Mystery of the Midnight Rider (Nancy Drew Diaries #3)(27)

“What do you mean?” Ned asked.

Payton sighed. “I feel bad for putting Dana through so much trouble. She likes a drama-free barn—that’s why she won’t take on just anyone as a client, no matter how talented they are. Like, have you guys ever heard of Cal Kidd?”

"As a matter of fact, we have.” I was surprised that she even had to ask. Then I realized I hadn’t yet had a chance to mention my suspicions to her. “Urn, what about him?”

“I heard he wanted to train with Dana for his big comeback,” Payton said. “I guess they’ve known each other for a long time or something—at least that’s what I heard.” She added, "But he has kind of a bad rep from his gambling days—too much drama and gossip—so Dana turned him down.”

“She did?” This added yet another new wrinkle to things. Could we be looking at this all wrong? Could Cal be our culprit—but trying to punish Dana rather than Payton?

"Interesting you should mention Kidd,” Mickey spoke up, breaking me out of my thoughts. "I caught him skulking around here last night after hours.”

"You did?” I spun to face him. “What happened?”

"Just what I said.” The groom shrugged. "I was making the rounds right after everyone left, and saw him hanging around near the feed room. When I asked what he was doing there, Kidd refused to answer and took off.”

"Interesting.” I shot Ned a meaningful look. "Um, come on, Payton. We’d better get you home.”

“Right.” Ned clapped Mickey on the shoulder. "Thanks for your help.”

“Sure,” Mickey murmured, stifling a yawn.

Leaving him to his cot, Ned and Payton and I headed out. Soon we were outside in the cool evening air. Nobody was in sight out there; the only activity was a cat stalking something in the shadow of the next barn.

"That’s it, then!” I blurted out. “I bet Cal Kidd is our culprit!” "Exactly what I was thinking,” Ned agreed.

Payton wrinkled her brow. "What are you guys talking about?”

"It all makes sense!” I was feeling excited now. "All this time we’ve been thinking the mischief around here has been aimed at you. But it’s really been aimed at Dana! Cal must be mad at Dana for turning him down, so he’s trying to get back at her.”

"I don’t understand,” Payton said, shaking her head. “Most of the stuff hasn’t had anything to do with Dana.”

“Sure it has. Any sabotage of her star rider could be considered sabotage of her as well.” My mind raced as I tried to fit all the pieces together. “And what about those loose horses? We thought whoever let them out was targeting you, because one of them was from Dana’s barn and looked a little like Midnight. But maybe the Midnight thing was a coincidence. Maybe the only important thing was that the horse came from Dana’s barn.”

“But about Midnight..,” Ned began.

“I was just getting to that,” I said. “The suspension thing works too. Because as Midnight’s trainer, Dana was the one who’d pay the price if the horse got suspended. It all makes perfect sense!” “Okay, I see what you’re getting at,” Payton said. “And it would make perfect sense. Except that everyone on the circuit knows I always sign the entry forms as my own trainer.”

That brought me up short. “What?”

Payton nodded. “I sign my own entry forms. There was even an article about it in one of the industry magazines just last month. So I’m sure someone like Cal probably knows about it.”



I was struggling to catch up to this new twist. "Wait, but someone told us it’s always the trainer who signs,” I said.



"Yeah, that’s the normal way.” Payton glanced at Ned with the ghost of a smile. “But you know my parents don’t believe in doing things the normal way. They’ve always insisted I sign for myself. Dana wasn’t thrilled about that at first. In fact, I was afraid that drama might get me kicked out before my first show with Dana.”

“I still don’t get it,” I said. "Why would your parents even care who signs some horse show entry form?”

“I don’t know. I guess it’s supposed to teach me to be responsible for myself, or more independent, or something,” Payton replied. "Just another part of the Evans Edge.”

"Can you even do that, though?” Ned wondered. “I mean, you’re still a minor.”

"You’re right, actually my parents have to sign too because of my age,” Payton amended. “But in their eyes, I'm the one who’s ultimately responsible.” She glanced at me. “So anyway, this means that even if Midnight had ended up suspended, Dana would have been in the clear. I’m the only one who would’ve been in trouble.”

“Oh.” I thought about that for a second. “And you’re sure Cal would know about that? You said he’s been away from the show scene for a while.”

"That doesn’t matter,” Payton said. “The gambling stuff was only part of the reason Dana didn’t want Cal in her barn. The other reason is that he’s supposed to be some huge gossip. Trust me, he’s got to know.”

My shoulders slumped. “Okay, so much for that theory,” I muttered. Come to think of it, maybe I’d been too quick to latch onto it anyway. After all, those threatening notes didn’t really fit either. Why would someone targeting Dana leave them in such obscure spots, knowing that Payton might not even tell her trainer about them?