Mystery of the Midnight Rider Read Online Free PDF Page A

group around Mr. Jowly. “Hey, Lenny, that new black pony won’t let Tina do up his girth,” she said breathlessly. “You’d better come before she starts crying again.”
    The man quickly stood up. "I’m coming,” he said. "There’s nothing much to see here anyway.” Shooting one last glance toward the ring, he stomped down the bleachers after the girl. The other girls followed, with some of them casting curious or annoyed glances in our direction.
    "Nice going, Nickerson,” George said with a laugh. “It takes some real attitude to almost start a rumble at a horse show.”
    I heard the two teens in front of us snicker at George’s comment. Then they both turned around. “Are you guys really friends of Payton’s?” the girl who’d spoken up earlier asked.
    "Yeah. Why?” George asked.
    "I’m just surprised you don’t know about Lenny Hood, that’s all,” she said. "He never has anything nice to say about Payton.”
    "Why not?” I asked at the same time as George asked, "Who’s Lenny Hood?”
    "Lenny’s, like, one of the winningest trainers on the A circuit,” the second girl spoke up. "Rumor has it he asked Payton to come ride with him when she started getting really good.”
    The first girl nodded. "But Payton turned him down flat. Now every time she beats one of his students, he totally holds a grudge.”
    Interesting! My mind immediately flashed again to that anonymous tip. Could Lenny Hood be behind that? Was he trying to get revenge, or maybe just looking to throw Payton off her game so his students could beat her?
    "You said that’s a rumor, right?” I said, leaning closer to the girls. "That he wanted Payton to train with him? Do you think there’s any truth to it?”
    The two girls exchanged a look, then shrugged in unison. "You know how it is on the circuit,” one of them said. “Everybody talks, and usually there’s at least some little bit of truth or whatever...”
    A snippet of a popular song came from her friend’s lap. "Oops, Maria just texted me,” the friend said. “We’d better go.”
    “Okay.” The other girl stood up. "Tell Payton good luck in the Grand Prix,” she told us. “We’re all pulling for her.” Shooting a glance toward the spot where Lenny and his groupies had been sitting, she added, “Well, most of us, anyway.”
    She followed her friend, who was already making her way down the bleachers. Soon they’d both disappeared into the crowd.
    "That was interesting,” I said, wishing I’d had more time to talk to the girls. "Think it could mean something?”
    “Something like a new mystery?” Bess patted my hand. “Give it up, Nancy. You know you’re just looking for something to take your poor disappointed mind off the fact that your boyfriend is totally ignoring your anniversary.”
    I sighed and traded a look with Ned. He merely smiled. I might be slightly obsessed with mysteries. But Bess was just as dogged when it came to romance.
     
    ******
     
    "Should I start with hot dogs or burgers?” Mr. Nickerson asked as he hauled a cooler out through the sliding glass doors leading onto his family’s back deck. “Or maybe we can dig those chicken tenders out of the freezer if anybody wants ’em.”
    Ned grinned. “I’d say you should start by firing up the grill, Dad,” he said. "That thing’s so old it’ll be a miracle if we don’t end up calling out for pizza.”
    "Very funny.” His father pretended to pout. “Don’t pay any attention to him, Bertha. He just doesn’t understand you like I do.” He patted the ancient grill on the hood. "Now, where’d I put the charcoal?”
    "Your dad is living it up old-school, huh?” George said to Ned as Mr. Nickerson headed toward the shed at the back of the lawn. “When’s he going to join the modem era and get a gas grill like everyone else?”
    "Probably never,” Ned replied. “Mom already knows that Bertha comes first in Dad’s heart.”
    "That’s right.” Mrs. Nickerson looked up from