Blue Ribbon Trail Ride (4 page)

Tori leaned on a post and blew out her breath. “Whew. I'm tired! But it's been a great day. At least this part is over.”

Kate nodded. “Mom and Dad didn't want to have to deal with this on Sunday. And isn't it cool that three more business owners made donations?”

Colt grinned. “Even more cool that two of them were ones we visited in Odell who said no. I guess they felt left out when word started spreading about all the businesses that contributed.”

Kate tipped her head. “And that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't thought of putting an ad in the
Hood River News
telling about the ride and listing all the businesses that donated.”

“I wonder …” Tori's voice trailed off as Kate's mom rushed out of the office and then looked up and down the alleyway.

“What's wrong, Mom? Did you need something?” Kate took a step toward her, then noticed her pale face. A sense of dread hit.

“My box is gone. It was there an hour or two ago, the last time I put money in it. It's been so quiet the past hour that I forgot all about it. Did one of you take it to the house?”

They all looked at one another, then slowly shook their heads. Tori grabbed Kate's arm. “Did someone steal it? With all of our money inside?”

Her mother's lips trembled. “By the time I helped the last person yesterday, I was so tired, I didn't think about taking the money out. And this morning I was in a rush, so I brought it back to the office without emptying it first. The box with all of our money is gone.”

The next couple of hours dragged as Kate and her friends helped her mom hunt through the entire barn in case someone had moved the box. When nothing turned up, Nan Ferris went into the house to start dinner and check on Pete, since his tutor had just gone home.

Kate plunked down on a bale of straw outside one of the stalls as each of her friends found a place to sit. “Who could have taken Mom's box, and how did they get it out of the barn without someone seeing them?”

Melissa clenched her fists. “I'd like to get my hands on the person who took that money. It's really rotten stealing something that will benefit kids!”

Colt's normally tranquil expression had turned angry. “No kidding! All that work with nothing to show for it.”

Tori's face crumpled as if she might cry. “We worked so hard. So do we give back all the donations and cancel the ride? This was the final day people could enter, and we don't have any of the money.”

Kate sighed. “We can't cancel. It won't matter to the people who paid to enter the scavenger hunt that someone took the money. Well, it might matter to them, but it's not their problem. They entered expecting to take part and hoping to win stuff. If we can't give their money back, then we can't cancel the ride.”

Tori groaned. “I didn't think of that. So we'll have to scramble to get things ready and not get anything out of it? Won't the business owners be mad if we don't have a fund for the kids? That's the reason most of them donated.”

Colt thumped his boot heel against the bale of straw he was sitting on. “We've got to think of something we can do to get that money back and catch the person who took it.”

Melissa tucked a blonde strand of hair behind her ear. “Silly, we can't catch someone after he's already taken the box and gone. There's nothing more for him to steal.”

Silence fell over the group as they took in what she'd said. Then Kate sat up a little straighter. “But what if the thief doesn't know he got all the money? What if we open the trail ride to more entries for another couple of days—like Monday and Tuesday? We could put the word out that we want to be fair and not leave anyone out. You know, call the Pony Club leader, the 4-H club leaders, and other barns and ask them to spread the news. That might get the thief to come back in the hope of stealing more money.”

“Okay …” Colt frowned. “But it's not like we can station someone at the door of the office, and there's no place to hide inside.”

Kate slumped. His words made sense. “Right. I hadn't thought that far.”

Melissa brightened. “Maybe we could
keep the office door shut and have someone hang around all day, then make a big deal about having to be gone in the evening. If the thief thinks the barn won't be guarded, he might come back later.”

Tori gave a slow nod, her brow puckered. “Good. But how do we catch him?”

Colt grinned. “Now that's something a guy can figure out. Set a trap, of course.”

The girls leaned forward.

“What kind?” Kate asked.

“We turn on a webcam and have it pointed at the door, or we could put a bucket of paint over the inside of the office door so it'll dump on the thief when he goes in. We could hide up in the hayloft above the alleyway so we can peek over the edge and watch.”

Melissa waved her hand. “Or we could do all of that at the same time, right?”

Colt's eyes widened. “Yeah. Great idea, Melissa! Let's go catch that thief.”

Kate barely dragged through the day on Sunday. She attended church with her family and sat by Tori, but she had a hard time keeping her mind on the service. She'd wanted all three of her friends to come over that afternoon, but Mom and Dad said there'd been enough excitement lately, and it was time for her to rest and spend time with Pete. That didn't bother her, since she loved her little brother, but she hoped she and her friends would have enough time to plan what they needed to do to catch the thief.

After playing video games with Pete for an hour and cleaning her room, she approached her mother again. “How about if only Tori comes over? Please, Mom? I cleaned my room and played games with Pete. She and I can take turns reading
Pete's Dragon
to him later if he wants us to. And we'll be quiet so you and Dad can rest.” She started to walk away, then pivoted. “Have you heard any more from the police?”

Mom sighed. “They said it's going to be very difficult to find the box. The office has had so many people in it that fingerprints are out. They asked questions and took notes, but they aren't very hopeful. As to having Tori over, I don't see why not. I appreciate your offer to entertain Pete. Dad and I would like a few minutes alone this afternoon. Go ahead and call her.”

“All right!” Kate raced to the phone. At least she and Tori could do a little planning. Maybe they could even call Colt and Melissa later and tell them what they'd come up with, then ask them to work on ideas so they could have a solid plan tomorrow.

“Kate.” Her mom's voice halted her before she could dial. “You can call Colt and Melissa as well. Don't ask them to come over, but if the four of you can split up the barns and riding clubs in the Gorge and make sure they've all been notified of the extension for entering, that would be a big help. I'm tired.”

Kate nodded. “Sure, Mom.” She grinned as she dialed Tori's number, happy that her mother had given her a good reason to call the rest of her friends.

Tori arrived on her bike thirty minutes later. She skidded to a stop by the front door, where Kate waited. “Hey. I'm glad you called. I wasn't sure if your mom and dad would want company after everything you guys have been through.” She parked her bike, then headed up the steps.

Kate stood aside as her friend entered the house. “We have an hour to talk and make calls, then we need to read to Pete, if that's okay with you.”

“Sure. I love Pete. Who are we calling?”

Kate filled her in on her mother's request. “I already told Colt and Melissa, and they took most of the list. We'll talk to the two clubs that are left. Then we can talk about plans for our sting operation.”

Tori stared at Kate. “Huh? Sting?”

Kate grinned. “You know—like the cops do when they want to catch a bad guy. We're going to set up something that will make the thief want to come back and try again.” She rubbed her hands together. “This is gonna be fun.”

Early the next morning, Kate ran to the barn, hoping Tori would arrive in the next half hour. She slid to a stop and stared. “Tori! I can't believe you beat me!”

“I couldn't sleep, and you said to get here early, so I did.”

“Yeah, but it's six thirty! I figured you'd come closer to seven. I was going to get the horses fed and the two stalls cleaned so we'd be ready when Colt and Melissa arrive.”

“We'll get done faster if we do it together.”

Kate smiled as warmth rushed through her. “Right.” It sure was good to have a close friend.

In no time they finished up and then heard Colt's cheerful whistle outside. He sauntered into the barn carrying a bottle of water, with Melissa on his heels. “Hey, guys. You just starting?”

“The stalls are done. Glad you're both here so we can get some work done for our sting before people arrive.”

Melissa held up a lightweight laptop. “It's got a great webcam. We can set it up in the hayloft and point it right at the office door.”

“Cool.” Tori looked at Colt. “Did you bring the paint?”

He grabbed a piece of straw from a nearby bale. “I got to thinking about that. If we put it above the door inside the office and the thief steps in, it's going to dump paint all over the stuff in the office, not just on the person.”

Kate and Melissa groaned at the same time. “Right.” Kate sank onto a nearby bale. “I can't believe we didn't think of that while we were planning. Now what?”

He held up his finger, then swiveled and walked outside. He returned in a minute carrying a plastic pail. “Watch.” He grabbed a manure fork, then turned and pushed open a stall door. “Not much left in here, but it'll do for a demo.”

He placed a few pieces of horse droppings in the bucket, then reached for the water bottle he'd set on the bale. He uncapped the bottle and poured water into the bucket, then plucked a stick from his pocket, dipped it into the bucket, and stirred. “Voilà! Soupy horse droppings! Stinky and sloppy. It's easier to clean up than paint, and if we don't fill it full, it'll mostly get on the person who walks under it. What do you think? It should be enough to slow him down as he runs out the door, and if we're lucky, it'll be on his face and he won't be able to see well enough to run. We should be able to catch him. All we have to do is follow the smell.”

Kate laughed. “Brilliant. But we can't set that up while people are signing up for the ride. And if we're up in the loft watching later, why the webcam?”

Melissa gave a sheepish grin. “It's for tonight, in case we fall asleep.”

Tori startled. “You think we'll have to stay out here all night? I'm not sure my parents will go for that.” She settled on one of the straw bales and waved for the others to sit as well.

Melissa shrugged. “I already told my mom I'm spending the night with Kate so I can help with the trail-ride sign-ups this afternoon and early tomorrow. She didn't care.”

Kate glanced at Tori. “What do you think?”

“I don't think Mom will care if I spend the night, as long as it's okay with your parents. But what about Colt?”

He frowned. “What about me?”

Tori raised one brow. “Won't your parents think it's weird if you ask to spend the night at a girl's house?”

“Nope, I already told them you needed help with the ride, so I was going to spend the night in the loft. I knew we'd have to have someone out here tonight watching the webcam.”

“Perfect,” Kate said. “That's the honest truth. We need your help, and you'll be sleeping in the loft.”

He brightened. “And if we catch the guy early, you girls will be in the house, and I'll be out here in my sleeping bag watching old Westerns on the laptop and eating popcorn.” He pumped his fist in the air. “Yeah! It doesn't get much better than that.”

Melissa rolled her eyes. “Have I ever mentioned how weird boys are?”

Tori grinned. “Yep. But it doesn't hurt to say it again.”

“Whatever.” Colt squared his shoulders. “Hey, did you make a list of the people who were eyeing the box? How are we going to make sure they come again?”

“That's the hard part,” Kate said. “There were several people we saw looking at Mom's box or who made comments about it. One was Mr. Wallace, our neighbor who lives just down the road. He's kind of a cranky old man, but he sure cheered up after he saw Mom's box. I figured we'd call and apologize that people will still be coming today, since we want to make more money.”

Tori kicked her foot against a straw bale. “Then there was the other man who didn't want to wait, and he couldn't take his eyes off that box. He and his daughter took a form, and he said he'd bring it back later, but none of us saw him.” She turned to Melissa. “Did you check to make sure he brought the entry form back? What do we say to him?”

Melissa exhaled. “Yeah, I found his daughter's entry. Maybe we could call him and let him know we're opening it again, in case his daughter has a friend who wants to come.”

“Great,” Kate said. “There were some college kids too, and a couple of others I thought acted suspicious when they were in the office—like Mr. Abbington the first day. That cash box was on my mind all day after Mr. Wallace said he wanted to buy it.”

“He what?” Tori squeaked the last word. “Maybe we should call the police and ask them to search his house.”

Colt shook his head. “We don't have any proof. By the way, Kate, did your parents call the police to report the theft? They should.”