Phantom Horse by Bonnie Bryant Page A

had laid her trap and was doing her best to lure someone into it. Every chance she got, she told anyone who would listenabout the fabulously rare ancient coin from Israel that she was giving Phil as a bar mitzvah present. She was careful to mention every time that the coin was in her cubby, tucked under her spare boots for safekeeping. She told Max about it. She told Adam Levine about it. She told Alec McAllister, the farrier, about it. She told Shannon and Joe about it twice. And every time Troy was within earshot, she made sure to mention it to whoever happened to be standing by—even if it was only Lisa.
    Somehow all the chores got done, and soon it was time for the Horse Wise meeting to begin. Alec McAllister showed them how to use a gauge to test the levelness of the walls of a horse’s hoof. As he demonstrated, using the calm, easygoing stable horse Patch as a model, Stevie’s attention wandered. So did her gaze. She couldn’t help sneaking a look at Shannon every chance she got. But the only remotely unusual thing she caught the other girl doing was holding hands with Joe.
    When the lecture was over and Max had dismissed the group, The Saddle Club hurried to the locker room. Mr. and Mrs. Lake were picking them up for the bar mitzvah in an hour, and they wanted to be ready on time.
    The first thing Stevie did was check under her spare boots. The coin was still there. “Rats,” she muttered.
    Lisa shrugged. “Tough luck,” she said, looking almost as disappointed as Stevie. She had noticed that Troy wasn’t with the group at the end of the farrier’s lecture, and shehad begun to think he might have actually fallen for Stevie’s trap. “Maybe Veronica was the thief after all.”
    Stevie picked up the coin very carefully between her thumb and forefinger, carried it over to the trash can near the door, and let it fall with a thunk. Then she held up her fingers, which were stained bright red at the tips. “I guess the only one who’s red-handed around here is me,” she said glumly.
    “Too bad. It was a good idea,” Carole said. “If anyone had snitched the coin, it would have been easy to spot them with that dye on their hands. Where did you get that fake coin, anyway?”
    “My brother’s history project,” Stevie said. “Chad made it out of clay when he was studying ancient Rome last year. But the red dye was my special addition, of course.”
    “Of course,” Lisa said. She sighed. “I wonder if we’ll ever find out who—”
    Her words were interrupted by an outraged shout. The Saddle Club turned and saw one of the younger riders, May Grover, standing beside her friend Jasmine James. Jasmine looked worried, and May looked mad.
    “What’s the matter?” Lisa asked, hurrying over to them.
    “Someone stole Jasmine’s favorite barrette,” May announced loudly. “It’s real silver, and it has horses on it. She got it for her birthday, and now it’s gone!”
    “Are you sure it’s really gone?” Lisa asked.
    Jasmine nodded, looking close to tears.
    May stamped her foot. “Who would dare take someone’s special barrette?” she demanded. “I don’t think anyone should leave here until she gets it back.”
    Max heard the commotion and hurried in. “What seems to be the problem here?” Lisa drifted back to rejoin her friends as Max began questioning Jasmine and May.
    “Weird, huh?” Lisa said quietly.
    Stevie didn’t answer. She watched the scene, feeling confused and annoyed. The pilferer had struck again, but not where Stevie had been expecting. Now what was she supposed to do?
    Just then she heard a noise behind her. She turned and saw Troy. He had paused in the doorway of the locker room, a curious expression on his face.
    “What’s going on in there?” he asked Stevie.
    “Jasmine’s barrette is missing,” Stevie replied. As she looked at the young groom, a flash of gold from the direction of his chest caught her eye, and she bit her lip to keep from gasping. Was that a fountain