Notes: Sorry for the delay in updating this. I had a bit of writer's block so took a short respite from this story to hopefully gain some inspiration. If you like Harry Potter, I have another story going in that universe right now too. :)

Thanks for reading, reviewing, and to those who have encouraged me to update quickly.

Chapter 11

A crowd had gathered outside of the stables when the girls arrived. Nancy surveyed the crowd anxiously for any sign of Frank and Joe. "See what you can find out," she said to the others, "I am going to look for the guys."

She pushed slowly through the gathering of people as she tried to make her way to the entrance. She could feel a nervous energy buzzing in the people around her, but could not pick up any clues as to what had occurred. Finally spotting the back of a familiar head, she called out to her boyfriend.

Frank whirled around at the sound of her voice. Smiling when he caught sight of her he helped make a break in the crowd to allow her to join him near one of the stalls. "What's going on?" she asked trying to make sense of what was happening in front of her. A horse was laying on its side, not moving, as Tom and a woman hovered over it.

"A couple of the horses have become ill," he replied. "Tom did not think it was a coincidence. That is the vet," he said gesturing to the woman Nancy did not recognize. "They think they may have been poisoned."

"Those poor horses!" Nancy cried. "How?"

"The food most likely," Steve said joining them. "They will send it off to be tested."

"That is awful," Nancy said in disbelief. "Why would someone do something like that?"

Steve just shrugged. "Why would someone do any of the things that have been happening around here? I know one thing though, this is very, very bad."

"Worse than a little boy being injured?" Nancy asked flatly.

"I didn't mean that," he answered quickly, "but this may all but ruin any chance of the business making a comeback."

"And why is that?" she asked. "It is just two horses. It looks like they caught it before it could be too disastrous. I am sure they will take extra care with the food from now on."

Frank looked thoughtful. "Because nobody is going to want to have their horse trained somewhere it might be poisoned."

"Exactly!" Steve agreed. "Look at that crowd out there. They cannot contain this one."

"Why is there such a large crowd?" Nancy asked suspiciously as she looked out at the sheer number of people standing in the yard. "I have never seen this many people here at a time."

Steve just shrugged again. "Bad news travels fast."

Nancy sighed. More sabotage and no real clues to go with it. What was she missing? She leaned back in her chair studying the ceiling as she attempted to focus on what she knew so far. It was late and the group had returned to the house for the evening to discuss the day's events.

"He's going to have to call the police now," Joe argued. "Too many people know. And the owners of these horses aren't going to accept an internal investigation."

"All I know is that whoever is doing this has some nerve," Bess said angrily. "What a despicable thing to do, attacking animals and little children!"

"To be fair, I don't think they meant to attack, Henry," Nancy replied distantly, only halfway invested in the current conversation, "but your point is taken."

"But why attack Roger?" George asked. "I don't see any motive for that either."

"I certainly can't think of anything that could be achieved by both injuring Roger and harming the horses," Frank admitted.

"Maybe they are unrelated?" Vanessa suggested. She had been listening quietly to the others, but this same thought had been nagging at her all day and she felt it needed to be said.

"You may be right," Nancy agreed. "George, I think we need to find out more about Roger's relationship with Steve. Do you think you can arrange another date with him?" She grinned at this as she watched her friend's cheeks turn slightly pink.

"I can probably talk to him," she replied shooting her cousin a warning look that suggested there should be no further comment from her.

"We should probably talk to the vet, also" Frank added. "I'm very interested to know what exactly we are dealing with. Maybe it is possible the horses weren't actually poisoned? It can't be unheard of for horses to just get sick sometimes."

"We'll go see them in the morning," Nancy agreed. "Maybe Joe and Vanessa could see what they can find out from Tom? He seemed to be first on the scene."

The other couple agreed and the group decided to head to bed. Frank and Nancy lingered for a while after the others had retired to their rooms. It had been a busy week and Nancy really wanted a few minutes alone with her boyfriend. She curled up next to him on the couch as he wrapped his strong arms around her small frame.

"You okay?" he asked gently pressing a soft kiss on the top of her head.

"I am," she said. "Frustrated, but okay." She looked up at him with a sad smile. "I feel bad for Pauline."

"I know," he said, pulling her closer. "But we will figure it out. You know we will."

She just nodded in response, once again lost in thought.

"What is it?" he urged. He knew Nancy and there was obviously more on her mind than she was saying.

"She's not going to like the outcome," she whispered. "She cares so much, Frank. About everyone. Somebody she cares about is doing these awful things and it is going to devastate her."

It was Frank's turn to sigh. "Yes," he agreed. "And we'll just have to be there for her when that happens."

"Oh no," Nancy groaned. It was morning and they were having a quick breakfast before heading to the stables.

The others looked up in alarm. "What?" Frank asked making his way to see what had upset her.

Nancy just handed him the newspaper she had been reading. There, sprawled across the front page of the Newmarket Journal was a picture of a beautiful, galloping horse and the words "TOXIC TRAINERS."

"Well, I guess the news it out," Joe said trying his best to keep his tone lighthearted.

"We knew this was going to happen, Nan," Frank said gently. Rubbing her shoulders in an attempt to be comforting.

"I know," she said, the frustration evident in her voice. "C'mon, we better get over there. Something tells me this is going to be an eventful day at Gordon Mitchell Racing.

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