The Mystery at Saratoga

Regan. Trixie had often wondered why Regan never dated any of the eligible women in Sleepyside. She was sure that any of them would be happy to accept an invitation from the handsome groom. Maybe this is the answer , Trixie thought. Maybe Regan has never forgotten Joan, just as she’s never forgotten him. When the mystery was solved, Trixie vowed silently, she’d see to it that Regan and Joan had a chance to meet once again.
    Trixie caught Honey’s eye, and she could tell from her friend’s expression that Honey had just made a similar vow.
    “Don’t you have any idea why Mr. Worthington made the decision to enter Gadbox in the claiming race?” Honey prompted.
    The muscles in Joan Stinson’s jaw tightened. “Oh, I have an idea, all right,” she said harshly. “I think Mr. Worthington is afraid of letting my father have a winning horse, because he’s afraid that Daddy will use the winnings to get out from under the great man’s thumb. I think he’ll wait just a few more years, until Daddy is too old to think about leaving Worthington Farms to establish a stable of his own. Then he’ll start letting my father keep his winning horses. But then it’ll be too late. My father will be an old and broken man whose dreams have passed him by, and J. T. Worthington will line his own pockets with the winnings that my father should have earned for himself.”
    “That’s enough, Joan!” Carl Stinson barked. Honey, Trixie, and Joan whirled around to see the trainer standing in the entrance to the courtyard, his face reflecting his struggle to control his anger. “We’re going home.”
    “All right,” Joan said, making an effort to keep her voice calm. “Just let me go back inside and say good-bye to—”
    “You’ve said enough already,” her father said sharply. “Let’s go.”
    Joan walked quickly to the doorway, her head lowered in embarrassment.
    Carl Stinson turned and gave the girls a long, harsh glare, then followed his daughter out of the restaurant.
    The two girls stood in shocked silence for a long moment after the Stinsons had disappeared.
    “You can’t say we haven’t learned a lot tonight,” Honey said finally.
    “And I don’t much like what we’ve learned,” Trixie added. “There’re an awful lot of bad feelings between Mr. Worthington and Mr. Stinson, from what Joan said. Who knows what either of them might have done seven years ago for revenge?”
    “That’s not all, Trixie,” Honey added, her eyes cloudy with fear. “Who knows what they might do before the claiming race this week?”
    Trixie felt a wave of terror go through her as the
    meaning of Honey’s words struck her. This new claiming race could end in the same kind of tragedy as the other one had, seven years ago. Or something even worse , Trixie thought. At least seven years ago no lives were lost. She shuddered.
    “All we can do is keep our eyes open,” Honey said helplessly.
    “Wide open,” Trixie added.

Captured! • 14

    THE NEXT MORNING, Trixie and Honey responded eagerly to Mr. Wheeler’s invitation to accompany him to the track. “It’s good to see that you’ve got your need for exercise out of your systems,” Mr. Wheeler teased.
    Trixie felt herself turning red as she remembered guiltily that she and Honey had never actually got around to riding the day before. Does Mr. Wheeler suspect anything? she thought. Looking at him intently, she decided not. Just because I've begun to suspect everybody of everything since I got involved with this mystery, I think everyone else is suspicious, too. That's just plain silly.
    Trixie’s own suspicions were not lessened by what she found at the track, however. As the girls and Mr. Wheeler approached the stables where the Worthington Farms horses were kept, they discovered Mr. Worthington and his trainer in the midst of a heated argument.
    As soon as Mr. Worthington saw them, he broke off his argument in mid-sentence and forced his face into a slick, charming smile. Carl Stinson, still scowling, turned and stalked away.
    “Good morning, good morning,” Worthington said with exaggerated cheerfulness. “My trainer and I were just having a little, shall we say, difference of opinion. After twenty years, Carl sometimes forgets who’s boss.”
    And you sometimes forget how much you owe him, Trixie thought angrily.
    Mr. Worthington noticed Trixie’s scowling look, and he looked flustered for a moment. He soon recovered his composure, however, and was as outgoing