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Lisa whispered to Stevie, who had come back with more grain. “I might resort to violence.”
    “She’s not Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Stevie said in agreement. “She’s Dr. Jekyll and the whole Hyde family, Hyde, Hyde, and Hyde Junior.”
    Lisa sighed. “How long is it until next Saturday?”
    “Forever,” said Stevie. “Forever.”

“O KAY , A DAM, HERE ’ S Calypso for you,” Lisa said, handing the mare’s lead rope to him. She shut the gate. It had only taken a few minutes to round up all the horses and get them to their riders, but to Lisa it felt like a few years. She couldn’t wait to talk to Carole.
    Amelia hovered near Max’s side. “Who am I going to ride now, Max?”
    Lisa looked at Stevie, who nodded and came over to her side. “Are we finished?”
    “I think so,” Stevie said. “Except for Patch.” They walked closer to Max and Amelia.
    “Patch will be okay now,” Max was saying. “He settles down pretty quickly.”
    “But he’s too scary! I can’t ride him now, I’m too afraid!” Amelia again seemed on the point of tears. “Can’t I ride Prancer?”
    Max sighed. Lisa thought he was starting to look a little tired of Amelia. “I’ll tell you what,” he said. “Why don’t you take Delilah instead of Patch? She’s a very nice mare, and she’s still in her stall, so you can go inside and start tacking her up right away.”
    “Is she like Prancer?” Amelia persisted.
    “She’s a palomino,” Max said. “Her coat is golden blond, and her mane and tail are almost white. Her stall is the third one on the right, and her saddle, bridle, and grooming bucket are marked with her name in the tack room.”
    “Oh, I like palominos! Thank you, Max!” Amelia skipped into the stable.
    “ ‘Is she like Prancer?’ ‘She’s a palomino’?” Stevie repeated quizzically. “Max, that makes absolutely no sense. Prancer isn’t a palomino.”
    “It seemed like the easiest answer to give,” Max said. He shook his head ruefully. “What a ruckus. Let’s go talk to Carole and get to the bottom of this.”
    To their surprise, Carole was not waiting in Max’s office. Lisa and Stevie checked Starlight’s stall and found the gelding alone, contentedly munching on a rack of new hay.Carole’s soaking bucket and package of salts had been cleared away, and all her grooming tools, which had been scattered across a hay bale in the aisle, were gone.
    Lisa and Stevie met Max coming out of the tack room. “She’s not with Starlight,” Stevie said. “Did you check the locker room?”
    “Yes, and she isn’t there,” Max said. “And her coat is gone and her cubby door is closed. But did you see this?” He pointed to the
brat
spelled out on the hat rack.
    Stevie flinched. “I didn’t do it, Max. I would have, but I didn’t have time.”
    “I know you didn’t,” Max said grimly. “But you’ve spelled things in the past. I’m sure that’s where Carole got the idea.”
    Lisa was horrified. “Oh, Max, Carole didn’t do that! She wouldn’t!”
    “I agree, Lisa, it isn’t like Carole at all,” Max said. “Nor is it like her to spook a horse on purpose.” He marched back to his office, and the girls followed him.
    “You can’t believe Carole did that,” Stevie protested. “Max! This is Carole. Not me, not Veronica,
Carole.
”
    “I don’t believe it.” Max sat down in his chair and shook his head. “I know that had to have been an accident. But she really frightened Amelia—and no wonder—and she should at least apologize for that. Accidents happen, but I don’t want Amelia becoming too afraid to ride.”
    “Max!” Lisa couldn’t believe the way the conversation was heading. “Amelia is not going to be afraid. She’s horrible, she always has to have her own way—”
    “Did you see what happened?” Max asked.
    “No,” said Lisa. Stevie shook her head.
    “You’re forgetting that Amelia is only nine years old,” Max said. “She’s a little girl, and Lisa, I