Apr. 22, 2008
My Story [Part 6] --

Posted in My Main Story

“What is that?” Was the incredulous question that met Kit's ears as she sat down at the police station with her breakfast. She twisted in her chair to see Jeremy contemplating her yogurt mixture with a look of disgust.

“Yogurt with toast in it,” she replied simply, stirring up and beginning to eat.

Jeremy sat down at his desk next to hers, still looking at her breakfast but with more of a curious look now. “Where'd you get that idea?”

“This is how my family would always eat our yogurt and toast,” she looked up with a mischievous smile as she asked, “Where'd you Americans get the idea of mixing granola and yogurt?”

Jeremy grinned, “I see your point. What else do you eat that is different from our food?”

Kit scraped the last of the yogurt out of the bowl and set it to the side. “We ate plenty of stuff that is different from your food but we need to get to work,” she began picking through the papers on her desk. Jeremy was fun to talk to, but it could also be a little annoying when she was trying to work. She was serious about her work and once she started on something she didn't like to be interrupted with anything, sometimes even going without a meal or two. Jeremy on the other hand liked having diversions and thought that everyone else felt the same way. There were some other policemen that felt the same way, but then there were some like Kit, who would get downright angry with Jeremy and his chatter. Kit wasn't the kind to vent her feelings very much, she kept them locked up, figuring that it was better that way.

Jeremy took her hint and kept quiet for a while. He glanced up every now and then from his work to see Kit studiously reading a report, or scratching something down on a piece of paper. Kit was glad for this, and soon forgot him completely when she remembered that she still needed to write a report about her check of the kidnapping scene. She pulled her laptop out of its drawer and began tapping away at a great pace on the keys.

"Visited the crime scene at High Ridge Stables on the Red Trail. Talked to Ashley Carroway. Found tracks of Bethany Jackson's horse, tracks of three men, signs of a struggle, and then tracks leading off of the right side of the trail."

Why did things like this have to happen? Yes, she enjoyed solving things like this but why would someone kidnap a girl? What made people like that? Kit sighed as she kept typing.

"The tracks led to an area of grass and there they were lost. Found a red handkerchief. On the way back a man was sighted in a black pullover. He was pursued but got away."

So they don't do it for enjoyment do they? They must live in constant fear of being discovered. But if that is true then why?

Kit put her head in her hands and let out a shaky breath. It was one of those days, she felt bothered by what was going on in the world. She wanted answers not only to the questions that her case raised but to why these things even needed to happen. Next the question of what she was here for entered her mind. How many times had she grappled with that question? Too many for her to count, that was certain. I'm here to help people out. She reminded herself again, trying to make herself believe that that was her purpose, but not quite succeeding. An overwhelming wave of emptiness washed over her. She didn't have anyone here, this wasn't even her country, and she felt lonely despite the fellow workers around her. This is my county now. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her jaw shut. But is this all that I'm here for? There has to be something more right?

Kit started violently as she felt a tap on her shoulder. Jeremy was standing next to her with a puzzled expression on his face as he held out the phone. “Um, it's Sadie Carroway from High Ridge Stables.”

“Oh, thanks Jeremy,” she took the phone and pressed it against her ear, shoving her thoughts away for a while. “Kit Schwester.”

“Hey Kit,” Sadie's voice sounded nervous over the phone. “Could you come over? We had some things stolen and I saw a man run out of the stables when I was going out earlier to feed the horses.”

“Really? What did he look like?” Kit asked excitedly, wondering if it was the same person that she and Jeremy had seen at the trail.

“Well, it was hard to tell. He had a black hoodie on.”

“Was he tall? Stocky?”

“Yeah, have you seen him?”

“He just might be the same guy we saw snooping around by the trail yesterday.”

“Ah, well are you coming over?”

“Of course, I'll be there in a few,” Kit hung up the phone and walked over to a man whose sandy colored head was bent over a paper. “Sam.”

The man looked up. “Eh? What?”

“I just got from High Ridge Stables and I need to head over there. Could you just keep an eye on things until I get back?”

Sam shrugged and bent over his paper again. “Sure.”

Kit ignored his gruff manner, he was always like that and she had learned not to mind it.

At the stables again she stepped out of her warm car into a chilly mist. She zipped her jacket up as she walked to the house. It was a pleasant looking little country house, white and two stories tall. She heard a low growl as she ascended the porch steps and she looked up to see a medium sized, black dog. It's brown eyes watched her every move and at first she wasn't sure if she should continue forward or not. She wasn't too keen on any kind of animal, but wasn't afraid of any but horses. When her brother had moved out of the house he had gotten a fine hunting dog. Bud and Kit had gotten along pretty well and she had learned a lot about dogs from him. Seeing that the black dog was no longer growling, Kit extended a fist cautiously towards the dog for it to sniff. He leaned forward and snuffed her hand for a moment and then he licked it, thumping his tail a little. She patted him with a smile. “All bark no bite eh?” Kit chuckled before going to the door and ringing the doorbell. As she waited the dog came over and pressed its cold nose against her hand. She allowed it to shove its head under her hand and began scratching it. The curtain of the window next to the door moved a little and then Kit heard the lock on the door being undone. Sadie appeared as the door opened with a smile on her face.

“Glad you came,” she glanced down at her dog. “His name is Bosco.”

“He's a nice dog,” Kit smiled for a moment before turning serious. “So what was stolen?”

“A saddle and a pair of boots. I know it seems like nothing but they both belong to one of the girls that work here. Also, the picture of her horse was stolen.”

Kit leaned back on the balls of her feet. “I see. Did the man have gloves on?”

Sadie nodded.

“Yeah, I figured they would. May I see the barn?”

“Sure,” Sadie reached in and locked her door before leading the way to the barn. Bosco got up and trotted next to her and Kit came up on her other side. They were about halfway to the barn when they turned around at the sound of a car pulling up.

Sadie relaxed a little. “That's Annette Woodworth. She's the one that had her stuff stolen. I called her to let her know and she said that she would be coming over.”

Kit watched as a girl emerged from the car. Her brown hair was pulled back in a tight braid and freckles decked her face. Her mouth curled into a smiled as she approached them. “Hiya! You must be Kit, Ashley told me about you. I'm Annette,” she extended a hand which Kit shook.

“Yes, I'm Kit. I understand that you are the one who had your things stolen.”

“Mhm,” Annette frowned. “It's a shame really because I was given that saddle by my father who had gotten it from his father. It is a family tradition, but since there weren't any boys in our family I got it.”

“Well, I'll definitely do my best to see that you get it back,” Kit started towards the barn again. “Have you had any arguments with anyone?”

“Nope, I'm not in the habit of running around arguing with people,” Annette grinned.

Kit was a bit surprise by Annette's lighthearted chatter, she had expected to find a frightened or at least annoyed girl wondering what was going on. This wasn't anything like what she had expected.

“Would you like to see Chester?” Annette broke into Kit's thoughts.

“Chester?” Kit raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, he's my horse. I came here to give him a good brushing and maybe ride him around the indoor arena.”

“Uh, sure. But I thought you said your saddle was gone?”

Annette shrugged. “It is true that I prefer a saddle, but I like riding bareback about as much, though I don't trust the rascal not to try something out of the arena,” she chuckled.

In the barn, Sadie pointed to a saddle rack that had a space on it. “That's where Annette's saddle was, and her boots were right under it. Chester's picture used to be on the corner of the board there.”

Kit did a quick check for fingerprints but found none. When she straightened Annette put her head to the side. “Find anything?”

Kit shook her head. “No, not a thing.”

Annette frowned a little but then suggested that Kit come see her horse. “He's really handsome and loves company,” she urged.

Kit finally gave in and followed Annette as she walked down a long aisle of stalls. “He's in that stall,” Annette pointed but kept moving. “I'm going to get him a treat real quick though. Feel free to pet him though, he's the sweetest horse ever.”

Kit walked up to the stall door and looked in. There stood a tall bright reddish brown horse with a neat white blaze running down his face. He looked like a Chester. She went closer to get a better look at something that caught her eye. What was that on his nose? There were two red dots right on the tip of his nose. He came forward and pressed his nose against the bars of his stall, obviously trying to get Kit to pet him. She reached a very unsure hand out to rub his forehead but her hand ran down to his nose after a moment to gently touch the two red spots. “Annette?”

“Yuppers!” Annette came up with two treats in her hand.

“What is this?” Kit pointed to the two marks on Chester's nose.

Annette reached out quickly to examine it, gasped, and then shot off running without saying a word. Kit was stunned and wondered what to do. Fortunately she didn't have to decide because both Annette and Sadie came running back, Annette carrying a first air box. “What's going on?” Kit asked, stepping back to make room for the frantic Annette.

Sadie, who had been examining Chester's nose, looked nervous also. “He must have gotten bit by a snake, and a poisonous one at that since there are only two holes.”

Kit watched Annette as she wiped a wet rag over Chester's nose. “Wouldn't it be sore though? Or puffed up?” Kit mused.

Sadie shrugged. “Not if it just happened, though I would think it would be tender. He seems to be enjoying having his nose scrubbed though.”

Annette stopped washing all of a sudden. Her back was towards Kit, so she couldn't see her face, but she was shaking. Sadie stepped forward and put a hand over Annette's shoulder but then she seemed to freeze too. Kit, by this time, was getting pretty curious, and so she moved a little to the side to see what they were looking at. For a moment Kit couldn't see anything that would make them act like that, then she blinked and stared at Chester's nose. There was nothing there! Her brow furrowed and she walked up to Annette, who was giggling as she held the washcloth.

“It was just marker,” Sadie explained for Annette, who was wholly unable to speak as she began to laugh.

“Marker?” Kit echoed. “But who would put marker on a horse?”

“Someone who wants to frighten someone else by making them think that their horse has been bitten,” Sadie was more serious than Annette. “But who and why? This is Annette's horse, only Annette's things were taken...”

Kit shook her head an frowned. “Someone definitely wants to shake her up.”

Annette took a deep breath to control herself, though her face still showed that she thought the situation very funny. “Well they aren't doing a very good job are they? Just look at me! They're making me shake from laughing!” She started giggling again as she got the grooming things out and started to brush Chester.

Kit and Sadie didn't seem as amused as they walked to the front of the barn.

“I don't like it,” Sadie hugged herself.

“Nor I,” Kit looked back at Annette. “I don't think she should be out here alone. Kidnappers have been known to stalk people before kidnapping them and I don't want another kidnapping to occur.”

Sadie nodded. “I'll be sure that she isn't,” she promised.

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Apr. 18, 2008 - Whoa!

Posted by SuzyScribbles

This is good stuff--really! I was pulled along all the way through this chapter. I'm so glad I'm on your e-mail "list" so I can follow along and watch how you weave dialogue, description, characters' feelings, and introduce new characters (like Annette) masterfully--"decked with freckles" "braid pulled tightly back" and the fact that she is chattery and doesn't seem upset by her saddle getting swiped.

Consider changing somebody's name, though: I did get a little confused with the Ashley and Annette names--and so closely interacting with Kit. My editor asked me to change the name of one of my characters to cut down on the number of names beginning with the same letter. I can see now how that is a good thing, so I suggest it here to you.

Anxiously awaiting the next chapter....

-s-

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Apr. 21, 2008 - Cool!

Posted by lauren

Oh, I love this story so far!
You are so creative, and it keeps my attention. I can't wait to see what happens!

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