The Mystery of the Zorse's Mask (5 page)

Zed isn't leaving without a fight.

“He acts like he doesn't even know me.” Caleb's voice is full of hurt. “He's afraid of me because some dirtbag abused him. If I knew who did it, I'd make sure he never touched another animal again.”

“I want to find out too.” I share a meaningful glance at Leo.

Could this be another mystery for the CCSC to solve?

“Unfortunately there's no way of knowing what happened.” Caleb scuffs his pointy boot toe in the dirt. “But I blame myself for not being there to protect him. He'll calm down once he's with Grandma. But that's hours away.”

Leo whispers in my ear, “He means miles. Distance is in miles, not hours.”

I elbow Leo. “Shhh.”

“It's going to be a long drive.” Broad shoulders sagging, Caleb strides over to the horse trailer and unlatches the back door. Swinging it open, he goes inside.

“I feel sorry for him.” I turn to Leo who is tilting his head with a “thinking” look.

“I wonder if there's any way to find out who abused Zed,” Leo says.

“We could look for clues in the news articles,” I say. “Some of the people who saw him in the wild might have more information.”

“Excellent suggestion.” Leo taps his chin with his finger. “But first we need to determine the reliability of our key witness.”

“Who?”

“Caleb Hunter.” Leo gestures toward the trailer. “Is he being honest with us?”

“His photos prove his family owns Zed.”

“Photos can be faked. Unlike you, I can separate my emotions from logic and consider all facts equally.”

Sometimes I just want to smack Leo's brain right out of his head.

“I have looked at the facts,” I retort. “Fact one: the photos, of course, which show him with Zed. Fact two: Caleb drove all the way here to return the zorse to his grandmother. Fact three: Caleb has legal ownership papers.”

“You forgot fact four,” Leo says. “Zed won't let Caleb near him.”

“He probably won't let you touch him either,” I point out. “He's afraid of all men because of the monster who hurt him.”

Leo frowns. “If someone hurt him once, it could happen again.”

I hear Caleb's footsteps thudding on the trailer floor. He must be getting the trailer ready for Zed. He's been friendly, helpful, and kind. But it would have been easier if he'd been a fraud so Becca could keep Zed.

There's a creak of the barn door opening. Becca and her mother come out with Zed. I don't know what magic they used on him, but he obediently trails after Becca, his head hanging down like he understands this is good-bye.

Becca says nothing as she walks Zed into the trailer. Her face is as easy to read as a book though, with lines of sorrow for this unhappy ending.

Caleb waits by the truck while Becca and her mother leave the trailer, and the metal door clangs shut.

Mrs. Morales turns to her daughter. “Honey, I'm so sorry,” she says as she opens her arms to hug Becca. But Becca turns away. Without a word to her mother, she strides over to Leo and me.

“Want to go hang in your bedroom, Becca?” I ask gently, afraid she'll break down if she stays to watch the trailer drive away.

She looks at the horse trailer, then back to me. A tear drips down her cheek, to her Sparkler necklace.

“Come on.” I take Becca's hand.

Leo moves to the other side of her. “We'll all go,” he says.

We start for the house but only get a few steps before there's a shout behind us.

“Wait a minute, kids,” Caleb hurries after us, holding his hat down with both hands when a gust of wind tries to snatch it away. He turns to Becca. “Would you mind getting the fly mask for me?”

“I'm not sure where it is.” Becca wrinkles her brow. “But I'll go look.”

“Mighty obliged,” he says with a courteous tip of his hat. “It'll mean so much to Grandma to have both Zed and the fly mask back.”

“It's been so long, I'm not sure I can find it.” Becca frowns. “But I'll check the examination room.”

“I'll help you look,” I offer.

“We both will,” says Leo.

Caleb waits by his truck while Becca leads us past the barn to a square, brown building. Inside it's bright from a skylight, with a large sink, a rectangular metal table, animal crates, a refrigerator, stacked boxes, and tall metal cabinets.

“Now where did I put it?” Becca says, rubbing her head. “I remember that day Zed came here so well … Mom calling out for me to help … Zed all filthy and scared. But when he looked into my eyes, there was this connection and …” Her voice catches.

“The fly mask,” I remind her gently.

She bites her lip hard. “It should be here … but where?”

Leo closes the door behind us. “Becca, what do you remember about the last time you saw the fly mask?”

“It was stuck to Zed's face with blood and dirt, so I had to cut it off. Zed trusted me right away. He nuzzled my hand.” She stops. “Anyway, when I washed the fly mask, I was surprised that it was trimmed in jewels. Not real, of course. Fake stones like dollar-store jewelry.” Becca chuckles but it comes out more like a sob.

I squeeze her hand. “Then what happened to the mask?” I ask.

“Even filthy and torn, it looked expensive, so I asked Mom what to do with it.”

“And she told you to …” Leo prompts.

“Put it in a box—over there.” She points to a corner stacked with boxes.

“Let's start looking,” Leo says cheerfully.

There are three shoe boxes, a midsize box, and two large ones. Becca can't remember the size of the box, so we each search a different box. I grab the smaller boxes, but one is full of napkins and the other is empty except for a bent horseshoe.

Leo groans when he opens the midsize box.

“What'd you find, Leo?” I ask, peering up from where I'm kneeling on the floor.

“Toilet paper. Rolls and rolls of it.”

“Animal leashes and collars in this one,” Becca says as she peers into the largest box. “Nothing for horses except this blue halter. No fly masks.”

We search the rest of the room, from beneath the sink to cabinets and shelves.

“Eureka!” Leo shouts.

Becca and I spin around.

“Look what I found on the floor!” Leo holds out a tear-shaped blue stone the size of a quarter.

“I remember that jewel!” Becca jumps up excitedly. “It was the center stone in the fly mask. The other gems were smaller, purple and black.”

“Even dirty it still shines,” I marvel.

“Like a sapphire.” Becca takes the jewel from Leo, cupping it in her palm. “What if it's a
real
sapphire?”

“No,” Leo replies. “According to my calculations of its size, density, and coloring, this jewel is 100 percent fake. If you look closely, you can see where the blue color has flaked off. It isn't worth much.”

“Except to Caleb's grandmother,” I say.

Becca snaps her fingers. “I just remembered the box I put the fly mask in! It was large, cardboard, with red writing on the side.”

“What did the writing say?” Leo asks.

“Something starting with a
D
. Or was it
B
?” Becca shakes her head. “None of these boxes look right. I'll have to ask Mom.”

We find Becca's mom leaning against the horse trailer, talking to Caleb. She tosses back her dark curls and is laughing at something he said.

Caleb turns to Becca hopefully. “Did you find it?”

“No, but we found this.” Becca holds up the blue stone.

Caleb's eyes light up as he reaches for the jewel. “It's from the mask!”

“Looks like a real sapphire,” Becca says.

“Sure does.” He holds up the stone so it catches the sunlight. “Nice shine for a fake.”

Leo turns to Becca. “I told you it wasn't real.”

“It's a real good imitation.” Caleb pockets the stone, then looks questioningly at Becca. “So where's the fly mask?”

“I wish I knew.” Becca holds out her arms in defeat.

“We searched the building,” Leo adds. “But it wasn't there.”

Becca's mother steps forward. “Did you search the cabinets?”

“Everywhere,” Becca insists. “But I know I put it in a box. It was large, white, and in the corner by the sink. It had red writing, beginning with
D
.”

“Oh no! Not that box!” Mrs. Morales gasps. “
D
is for donation.”

“What do you mean?” Caleb asks, frowning.

“That box held items to donate to the Wear-Ever Thrift Store. But I dropped it off last month.” Mrs. Morales wrings her hands. “The fly mask is gone.”

Chapter 6

A Plan

“I'm so sorry,” Mrs. Morales says sadly. “I hope your grandmother isn't too disappointed.”

“She won't be because I'm not leaving town without the mask,” Caleb says with a determined press of his lips. “If it's still at that store, I'll find it. What's the address?”

“Corner of Main and Pleasant in downtown Sun Flower,” she says.

I can't help but smile because locals call the three streets of businesses “downtown.” Sun Flower is more a sprawling suburb with miles of houses than a “town.” But people like to make the few businesses we have sound important.

Caleb clicks on his phone, and I read over his shoulder. The tiny screen flashes
Wear-Ever Thrift
with a map, business hours, and a phone number.

When Caleb groans, I know he's noticed the business hours.

Weekdays: 8–4. Saturday: 9–4. Closed Sunday.

It's 5:14 p.m. on Saturday.

Caleb shoves the phone into his back pocket and mutters a word I'd get grounded for saying. “I reckon it'll have to wait,” he says.

“The fly mask has probably been sold by now, but I'll check the store Monday morning,” Mrs. Morales offers. “If I find it, I'll mail it to you.”

“Mighty kind of you, but I'd best find it myself.” Caleb pauses a moment, rubbing the stubble on his chin. “The mask means a lot to Grandma Ellie because it was the last gift Grandpa ever gave to her. I have a buddy who lives close by. I can bunk with him for a few nights.” He looks into Mrs. Morales's face. “Would it be all right if the zorse stays until Monday?”

When Mrs. Morales says, “Of course, Zed can stay,” Becca's face lights up in a smile bright enough to light every city in the world.

And I smile too.

A lot can happen in two days.

While the adults go into the house to talk, Becca turns to Leo and me with excited, dark eyes. “Meet me at the Skunk Shack,” she whispers. “I'll join you there after I take Zed to the pasture.”

“Aren't you staying with Zed?” I'm surprised because I thought Becca would spend every minute of her last days with Zed (probably even sneaking him into her room at night).

“I want to but we need to have an urgent CCSC meeting,” she says. “Meet you at the shack soon.”

I hop onto my bike and Leo clicks his remote to power up his gyro-board. The path up the hill is steep and I'm puffing hard by the time I reach the top. Leo, zooming on robotic wheels, isn't even sweating.

When we walk into the Skunk Shack, two kittens scamper toward us.

“Did you miss me, Honey?” I pick up my sweet, orange fur baby.

Leo's kitten now lives at his house, so he scoops up Becca's black-and-white kitty, Chris (named after her fashion idol Christian Dior). The kittens meow like they're hungry, although Becca fed them before Caleb Hunter arrived.

“What do you think Becca wants to talk about?” I ask Leo as I dangle a string. Honey swats it with her paw.

“I don't know,” Leo says as he tickles Chris under the chin.

“She said it was urgent.” A scary thought hits me. “Do you think she's planning to run away with Zed?”

“She's too smart for that,” Leo says.