The Steeplechase Secret by Jeanette Lane

Author:Jeanette Lane [Lane, Jeanette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2018-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Becky did not forget her promise to Jade. Zoe barely recognized her. Becky had on a short, fitted tweed jacket with tailored trousers and brown Chelsea boots. Her hair was pulled up into two twisty buns. “I had to get Mum to help,” Becky admitted. “I can only do braids.”

“Gosh, Becky,” Jade said. “You look super. Thanks for taking this seriously.”

“I feel underdressed,” Zoe declared. “And I actually wore a skirt!” Her denim-skirt-and-cardigan outfit had inspired comments from both her mom and Rosie that morning. Zoe did not often attempt to dress up.

“You both look great,” Jade said. “Thank you so much.”

Jade’s dad picked them up in front of the school and dropped them off at Grindlerock. “I’ll be back after I run all the errands on your mum’s list,” he said to Jade, waving a long strip of paper in his hand. “Which could take a while . . .”

“Okay, Dad,” Jade said. She waved good-bye and then pulled out her phone. “Liam said he’ll let us in, and then it’s up to us to find people to talk to and get some good photographs.”

“So you don’t have any specific interviews scheduled?” Becky asked.

“Nope, we’re winging it,” Jade said, sounding proud of herself for moving forward without a minute-by-minute agenda. “You can take bets on how long it will take for them to kick us out.”

“They won’t kick us out,” Zoe said with confidence. “You’re giving them free publicity.”

“We’ll see,” Jade replied, sounding rather upbeat. “Mr. Cooke was super helpful last week, but when I called about coming back for a follow-up, he was rather rude. He was like a totally different person.”

“So, you think they might be hiding something here after all?” Becky suggested. “Like the truth about the curse. That’s why you need me.”

“Exactly,” Jade responded without a beat, but Zoe could tell that Jade was just humoring her best friend. Despite what she had said about the management of the track, Jade didn’t seem concerned. She tucked her blouse in so it was smooth under her jacket, took a deep breath, and put her shoulders back. Jade was ready for business!

When Liam opened the heavy, ornate gate, he did not seem upbeat. He greeted them politely, but he looked exhausted.

“We’ve been working nonstop. The downpours have absolutely saturated the track, which is a bigger concern on the cross-country fences,” he said. “We don’t want horses skidding out. We have shipments of sand, soil stabilizer, and new turf coming in.”

Becky’s eyes glazed over at more talk of soil.

“Maybe you’ll get paid overtime?” Jade said hopefully. “It sounds like a lot of work.”

“It is. Plus, they still have us altering some of the fences,” Liam added. He pulled a large stainless-steel water bottle from his bag and took a long, steady swig.

“Yeah,” Zoe spoke up, seeing her opening. “We went on a trail ride up the ridge behind Grindlerock two days ago, and Becky noticed that the one water fence in the gully was totally flooded out.”

“That one is a mess.

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