Free Horse Race by Bonnie Bryant Page B

leaning on the rail, talking to an exercise boy, who was riding one of the Maskee horses.
    “What’s the matter?” Josh asked. He turned and stared in Garvey’s direction, too, trying to see what the girls were looking at.
    Stevie had an idea. “That’s our boss over there in the blue shirt,” she explained. “If he catches us here talking to you instead of working, he’ll be really mad.”
    “Your boss?” Josh said. “Does that mean he owns Cookie Cutter?”
    “He trains her,” Lisa corrected.
    “Wow!” Josh exclaimed. “That’s really cool. Maybe youcould introduce me to him. I’d love to meet a real live horse trainer.”
    “I have a better idea,” Stevie said. She turned and pointed to a large bay horse that had just stepped onto the racetrack. “See that horse over there? His name is … um … Pine Hollow. He’s the fastest horse in all of Kentucky. You don’t want to miss his workout.”
    “Really?” Josh’s eyes widened as he watched the horse start to trot. “Wow. Thanks for the tip.”
    Stevie smiled. “You’re welcome. Hurry, it looks like he’s starting. You might want to get your father to tape him, too.”
    Josh nodded and raced over to his parents. Stevie watched long enough to see him grab his father by the arm and point toward the bay. Then she turned to her friends.
    “Okay, let’s make a break for it,” she said. “Luckily, I don’t think Garvey’s noticed us yet.”
    As the three girls hurried back to the safety of the stable area, Lisa smiled at Stevie. “I wonder what that horse’s name really is?” she said.
    Stevie shrugged. “Who knows? But I think Pine Hollow is an awfully nice name for a racehorse, don’t you?”
    T HE GIRLS STILL hadn’t found Deborah a few minutes later when they met Toby leading one of the Maskee horses back from the track. Luckily, Garvey wasn’t with him.
    “Hi there,” Toby said when he saw them. “What are you three up to?”
    “We’re looking for Deborah,” Stevie said. “Have you seen her?”
    The jockey shook his head. “Not lately. I thought she said something about visiting farms.”
    Lisa gasped. “That’s right,” she said. “She’s going to be gone until post time, remember?”
    “Is there a problem?” Toby asked, looking concerned. “Maybe I can help you out.”
    Carole shook her head quickly. “No, no problem,” she assured him. “We just wanted to—um—find out what time we’re leaving tonight. We can ask her later.”
    Toby nodded and continued on his way. Lisa watched him go. “Maybe we should tell him the truth,” she whispered to her friends.
    Carole shook her head again. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” she said. “I’d like to trust Toby. But what if he was the one Garvey was talking to on the phone last night?”
    “Good point,” Stevie said. She glanced after the jockey. “Still, he seems so nice …”
    “I know,” Carole said. “But don’t you remember, I told you Garvey said something about being loyal. Doesn’t that sound like he was telling Toby he’d better win for Maskee Farms?”
    “Maybe.” Lisa frowned. “Besides, even if he’s not involved in whatever it is, he might not believe us any more than the police would if we started accusing Garvey of being a crook.”
    “Or whatever,” Carole added with a sigh. “That’s theworst thing. We don’t even know what we’re accusing him of.”
    “That’s only part of the problem,” Lisa said grimly. “We don’t know, but Garvey thinks we do. That’s why he wants to shut us up.”
    Carole glanced at her watch and gulped nervously. “And Deborah won’t be back for hours.”
    “That settles it, then,” Stevie said. “Until Deborah gets back this afternoon, we’re just going to have to deal with Garvey ourselves.”

T HE GIRLS DECIDED to head out to the grandstand to talk, since Garvey wouldn’t be likely to find them there. But someone else found them almost as soon as they made themselves