHugh out of the way, but why? Was that someone Cam? Until she knew if Johnson Farms—and Cam—inherited McHugh’s seventy-five percent, Nancy had no way of knowing if Cam had a solid motive. She had to wait for her father to call back and confirm her suspicion. If there was any other motive, she couldn’t think of what it was. Dollar Bill had threatened McHugh, but McHugh had promised him his money, so why would he try to kill him before the Derby?
Thea returned to the stable at about half past eleven. She moved quietly, but Nancy said, “I’m awake.”
“Has everything been quiet around here?” Thea whispered, zipping up her sleeping bag.
“As quiet as can be expected. There’s been no sign of any prowler,” Nancy added.
“Well, I’ve got an early day tomorrow,” Thea said, yawning. “Pied Piper’s last workout before the race is tomorrow morning, and I want to get up and going. ’Night.”
“Good night, Thea,” Nancy said.
Ten minutes later she heard Thea’s even breathing. Slowly, the barns settled down, and Nancy dozed off in the stillness.
She woke up later from a crick in her neck, then, remembering where she was, pulled out her penlight and took a quick look at her watch. One-thirty.
After climbing out of her sleeping bag, Nancy walked outside and stretched her legs. There were only a few lamps burning in the barns. She glanced toward Flash O’Lightnin’s barn at the end of the row. It was dark and silent.
The one time Nancy had seen the shadowy figure was outside Flash’s barn. Might as well make sure everything’s okay down there, she thought, striding quickly across the grass.
A van rumbled into the stable area. Nancy glanced back. She could just make out Brentwood Stables in black letters across the white van.
Nancy ducked around the corner of another barn and watched the van drive by. It stopped by Flash’s barn. Eddie and Ace climbed out from the cab and headed for the barn. Through the clear night air Nancy could hear them arguing.
“Handle Flash the same way in the Derby and you’re out!” Eddie shouted.
“He don’t like the whip,” Ace answered quietly.
“Too bad! He got lazy in the last furlong, and you didn’t whip him! That’s not the way to win.”
“If I whip him, he might go through the rail.”
“If you don’t,” Eddie said, mimicking Ace’s voice, “you won’t win. . . . ” His voice trailed off as they headed inside.
Nancy sighed. Ace seemed like such a straightforward guy. Why did he work for someone as obnoxious as Eddie Brent?
She crept toward their barn, interested to hear more of their conversation. Within a few feet of the entrance, she heard footsteps just ahead of her. Quickly she moved into the shadows, watching.
The outdoor lights only faintly reached this part of the stable area, but Nancy didn’t want to betray herself by turning on her penlight. She squinted against the blackness and just made out someone stealing toward Flash’s barn!
Swiftly and silently, Nancy followed. The figure turned around a corner of Flash’s barn, and Nancy hurried after him. Not a sound reached her ears. Even Ace and Eddie seemed to have resolved their argument.
She circled the barn. The only noise was from a chorus of crickets.
Turning back, Nancy headed for the front of the barn. Here the outdoor lights offered a bit of dim light. As she hugged the side of the barn, Nancy caught sight of something small and glinting on the ground a few feet from her.
She kept the shining object in sight as she stepped away from the barn, trying to make out what it was. She’d almost reached it when she sensed someone behind her.
Nancy whipped around. She saw movement, then felt something strike her temple.
Lights exploded inside her head. I’m hit, she thought vaguely. Then, with a faint moan, she slipped to the ground, unconscious.