Read Online Mystery of the Midnight Rider by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online Page B

door.
    "Look, I know you’re upset about missing your friend’s party or whatever—,” Dana began.
    "It’s my cousin,” Payton snapped, cutting her off. "My favorite cousin, who’s been like an older sister to me my whole life. And it’s not just some party—it’s her wedding ! ”
    “Okay, whatever, I’m sorry,” Dana said. “But in this industry, you need to be willing to make sacrifices. And it’s not every day that the chef d’equipe wants to show up and watch you ride … ”
    Unfortunately, she lowered her voice just enough so it was impossible to make out whatever she said next. I backed up a few yards, and my friends followed.
    “This adds a new wrinkle,” I said quietly. "It sounds like Payton wanted to skip this show to go to her cousin’s wedding.”
    "I wonder if that’s the family obligation that’s keeping her parents away until tomorrow night,” Bess said.
    “Probably,” I agreed, remembering Payton’s comment the day before. "In any case, Dana must’ve insisted she skip the wedding so she could ride in front of the Olympics guy.”
    “Maybe Payton’s parents, too,” George said. "It sounds like they’re pretty competitive and ambitious.”
    “Yeah. Even if it wasn’t their idea, they must’ve agreed with Dana. Because if they thought Payton should go to the wedding in-stead, they could’ve overruled her.” I shook my head. “You know, I’m starting to feel really sorry for Payton. On the one hand, she’s living out her dream—riding at these big shows, super successful, aimed for Olympic glory.”
    Bess nodded, clearly seeing where I was going with my thought. “But there’s a dark side too,” she said. "Her life isn’t really her own. She has to make sacrifices to be the best.” She sighed. "It’s just too bad Dana seems to be so, you know, mean about it.” "Yeah.” George glanced in the direction of the tack room. "She really doesn’t sound too sympathetic, does she?”
    Her comment made another thought pop into my head. It was one that had been dancing around at the edges of my thoughts all day.
    "You’re right,” I said slowly. "If Dana’s the one who forced Pay ton to come to this show, could that be a clue in itself?”
    “What do you mean?” Bess asked. “Do you think Dana should be a suspect?”
    "I’m not sure,” I said. "I mean, this isn’t the first time we’ve witnessed her being kind of hard on Payton. But if she’s the culprit, what’s her motive?”
    “Good question.” George pursed her lips thoughtfully. “She’s Payton’s trainer. So if Payton looks good, she looks good, right? Why would she want to mess that up?”
    "And would she really slash up that saddle?” Bess wondered. "I mean, she seems kind of hot-tempered, but not crazy”
    "Yeah, I can’t quite picture her going at the saddle with a knife either,” I admitted. "Still, we’d better put her on the list. Just in case.” Something else occurred to me. "And actually, even if she’s not the best suspect for some of the stuff that’s happened, there’s one thing that fits perfectly. She’s the one in charge of Midnight’s care, right? Including everything he eats. So she was in the best position to toss some chocolate or whatever into his bucket to make him flunk that test, right?”
    "I guess so.” Bess looked uncertain. "But if that’s true, wouldn’t she get in trouble too?”
    "I don’t know.” I realized I still wasn’t clear on how the whole suspension system worked. “Let’s see if we can find someone to ask.”
    George glanced toward the tack room. “Good idea. We probably shouldn’t be here when they come out.”
    I had to agree with that. If Dana might be our culprit, it probably wasn’t a good thing for her to catch us eavesdropping.
    My friends and I tiptoed away around the corner, then started looking around for someone to ask about the drug rules. The first familiar face we saw belonged to Mickey. He was outside Midnight’s stall, stuffing