Free Stormchaser and the Silver Mist by Belinda Rapley Page A

staring after Archie.
    “What’s up?” Rosie asked.
    “I can’t be sure,” Alice said slowly, “but I think that Archie slipped something into his pocket when we were looking the other way. I think he distracted us deliberately…”
    “You’re joking?” Charlie groaned. “And we missed it?”
    Alice nodded, feeling sick that they may have just lost a vital clue.
    Mia sighed, then turned her attention back to the baler twine in her hand. “Well, one thing we know for certain,” she said, “is that those ponies didn’t just push their way out of this field,no matter what Archie thinks. This twine’s all frayed, like someone’s hacked through it with scissors or a knife or something.”
    “So that confirms it. Someone’s deliberately letting ponies out of their paddocks,” Alice said. A shiver went up her spine, especially as they still didn’t know the fate of the missing Greenfield’s ponies. Anything could have happened to them. Scout dipped his head and nudged her elbow, starting to get bored. Alice rubbed his cold tipped ears and leant against his sturdy neck. She glanced round at Phantom, Wish and Dancer. Their ponies were the girls’ best friends in the world. What if someone had let them out of the paddock, and they were charging about the countryside in a blind panic? Alice’s stomach churned at the thought of it, she couldn’t understand how anyone could be so mean. The criminal at the centre of this mystery must be completely cold hearted, and deep down, she wanted to steer well clear of anyone so cruel. But with ponies’ lives being put at risk, she knew she simply didn’t have a choice.

    The Pony Detectives left the mayhem of Greenfield’s and set out to help search for the missing ponies.
    “I cant believe I’m having to do serious investigative work,” Rosie puffed, “while I’m dressed up as a Christmas pud.”
    “I think we should ride back past the Abbey,” Mia suggested. “The ponies could well have bolted in that direction. We need to ask if anyone there has seen them this morning.”
    Charlie gave her a sideways smile. “And I guess we might just bump into Archie while we’re there…”
    “Well, the thought had crossed my mind,” Mia replied. I’d really like to find out what he was so desperate to hide in his pocket.”
    They trotted their ponies on the uphill lanes, telling any riders hacking to the Greenfield’s show what had happened.
    “Can we walk again for a second?” Rosie panted. “I think I’m starting to overcook…”
    “We’re nearly there, anyway,” Alice said, as they came back to a walk, turning onto Abbey Lane and seeing the Abbey ruins rise in front of them. Billy Pyke was standing by the entrance, glancing over his shoulder, then staring up the road. The girls had never spoken to him before, but they decided he’d be approachable because of the quiet way they’d seen him handle the polo ponies.
    “Hi there,” Mia called over. As he looked over at the group, and scowled, Mia started to wonder if they’d got him wrong. “Er – some ponies were let out of their fields last night at Greenfields Riding School—”
    Billy started slightly and cut Mia off rudely. “So what’s that got to do with me?”
    “Oh, nothing,” Charlie said, taken aback. “It’s just three of them are still missing, and we wondered if you’d seen them, that’s all. One of them was a skewbald—”
    “I don’t know anything about it, all right?” Billy snapped back.
    “We were just asking,” Rosie said, indignantly. “Don’t you care that there mightbe terrified ponies wandering around here?”
    Billy glared at her darkly. He was about to answer when a silver estate car rounded the corner at speed. It skidded to an abrupt halt. Billy forgot the girls in an instant as he leapt up and grabbed at the car door, yanking it open. He jumped in and the girls heard a snatch of his conversation.
    “Rumour’s up on the grass gallops.”
    Then the door