Read Online Phantom Horse by Bonnie Bryant - Free Book Online Page A

had checked to see if Shannon was wearing the gold bracelet, and she was. But now she was wearing the silver bell bracelet instead!
    Stevie had to tell Lisa and Carole. “Well, if you have any questions about anything, feel free,” she said, backing away and almost bumping into Belle in the process. She turned and led the mare off, giving Shannon one last glance over her shoulder. But the other girl had already turned away and was smiling brightly at Joe, who was approaching with Rusty in tow.
    Stevie untacked Belle in record time and left her munching a mouthful of hay in her stall, with a promise to return soon to give her a full grooming. Then Stevie raced to Starlight’s stall. The big bay was there, but Carole was nowherein sight. Stevie shrugged and went to Prancer’s stall, where Lisa was busy combing the mare’s mane.
    “Guess what,” Stevie said breathlessly. “I just noticed something important. Shannon isn’t wearing the bracelet.”
    Lisa tugged gently at a stubborn knot in Prancer’s mane. “So? Who says she has to wear the same jewelry every day?”
    “But she
was
wearing it today,” Stevie said. “In school. Now she’s wearing that other one. She must have switched before she came to Pine Hollow. Now, why would she bother to do that unless she had a guilty conscience? Or, more to the point, unless she didn’t want Betsy to notice her wearing her stolen property?”
    “Interesting theory,” Lisa said. “But still not proof.”
    “I know,” Stevie said. “But Shannon’s guilty. I can just feel it.” She looked up and saw Mrs. Reg walking down the aisle in their direction. All the riders at Pine Hollow knew there was nothing Mrs. Reg hated as much as seeing people standing around chatting when there was work to be done. “Oops. I’d better get back to Belle. I owe her a grooming,” Stevie said. “But I’m going to keep an eye on Shannon for as long as she hangs around here today, and you should do the same. Tell Carole, too, if you see her.”
    “Okay,” Lisa said agreeably, turning her attention back to Prancer’s mane as Stevie hurried away.
    As she did her stable chores, Stevie tried to stay close to Shannon. But much to her disappointment, Shannon didn’t do anything all afternoon that anyone, even Stevie, couldcall suspicious. That made Stevie start to wonder if Shannon really was the Pine Hollow Pilferer. Maybe she should have paid more attention to Lisa’s theory about Troy after all
    Once her work was finished, Stevie walked slowly down the aisle toward the locker room, thinking hard. She was still convinced that the bracelet switch was a valuable clue, but maybe it wasn’t wise to put all her eggs in one basket. Lisa had made some interesting points about Troy. It might not be a bad idea to start keeping an eye on him, too.
    Just then Stevie heard excited chatter coming from the locker room. She hurried forward and entered the room. Half a dozen students were there—Lisa, Adam Levine, and several others. Max was there, too, and he was leaning over to peer into Adam’s cubby. When he straightened up and turned around, Stevie saw that he looked worried.
    “Are you sure it was here, Adam?” Max asked.
    Adam nodded. “Definitely. I’m sure,” he said. “It was in my jacket pocket.” He pointed to a green nylon jacket that was lying on the floor in front of his cubby. “When I came in to get my stuff, my jacket was there on the floor and the pen was gone.”
    Stevie hurried over to Lisa. “What happened?”
    “It looks like Adam’s fancy gold-plated fountain pen has disappeared,” Lisa said grimly. “He just got it today—it was a prize for a writing contest he won in school.”
    Stevie let out a low whistle. “It looks like our pilferer isdeveloping better taste,” she said. “Or more expensive taste, anyway.”
    “It looks that way,” Lisa agreed.
    “You know what else this means, don’t you?” Stevie said, glancing around to make sure she wouldn’t