Win, Place, or Die by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Chapter

Ten

HOW DO I look?” Bess asked, striking a pose in front of Nancy. In peach cotton pants, a matching oversize shirt, and a silver belt cinching the shirt in, Bess was the picture of chic.

“Terrific,” Nancy proclaimed.

“Thanks.” Bess fluffed her bangs in the mirror. “What are you going to do tonight while I go out with Walt?”

“Actually,” Nancy said, smiling thoughtfully, “I’m going back to the track.”

“So late?” Bess asked.

Nancy nodded. “I think I’ll ask Thea if I can sleep on a cot in the barn tonight. I want to be there if the person who’s been snooping around shows up again.”

Bess hesitated. “Do you want me to stay at the barn with you?” she asked bravely.

“Thanks, but no. You could do me a favor, though. When you’re out with Walt tonight, see what you can find out about Johnson Farms.”

“Sure. Anything else?”

Nancy frowned. “Nope. Except have a good time.”

“I’ll try my best,” Bess said, dimpling.

After Walt picked Bess up, Nancy’s mind turned back to the mystery. Cam had mentioned that Walt was a great jockey. Why, then, had Ken McHugh been chosen to ride Toot Sweet in the Derby? Unless her theories were right and McHugh’s earnings for Johnson Farms would revert to Cam. If that was the case, Cam might be very interested in having McHugh ride—just to make sure he had a fatal accident.

Nancy mulled over the facts as she drove to the track. Cam seemed honest enough, but she’d seen ample evidence of his hot temper. Had he let his emotions run away with him this time?

When Nancy had asked Thea if she could sleep at the barn, Thea promised to give her an extra cot and sleeping bag. All Nancy brought with her was her purse and her penlight. She wasn’t going to be caught in the dark again!

Thea had told her she’d be eating a late dinner at the stable cafeteria and then spending the evening with Cam, so when Nancy arrived one of the grooms showed her where her cot was.

“Thanks,” Nancy told him, laying out her sleeping bag.

It was cool in the barn but pleasant. The smell of hay and feed and the sharp scent of horse liniment filled the air. Nancy inhaled deeply, then stepped outside into the warm evening air.

Moonlight lit faint, ghostly strips over the ground. Her penlight safely tucked in her pocket, Nancy walked around the barns. More lights were on this evening, and there was some activity even that late. The Derby was less than forty-eight hours away, and excitement was building.

When Nancy returned to Pied Piper’s stall, the grooms were already asleep, so she climbed into her sleeping bag, too. She lay awake, though, turning the mystery over in her mind.

Drugging McHugh had been a desperate act, as had been cutting the girth strap. It was clear that someone wanted McHugh out of the way, but why? Was that someone Cam? Until she knew if Johnson Farms—and Cam—inherited McHugh’s seventy-five percent, Nancy had no way of knowing if Cam had a solid motive.

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