Pony Problems (6 page)

“Mom,” George moaned, “he's still bugging us. We can't finish the interview if Scott keeps interrupting.”

“Looks like he's busy now,” Mrs. Fayne remarked as Scott struggled to climb back on top of the bale of hay. “I'll keep my little goat over here while you girls talk to Ms. Walton.” This time, when Scott jumped, Mrs. Fayne caught him and swung him around. “Maa,” she said to her son and set him back on the bale.

Ms. Walton asked the girls a few more questions about the pony. Then she asked them how the investigation was going.

“Pretty good,” Nancy responded. She pulled out her purple notebook but didn't open it. “We have a few suspects and a whole bunch of clues.”

“How are you going to solve this case?” Ms. Walton asked.

“Well,” George answered, “we're going to head over to Nancy's house today. I need to
input our notes into the computer. Then we'll work together to solve the mystery.”

Just then, Stacy arrived with an apple for Buttons. “Hi,” she said to the girls. “Who are you talking to?” Stacy looked at the reporter.

George introduced her to Ms. Walton.

Mr. Johnson walked over to them. “Let's take a picture for the paper!” he said. “It'll be great. After this, everyone will want to come and ride Buttons, the famous pony!”

Bess, George, and Nancy gathered together in the front row for the picture. Buttons was on the side, with Stacy holding his reins, of course. In the back were Mr. Johnson and a very unhappy Amanda, who had been forced to be in the photo.

“Smile,” Ms. Walton said, looking though the camera lens.

“Fantastic,” Bess grumbled. She leaned over and whispered to George and Nancy, “In tomorrow's newspaper there will be a photo of the Clue Crew standing with their three suspects!”

It was Sunday afternoon. The girls were in Nancy's bedroom, talking while George booted up Nancy's computer.

“Detective work is fun,” Bess said as she flopped backward onto Nancy's bed. The purple covers were crinkled beneath her. “But it's hard work, too.” She grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest.

Nancy got out her purple notebook and flipped through the pages.

“Computer's ready,” George announced. “I started a new file for this case.”

“Great.” Nancy looked down at what she'd written. “We have three suspects. Stacy Quinn,
Mr. Johnson, and Amanda Johnson.”

From over at Nancy's desk, George stopped typing. “It's hard to think of them as suspects because we really like all of them. It's a bummer to think that one of them is letting Buttons out of the animal pen.”

There was a knock on Nancy's door.

“Come in,” Nancy called instead of answering the door herself.

“Hello, girls,” Hannah said as she walked into the room, carrying a white plastic tray. “Why are you looking so sad?”

“We aren't sad,” Nancy answered. “We just like all our suspects.”

“Take a break,” Hannah said as she set the tray on top of Nancy's dresser. “I made cookies. Eat. Drink some milk. Things aren't always what they seem. Did you review your clues?”

“Not yet,” Nancy answered. “We were talking about the suspects first.”

“After your snack, check your clues.” Hannah walked to the door. “You girls know,” she
reminded them as she closed the door behind her, “that good detectives always think about their clues.”

Each girl ate two chocolate cookies and drank a glass of milk. Full and happy, they were ready to get back to work.

“Clues,” Nancy said, reading the column in her notebook. “Buttons doesn't like hay. There is a lot of hay outside the pen. Then, there's the red paint on Buttons's hoof.”

Suddenly, Bess sat up on the bed. “I just realized something. Stacy can't be a suspect. The key to the lock is kept in Mr. Johnson's house. She doesn't have a way to open the gate.”

“Good thinking,” Nancy cheered. “I think we should go talk to Stacy again. Let's ask her if she's letting the pony out. That way we can cross her off our list for sure.”

As a rule, the girls were only allowed to walk five blocks from Nancy's house. Luckily, Stacy lived three blocks away.

The girls were there a few minutes later.

George knocked. “Who's there?” Stacy asked through the closed door.

“Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew,” Nancy replied. Stacy immediately opened the door.

“Hi.” Nancy didn't waste any time. “Are you letting Buttons out at night? You said you would keep him if he showed up at you house.”

“Sure, I'd love to keep him, but that's just a dream.” Stacy laughed. “Buttons belongs to Mr. Johnson and has a good life at the petting zoo. I can visit there any time I want. Sure I wish Buttons lived at my house, but where would I put him? In the living room?”

“He'd probably enjoy staying in the kitchen,” Bess put in, and all the girls chuckled.

Nancy thought of an important question that Stacy could easily answer. “Mrs. Fayne told us that Shetland ponies are different from other ponies. Why?”

Stacy didn't even pause to think about the answer. She quickly said, “In many ways Shetlands are more like goats than ponies.” Just
then, Stacy's mom called from upstairs. “I'd better go. We're leaving to visit my grandparents on the other side of town. I have to change into nicer clothes. See ya at school tomorrow.”

Back in Nancy's bedroom, Bess suggested, “Let's cross her off the suspect list.” Nancy got out her notebook and put a purple line though Stacy's name. George deleted her name from the computer file.

“Only two suspects left,” George remarked. “If Stacy isn't letting Buttons go, who is?”

Monday morning the phone rang at Nancy's house. Nancy was already awake and ready for school, even though it wasn't time to leave yet. All night her brain had been working on the mystery. She hadn't slept very well.

Nancy was comparing ponies and goats. Buttons made a neighing sound, like a pony. He was short like a goat, but other than that, he looked like a pony. Goats ate anything. So did Buttons. Except hay. Buttons didn't like hay.

Her head was spinning from thinking so much.

When the phone rang, she decided that since she was up, she'd answer it.

“Hello, Drew residence,” Nancy said politely, just like Hannah had taught her.

“Nancy?” It was Bess. “You aren't going to believe this!”

Nancy glanced at the clock. It was really early. “Should I guess? Because I bet I know why you're calling. There's a four-legged visitor at your house, right?”

“Yes!” Bess confirmed. “Buttons is eating our grass! Right now!”

“I wish I had time to come over,” Nancy said. “It might be early, but Dad would never let me rush over there before school.”

“George's mom said no too,” Bess replied.

“Did you look around for clues?” Nancy asked. “Like when we found the paint on his hoof at George's.”

“Of course,” Bess said. Nancy could imagine Bess looking the pony over, searching for something unusual. “I didn't find anything. Mr. Johnson must have washed off that red paint mark. This morning, nothing looks suspicious.”

“Hmmm,” Nancy said, then went silent.

“Nancy?” Bess called into the phone. “Nancy? Are you still there? Talk to me. I can hear you breathing. Earth to Nancy.”

Suddenly, Nancy snapped out of it. “I'm here. Sorry. I was thinking.”

“Think later,” Bess advised. “I'd better go. Mr. Johnson just arrived to pick Buttons up. I'll see you at school.”

All day at school, Nancy was thinking about the mystery. She paid attention in class, but between classes and at lunch, she was constantly bumping into stuff, walking into walls, and tripping on the ends of her shoes. By the time recess came, Bess and George were afraid to leave her alone. She might hurt herself.

“Oof,” Nancy said as she banged her elbow on the ladder leading up to the monkey bars.

“Okay,” Bess told Nancy. “You'd better tell us what you're thinking, because school's almost over and we can't protect you forever.”

“Why are you protecting me?” Nancy asked, rubbing her sore elbow. She hadn't noticed that Bess and George had been following her around all day.

“We have to save you from yourself!” George answered. “Your head is stuck at Johnson's Petting Zoo.”

“That's not such a bad place to be stuck.” Bess smiled. “It's superfun there. Did you see the article and photographs in today's newspaper?”

Just like Ms. Walton had said, there was a full-page article in the paper. Nancy had seen the picture of herself, Bess, and George with Stacy, Mr. Johnson, and Amanda. Next to that, there was also a smaller picture of Scott riding Buttons.

Bess grinned. “Remember yesterday when Scott was jumping off the hay pretending he was a duck? It was annoying at the time, but now it seems pretty funny.”

“Quack,” said George. “My brother can be such a spaz sometimes!”

“Maa,” said Bess. “I'm a goat!” She held two fingers like horns on her head. “Maa.”

“Quack, quack.” George responded, flapping her arms and running in circles around Bess and Nancy.

“That's it!” Suddenly, Nancy's eyes grew wide. “Thanks to the both of you, I think I just figured out this mystery.”

“What did we do?” George stopped quacking.

“How did we help?” Bess stopped bleating.

“What are you doing after school today?” Nancy asked Bess and George.

They didn't have any plans, except homework.

“Good.” Nancy seemed very happy. “Do your homework right away. I'm going to ask Hannah if she'll drive us over to the petting zoo.”

“Aren't you going to fill us in?” Bess and George asked together.

“Later,” Nancy said as the school bell rang. It was time to go back to class. “Meet me at my house at four o'clock. When we get to the petting zoo, I'll tell you the answer to the mystery.”