Photo Finish

Free Photo Finish by Bonnie Bryant Page A

Book: Photo Finish by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online
Authors: Bonnie Bryant
between the stable area and the publicarea, so spectators from the grandstand and the clubhouse could come to watch.
    The crowds of people were thinner at this end of the stable area. “I guess there aren’t as many horses stabled here right now,” Carole guessed.
    “I guess—hey!” Stevie interrupted herself. “Look! Isn’t that Eddie?”
    Sure enough, the girls saw the groom hurrying along about twenty yards in front of them. He was glancing around in the same furtive, nervous way they’d noticed earlier.
    “What should we do?” Carole whispered.
    “Follow him, of course!” Stevie replied. She quickly moved from the middle of the path to one side, under the shadows of the buildings, motioning for Carole and Lisa to do the same. Then the girls crept forward after Eddie, being careful to keep a safe distance behind him so they wouldn’t be spotted.
    To the girls’ surprise, Eddie headed past the last stable building and walked straight toward the paddock. He unlatched the gate and disappeared inside.
    “Why is he going in there?” Lisa wondered. “There’s no reason to be there this far ahead of the first race.”
    “Not unless you’re up to no good,” Carole said.
    “Come on. Let’s get closer,” Stevie said. “We have to find out what he’s doing.”
    The three girls looked around carefully to make surenobody was watching. Then they tiptoed over to the paddock fence and peered in.
    Stevie gasped when she saw the scene inside. “It’s Kelly Kennemere!” she whispered loudly.
    Carole and Lisa just nodded, their eyes riveted on the scene in front of them. Eddie and Kelly were standing together just inside the paddock. They were deep in what looked like an intense conversation. Eddie was talking quickly, waving his hands in the air, while Kelly kept shaking her head, looking upset.
    Lisa raised her camera and focused. She snapped three or four pictures of the pair.
    “I wish we could hear what they’re saying,” Carole said.
    “We don’t have to,” Stevie replied. “They must be talking about Monkeyshines. Maybe Eddie is explaining why the poisoning trick didn’t work.”
    “Shh! I think they’re leaving,” Carole warned.
    The Saddle Club scooted behind a nearby shrub and watched as Eddie and Kelly walked to the gate, looked around, and then hurried off in different directions.
    “Wow,” Stevie said as the girls began heading slowly back to the stable area. “I guess that just about proves it. Eddie is guilty. He’s in cahoots with Kelly, and maybe her father too, to keep Monk out of the race.”
    Lisa shook her head. “What we just saw doesn’t really prove anything, Stevie,” she pointed out. “All we saw was a couple of people talking.”
    “Oh, come on,” Stevie said in exasperation. “Don’t tell me you’re still not convinced there’s something strange going on here!”
    Lisa chewed her lower lip for a moment. “I’m almost convinced,” she said at last. “There are just too many suspicious things happening for all of it to be a coincidence. But the truth is, we still don’t have any real evidence—not evidence that the police or someone would accept anyway.”
    “Lisa’s right,” Carole said. “We have to find a way to prove that Eddie and Kelly were the ones who tried to poison Monkeyshines.”
    “That’s going to be tough to do before post time,” Lisa said doubtfully.
    “But we have to do it,” Stevie said stubbornly. “We have to—”
    “Hey, look,” Carole interrupted. “It’s Duncan Gibbs!”
    Stevie turned to see the disgruntled jockey stalking about nearby, hands once again shoved deep in his pockets. “Come on, let’s follow him,” she said.
    “Why? I thought we’d decided Kelly and Eddie did it,” Carole said, watching as Duncan disappeared around the corner of the next barn.
    Stevie shrugged. “Well, like you guys said, we haven’t proved anything yet. We’ve still got to keep our eye on everyone.”
    They headed in the

Similar Books

The Long Earth

Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter

Lessons in Rule-Breaking

Christy McKellen

Listen!

Frances Itani

Mr. Right Now

Kristina Knight

JORDAN Nicole

The Courtship Wars 2 To Bed a Beauty

The Carousel

Rosamunde Pilcher

Heads You Lose

Lisa Lutz

A Luring Murder

Stacy Verdick Case