She grabbed the photo out of Lisa’s hand andwaved it in the air. “And we have the evidence right here.”
Carole shook her head. “I’m not sure about this, Stevie. What possible motive could Kent have? Besides, the picture isn’t evidence. All it shows is a man walking out of a stable shed. There’s no law against that.”
“Come on, you guys,” Stevie said. “Don’t tell me you’re not just a tiny bit convinced that Kent might have done it.”
Lisa shrugged. “I’m not convinced either way,” she said. “He was there at around the right time—the picture
does
prove that. But just because he was there doesn’t mean he did it.”
“What it
does
mean is that we’ve just got to do a little more investigating,” Stevie said eagerly. “Even if his evil plot failed, we still can’t just let him get away with it!”
Carole looked doubtful. “We don’t have much time. The Preakness starts in a little over an hour, and we’ll probably leave pretty soon after that.”
“Then we’ll have to come up with a good plan,” Stevie declared. “Come on, we can talk about it on our way back to the track. We’ve got a horse poisoner to catch!”
“I DIDN ’ T THINK any more people could squeeze their way into this place,” Carole gasped as the three girls shoved their way through the grandstand a few minutes later. “But they did!”
It was true. The racetrack was packed to the eaves with people, all eager to see the exciting showdown between Garamond and Monkeyshines. It was so crowded that The Saddle Club could hardly move.
“How are we ever going to find Kent Calhoun in this mob scene?” Lisa asked, dodging to avoid a baby carriage. She breathed a sigh of relief as they finally reached the entrance to the clubhouse. It was a little less crowded there, though not much.
“We’ll have to split up,” Stevie decided. “It’s the only way.” She glanced around. “I’ll go back out to the grandstandand look there. Lisa, why don’t you stay here in the clubhouse, and Carole, you can search the stable area.”
“What do we do if we find him?” Carole asked.
Stevie shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “Just use your instincts. We’ll meet in twenty minutes by those phones over there.” She pointed to a bank of phones near the door leading out to the paddock area. Then she hurried off before Lisa or Carole could say another word.
“If I thought any of us might actually find him, I’d be worried,” Lisa said to Carole, looking at the throngs of people milling around them. “But what are the odds of locating one person in this mess?”
“Pretty slim,” Carole said. “Especially if we have only twenty minutes. Still, we have to try, for Monk’s sake.”
E XACTLY TWENTY MINUTES later, after a fruitless search of the clubhouse, Lisa made her way back to the spot by the phones. While looking for Kent she had encountered Mr. McLeod, Mr. Kennemere, Max, and Deborah. But Kent Calhoun was nowhere to be found.
Lisa looked around the meeting spot, which was much more deserted than it had been earlier. She guessed most people were either in the stands, waiting to watch the race, or in line to place bets. Neither Stevie nor Carole had returned yet. Then Lisa spotted a familiar face, and froze. It was Kent Calhoun, talking on one of the phones!
Lisa looked around again, wishing frantically that her friends would show up quickly. The last thing she wantedto do was face Kent alone. Nervously, she fingered the packet of photos in her pocket. As long as Kent was on the phone, Lisa decided, she didn’t need to do anything. She just hoped Stevie and Carole arrived before Kent finished his conversation.
In the meantime, that conversation was becoming audible to Lisa, because Kent’s voice had grown louder in the few seconds she’d been standing nearby. It sounded to Lisa as though Kent were arguing with someone, although the subject of the dispute wasn’t clear.
“But if I just had a
Carole shook her head. “I’m not sure about this, Stevie. What possible motive could Kent have? Besides, the picture isn’t evidence. All it shows is a man walking out of a stable shed. There’s no law against that.”
“Come on, you guys,” Stevie said. “Don’t tell me you’re not just a tiny bit convinced that Kent might have done it.”
Lisa shrugged. “I’m not convinced either way,” she said. “He was there at around the right time—the picture
does
prove that. But just because he was there doesn’t mean he did it.”
“What it
does
mean is that we’ve just got to do a little more investigating,” Stevie said eagerly. “Even if his evil plot failed, we still can’t just let him get away with it!”
Carole looked doubtful. “We don’t have much time. The Preakness starts in a little over an hour, and we’ll probably leave pretty soon after that.”
“Then we’ll have to come up with a good plan,” Stevie declared. “Come on, we can talk about it on our way back to the track. We’ve got a horse poisoner to catch!”
“I DIDN ’ T THINK any more people could squeeze their way into this place,” Carole gasped as the three girls shoved their way through the grandstand a few minutes later. “But they did!”
It was true. The racetrack was packed to the eaves with people, all eager to see the exciting showdown between Garamond and Monkeyshines. It was so crowded that The Saddle Club could hardly move.
“How are we ever going to find Kent Calhoun in this mob scene?” Lisa asked, dodging to avoid a baby carriage. She breathed a sigh of relief as they finally reached the entrance to the clubhouse. It was a little less crowded there, though not much.
“We’ll have to split up,” Stevie decided. “It’s the only way.” She glanced around. “I’ll go back out to the grandstandand look there. Lisa, why don’t you stay here in the clubhouse, and Carole, you can search the stable area.”
“What do we do if we find him?” Carole asked.
Stevie shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “Just use your instincts. We’ll meet in twenty minutes by those phones over there.” She pointed to a bank of phones near the door leading out to the paddock area. Then she hurried off before Lisa or Carole could say another word.
“If I thought any of us might actually find him, I’d be worried,” Lisa said to Carole, looking at the throngs of people milling around them. “But what are the odds of locating one person in this mess?”
“Pretty slim,” Carole said. “Especially if we have only twenty minutes. Still, we have to try, for Monk’s sake.”
E XACTLY TWENTY MINUTES later, after a fruitless search of the clubhouse, Lisa made her way back to the spot by the phones. While looking for Kent she had encountered Mr. McLeod, Mr. Kennemere, Max, and Deborah. But Kent Calhoun was nowhere to be found.
Lisa looked around the meeting spot, which was much more deserted than it had been earlier. She guessed most people were either in the stands, waiting to watch the race, or in line to place bets. Neither Stevie nor Carole had returned yet. Then Lisa spotted a familiar face, and froze. It was Kent Calhoun, talking on one of the phones!
Lisa looked around again, wishing frantically that her friends would show up quickly. The last thing she wantedto do was face Kent alone. Nervously, she fingered the packet of photos in her pocket. As long as Kent was on the phone, Lisa decided, she didn’t need to do anything. She just hoped Stevie and Carole arrived before Kent finished his conversation.
In the meantime, that conversation was becoming audible to Lisa, because Kent’s voice had grown louder in the few seconds she’d been standing nearby. It sounded to Lisa as though Kent were arguing with someone, although the subject of the dispute wasn’t clear.
“But if I just had a
Similar Books
