7

Stolen Ponies

Hannah wasn’t sure what she should tell Tom. He would still be expecting to go to the Chase the following day so she’d have to tell him something, and especially as so much had happened. He was a year older than her and could be a pain, but he had helped her and she was beginning to think maybe he wasn’t so bad. On the other hand, the secret wasn’t really hers to tell, and she didn’t want to get Jess into trouble. If Tom decided he should tell his parents that would make things worse. She’d have to make him promise not to. She presumed that the man who’d shouted at him was the same man she’d met in the wood, and that he was Cyn’s boyfriend Pete. She shuddered whenever she thought about that meeting, and she had thought about it a lot that afternoon. She decided to talk to Jess about Tom the next day, and see if she would agree to let Tom help them.

It was late afternoon by the time she’d seen to the horses and biked home. Talia was waiting for her.

‘Why haven’t you had your mobile on?’ she demanded. ‘I’ve been trying to get you all day. What have you been up to? Charley’s been on the phone going nuts because she couldn’t get you either.’ Hannah looked at her mobile.

‘Oops, sorry, I turned it off while I was riding and forgot to put it on again. What does Charley want? I was only talking to her on Monday night.’

‘Her pony’s been stolen,’ said Talia, ‘you’d better give her a call.’

‘What?’ Hannah ran to the telephone in the hall and dialled Charley’s number. Charley’s father answered.

‘She’ll be glad to hear from you Hannah,’ he said. ‘She’s very upset. We’ve been on to the police, but they say that there’ve been a lot of thefts lately and they haven’t got time to call on everyone personally. They just took the details. Delia is micro-chipped, so we’re hoping that’ll help.’

Charley came on the phone in floods of tears.

‘Tell me what’s happened,’ Hannah insisted. She felt sick as she waited for Charley to stop crying and speak.

‘I went up to the field this morning,’ said Charley. ‘The horses have been out overnight for a few weeks now, and Ella and I went together. We were going to go for a ride. But when we got there the gate was open. There were marks like lorry tracks in the gateway, and the grass was flat all around. It was terrible. No Delia, and Ella’s pony’s has gone too. There are three others missing. They’ve loaded up all of them from that field. I can’t bear it Hannah. What do you think will have happened to them?’

Hannah thought about Jess’s story of the meat men, and tried to keep her voice steady as she replied.

‘I guess they’ll send them to a sale. If Delia’s chipped the police should be able to trace her. I’ve read that the microchip people help by sending details to the sales so that horses can be checked.’ This didn’t sound like enough to say, but Hannah couldn’t think of anything genuinely comforting. She thought about poor Delia in the hands of rough men, and shuddered.

‘Oh Charley, it’s so horrible. I wish I could help.’

Charley was crying again as she asked, ‘What’s happening at yours? You said about horses at High Farm. Have you found out any more?’

Hannah hesitated. Charley was already frightened and she didn’t want to make things worse. She’d have to give a version of events that didn’t scare her friend even more. Speaking very quietly so that Talia wouldn’t hear, Hannah told Charley about the building in the wood, and Jess and her family. She finished by saying, ‘We’re planning to rescue the ponies from the wood on Friday, but I do know that Delia’s not with them. I’d have recognised her at once. I think Derbyshire’s too far away from here anyway.’ She didn’t mention the destination of the stolen ponies because she was sure that in Charley’s place, she wouldn’t have wanted to hear.

‘Hannah, you’ve got to call the police,’ said Charley. ‘Those people that have lost their ponies will all be feeling like I am, and it’s too terrible. Please call them.’

‘I’ve promised not to yet,’ said Hannah. She tried to explain about Jess and her fear of her uncle, but Charley wasn’t listening.

‘Call them!’ she repeated, ‘or I will. But it’s better if you do it, since you’re the one who’s seen them.’

Hannah sighed. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘The police have been there once and nothing came of that. You could come down and stay Charley but I guess you want to be on the spot in case Delia’s found.’

‘Yes, I do,’ said Charley. ‘I’ll ring later if I hear anything. I just want my Delia back. But Hannah, you’ve got to phone the police.’

Hannah said goodbye then ran up to her room. She looked out of the window at the quiet village street. How could this be happening here? And what should she do? She’d promised her new friend Jess that she would keep her secret and help her get the remaining ponies safely away from Pete and the meat men, but she could also understand why a desperate Charley wanted her to ring the police. Why was life so difficult, and how could she do the right thing by everyone at once? She thought about Charley and Delia, and realised that if she failed to help them and the worst happened, she’d never be able to forgive herself. On the other hand, if Jess was murdered by Pete she’d never forgive herself either.

She sat on her bed with her knees clutched tightly to her chest, thinking and wondering. After five minutes, she decided: she’d ring the police anonymously, and that way Jess couldn’t possibly be blamed. She grabbed her mobile and, checking that her bedroom door was safely closed, she got the number of the police station in Mettlesham from the phone book. She dialled.

‘Mettlesham Police Service desk. Can I help you?’

A woman’s voice, and she sounded cross before Hannah had even said anything.

Hannah’s voice faltered. ‘I’m ringing about some ponies in Owls’ Wood,’ she said.

There was a groan from the woman at the other end.

‘Not another one,’ she said. ‘May I ask how old you are?’

‘What?’ asked Hannah. What had her age got to do with it?

‘12,’ she replied.

‘Well,’ said the woman impatiently, ‘we’ve had several reports about this and they’ve all turned out to be nothing. Our officers have attended the property and have been assured by the owner of High Farm, Mr Peter Bawden, that there are no ponies at that property other than one that belongs to him. If you want to help the police you can stop wasting our time, and speak to your parents about your concerns. If they are convinced, they can ring this number.’

‘But …’ Hannah was going to go on and say that she’d actually seen the ponies. She’d thought she could do this without mentioning Jess or anyone else, just say that she’d found them when she was walking in the wood, but the policewoman had put the phone down.

Hannah felt close to tears. Grownups were hopeless. Someone of 12 should be taken seriously, not cut off before she’d had a chance to speak. And there was no point in telling her father. She was sure he’d just tell her to stay away from the whole thing; he was busy and his interest in animals was zero. No, she’d tried for her friend Charley’s sake, and now she would go it alone with Jess. Once they’d got the ponies into her field where they could all be seen, the police would have to listen. Nine ponies would be evidence – Hannah could see the strength of Jess’s argument.

Hannah was afraid for Delia, but then she thought about Polly. Was she safe? There was still no lock on the gate. I’ll die if anything happens to Polly, she thought. She couldn’t stop her imagination from running overtime. Horse meat. Who could possibly think about eating it? But she knew that people did. They had to get the ponies out.

Her mind went round in circles as she tried to imagine the rescue and how they would manage it, until eventually, curled up and as miserable as she could ever remember feeling, she went off to sleep.

In the morning she woke with new determination. Her fears for Polly were reinforced by worry about Delia, and she knew that however frightened she was of Pete, she and Jess needed to work out the details of their plan.

‘Dad, you must get the lock for the field,’ she reminded her father for the twentieth time since hearing about Delia, ‘a really big padlock that no one can open.’

‘Don’t worry pet. I promise I’ll get hold of a lock.’ Her father looked as if he might remember, although he was in his usual early morning state. ‘I’m hoping your mother will ring tonight. That would be good, wouldn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ said Hannah. ‘I suppose so. I do want to talk to her but she just talks about the choir. She doesn’t even ask what we’re eating. And I need to tell her about Delia.’ In fact, Hannah knew that if she did get five minutes with her mum on the phone, she wouldn’t be able to tell her what was really happening in her life. Her mum would be far too worried, and would put Dad on the case at once. Even worse, she might abandon her beloved choir and come home early, so that Hannah would collapse with guilt. It would be hopeless. Suddenly the choir didn’t seem to be such a bad thing. Having a fully occupied and absent mother had its upside.

Hannah tried to imagine her mum standing in a sweaty hall and singing boring songs with a pile of other perfumed mothers, and she just couldn’t understand why her mum would want to when there were so many other things to do in life? Like cook, or talk to your youngest daughter about her horse, or take her into town to the cinema. Loads of things.

Hannah set off for the field and found that she was looking forward to seeing Jess again. At least she could tell her all the things that were on her mind and know that she would be listened to. Instead, when she got there it was Tom standing by the gate.

‘Don’t freak,’ said Hannah, ‘but I went up to the farmhouse again yesterday, or at least I went to Owls’ Wood. I’ve found out who put Jack in my field.’

‘Oh.’ said Tom. He looked disappointed. ‘I would have come with you if you’d waited.’

It occurred to Hannah for the first time that Tom might have been looking forward to going with her. He spent so much of the day on his own – his parents seemed just to leave him while they went to work – and she guessed he was bored.

‘I see the patchy one’s settling in,’ he said, ‘you could start a business.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Fatandscruffyhorses.com.’ he said.

Hannah’s sympathy evaporated. ‘Very funny. I’m going to take Polly out now, but I’ll be back later and we can talk then. If you’ve got nothing to do today you could try and make friends with Jack? You know, the “patchy one”?’ He’s still really nervous but he needs his neck looked at. I’ve managed to get some ointment on him but you could see if you can get him to chill a bit.’

‘So what have you found out?’ replied Tom instead. ‘And I do know the difference between your pony and the other one.’

‘I’ll tell you later,’ said Hannah. ‘But if you’re going to live here you may as well get used to ponies. Just go and talk to him. Don’t try and touch him unless he comes to you. And Tom, please will you keep an eye on the field?’ She told him about Delia. ‘There are some terrible people about. I might need to ask for your help with something, but it’s got to be a secret and you’ll have to promise not to tell.’

‘I’ll see when you tell me,’ said Tom, looking doubtful. ‘I’m not sure about talking to the pony either, but I’ll keep an eye on the field.’ Then, unexpectedly, he smiled, and Hannah realised how much nicer he looked when he did.

‘Thanks,’ she smiled back.

Hannah groomed Polly and got everything ready to go. She warned Jack that a tall, fair-haired boy was possibly going to try and talk to him. ‘I’m thinking he might be OK really,’ she said, ‘and anyway, he’s all we’ve got now Charley’s gone. So be kind to him if he’s kind to you.’

Hannah couldn’t help feeling bad about leaving Tom out, however rude he’d been about Polly and Jack. He looked forlorn as he turned back towards his house and lifted one hand to wave. She must talk to Jess about him.

While she worked on Polly she kept looking at her mobile, but it was 10 o’clock before Jess’s text came to say that Pete was safely out of the way.

She set off at a brisk trot and had a lovely canter up the Steeple Chase towards High Farm. There was no sign of the white van or the barking dogs. As Hannah turned Polly into the yard, Jess came out to meet her.

‘We can put your pony in the one of the back paddocks,’ she said, ‘she’ll be fine there. There’s that mare of Pete’s I was telling you about so she’ll have someone to talk to. They can get to know each other over the fence.’

Jess was more talkative today, and Hannah was glad that her new friend was beginning to trust her. She realised that she felt more relaxed, too.

The two girls got Polly’s tack off and led her through the farmyard and round the back. Hannah was nervous about leaving her. What if she got taken by mistake?

‘Will she be all right?’ she asked Jess. ‘Sorry, but I’m really jumpy.’

She told Jess about Charley’s pony being stolen and added, ‘I’m terrified that something might happen to Polly.’

‘Don’t worry,’ said Jess, ‘we’ll be able to see her from the back of Gran’s caravan. I was going to take you to meet Auntie Cyn as well,’ she said, ‘but she’s not feeling too good so we’ll just stay at Gran’s.’ They crossed the yard together.

‘Don’t mention the ponies,’ Jess warned.

‘Is that you Jess?’ A woman’s voice called from inside the caravan as Jess opened the door without knocking and signalled to Hannah to come in. Hannah looked round, curious to see what the inside of the caravan would be like.

It was bright, warm and welcoming, but very small. Hannah had never seen so many china horses. They seemed to be on every surface, some in full harness with carts behind them. Horse brasses and pictures were all over the walls too. There was just about room to move.

‘This is the friend I told you about,’ said Jess, presenting Hannah to her gran.

The old lady was sitting in a comfortable chair near the window, which, as Jess had promised, looked out over the paddocks where they had left Polly. Hannah held out her hand politely.

‘Hello, I’m Hannah.’

‘And I’m Grace,’ said the old lady. She smiled, and shook Hannah’s hand. Hannah looked at her. Grace was extremely fat, appearing to be more or less jammed into her chair by her size. Hannah wondered how she ever managed to move. She had a cheery face and a lot of white hair. A complicated-looking hearing aid was currently tangled up in it.

‘Sit down love,’ she said, gesturing towards a small table and three chairs. ‘Jess, you go and put the kettle on. There’s some cake in the tin.’ Grace turned to Hannah. ‘I’ve a sweet tooth you know. It doesn’t help my figure but an inch or so of butter icing on top of a good cake is a cheering thing, don’t you think?’ Hannah warmly agreed.

‘There’s less to do in this caravan than there was in the big house, but my daughter and her boyfriend have that now. I suppose I should get out more, and walk about a bit. But I can’t seem to be bothered. I’m glad Jess has met you,’ she went on, ‘she has a lonely time of it here, with just me and Cynthia. Pete’s no parent to her, and she misses her dad. It’ll be good for her to get down to the village and meet other people. I expect you’ve got a lot of friends down there?’

‘Not really,’ said Hannah, ‘my best friend Charley went off to live in Derbyshire a few weeks ago and I really miss her. There’s a new family moved into the house opposite my pony’s field, and Tom, that’s the son, is about my age. But he’s a boy.’

‘Oh dear,’ said Grace, ‘but is he nice?’

‘I’m not sure yet,’ said Hannah, ‘I can’t make up my mind about him.’

To her surprise, Hannah found that she could talk easily to Jess’s gran. The old lady listened to everything she said, and had a kind expression. Hannah went on to explain about Delia being stolen and how worried she was, not just for Delia but for Polly too. Hannah was sure from Grace’s manner that she knew nothing of Pete’s business.

Jess came back with the tea and the three of them sat companionably watching the ponies through the window by Grace’s chair.

‘Gran taught me how to ride,’ Jess told Hannah. ‘She knows all there is to know about horses.’

‘Hardly all,’ said Grace. ‘But my father had shire horses after the war and I grew up with them. There was always a pony I could ride as a child and I wanted Jess to have that, too. She’s a good rider Hannah. You should see her jump bareback!’

‘Wow!’ said Hannah. ‘I’ll look forward to seeing that.’ She turned to Jess.

‘Could we go and have a ride together?’

‘I could take the mare,’ said Jess, ‘Pete said it would be OK when I asked last week, and I’ve been on her already. What do you think Gran?’

‘I think you’d better go,’ the old lady laughed. ‘There’s always plenty of tack in the barn. I’m very pleased to have met you Hannah and I hope we’ll see a lot of you here this summer.’

The girls were crossing the yard to look for head-collars when Hannah heard a knock from one of the windows in the big house.

‘Is that your aunt?’

‘Wait here!’ said Jess, and ran off towards the house. ‘I won’t be a sec.’ But before she got to the doorway a woman appeared in it. Hannah reckoned she was about the same age as her own mum, somewhere in her forties, but she looked terrible. Her hair was unkempt, her clothes rumpled and not too clean, and even outside she smelt heavily of tobacco. Hannah noticed broken veins in her face, and lines around her eyes. She appeared tired and stressed.

‘I’m Jess’s Auntie Cyn,’ she said, transferring her cigarette to her left hand as she held out the right for Hannah to shake. She smiled, which immediately improved her looks. Hannah noticed how, in stark contrast to Grace, Cyn was as thin as a rake.

‘Don’t stay out too long,’ she said to Jess, ‘Pete will be back by four and he wants an early tea tonight.’ She said this kindly, and Hannah warmed to her as she realised that she was trying to save Jess from trouble. But why on earth was she letting that horrible Pete live here? With her poor mother driven out from her house and living in a caravan? It didn’t make sense to Hannah.

The two girls planned to ride down by the river, with Hannah stopping off at her field on their way back, leaving Jess to come home alone. Polly seemed pleased to have the company of yet another new pony. Jess thought the mare’s name was Bridget, but wasn’t sure. Hannah wondered how Jess could cope with getting fond of different horses and then losing them. She asked her about it.

‘It’s just the way it is,’ said Jess. She was quiet for a few moments then said, ‘I’ve got used to them coming and going. I think Gran would get me my own pony but I wouldn’t want Pete near it so I always say no.’

Hannah wanted to ask lots of questions. Like why was Cyn looking so rough, and why did they all put up with Pete when he was so horrible? But she sensed that Jess didn’t want to talk about it. Her new friend wasn’t much for words, except when she talked about the ponies and the plan to rescue them.

As if she had guessed that Hannah was thinking about her family Jess said, ‘Gran and Cyn are kind.’

They rode in silence for a while, as Hannah tried to take in how bad things must be for Jess. She felt guilty at having complained so much about her own mother going off for a few weeks and promised herself that she’d never moan again. And she thought about her dad; he might be scatty but he was never mean.

‘My sister’s a pain,’ she told Jess, breaking her own promise almost straightaway. ‘She used to be nice but these days she just spends all day texting her mates. They’re all into boys. It’s really boring. She says I’ll look like a horse when I grow up.’

‘What’s wrong with that?’ asked Jess.

‘She’s pretty, like my mum. Mum never used to go out much, or at least she was always there when I got home, and she’s a brilliant cook. But then she got into this singing thing and now she’s gone off for weeks with her choir. She wanted me to join it – they do have some kids to do choruses and bits, but I said I’d rather die. Anyway, I’ve got Polly to look after. Dad’s nice, but he’s useless in the kitchen.’

‘Sounds like you like food,’ said Jess, and Hannah wondered if she was trying to be funny.

‘Well, don’t you?’

‘I don’t really care that much,’ said Jess.

It was a lovely day, and the girls were thrilled to be able to have a canter together along the river path. Polly kept up with Bridget and they all had a great time. When a group of ducks flew up from the water and Polly spooked, she soon settled again in the company of Jess’s older mare, and on they went again. Hannah couldn’t remember when she’d enjoyed a ride so much – not since Charley had gone, she supposed. Only when they slowed down to chat again did both their minds turn to the job they knew they had to do.

‘It’s got to be tomorrow night,’ said Jess, raising the subject first.

‘OK,’ said Hannah, her stomach giving a lurch as she thought of what was to come. ‘But what shall we do about Pete?’

‘I’ve been thinking about that,’ said Jess. ‘Pete often stays up long after Cyn’s gone to bed, so getting out of the house without him hearing me won’t be easy. I’m thinking that if I could get them both over to Gran’s caravan for the evening I could come out to meet you before they get back. Gran would need to give them enough to drink so they forget about me.’

‘Won’t they expect you to go with them?’ asked Hannah.

‘I’ll be ill,’ said Jess, ‘I’ll get a stomach ache and go to bed early. I can start looking bad during the day and try and suggest it might be catching. I can’t think what else to do.’

‘Right,’ said Hannah with a confidence she didn’t feel, ‘we’ll try that. And I’ll leave home at eleven. Dad should be fast asleep by then and Talia and Liam won’t notice. Should be simple!’

They laughed, but both knew that it was not a laughing matter and that it wouldn’t be simple.

By the time they got back to Hannah’s field it was already half past two. Grace’s cake had long worn off and, as usual, Hannah was starving.

‘You’d better get back,’ she said, ‘and I suppose I’d better go home. Will your gran and Cyn mention me being with you today?’

‘I should think so,’ said Jess, ‘or Cyn will anyway. But he can hardly complain that I’ve got a friend.’

Hannah felt uneasy. ‘But if Pete sees me he’ll know me from when we met in the wood,’ she protested.

‘He won’t see you,’ said Jess with confidence.

As Jess and Bridget trotted off, Hannah took Polly into the field and led her over to the shed for a good rub down and a treat or two.

‘You’ve been a great pony today,’ she said, ‘and I love you very, very much. Actually,’ she went on, looking at Polly with a critical eye, ‘you’re looking thinner too.’

She turned to where Jack was standing by the hedge.

‘Thanks to you, Jack, for helping to eat the grass. Now, both of you, please, please keep out of sight of the gate. And don’t talk to anyone wearing lycra shorts.’

Neither pony looked worried. Polly wanted her supper and Jack was happy to have her back in the field with him again.