Charlotte and the Starlet by Dave Warner Page B

the silent
treatment was no big deal. Still, she couldn't stay in
this dump. If Joel Gold or Tommy didn't show up
soon, she'd have to phone them. But then, she didn't
know the number to call. She relied on Feathers for
that stuff. Where was the scrawny piece of avian fluff
when you needed him?

    A morose Feathers was sitting on his perch wondering
where Leila was and trying to figure out how to give these
dopes a clue about the bad guy he'd seen the night she
disappeared. Okay, so Leila was a pain in the tailfeather,
vain and self-centred – but there were mitigating
circumstances, as Feathers was only too well aware.
    For a start, after Leila's dad had died in that horrible
accident, Leila's mother had become very protective of
her. She hadn't ever been allowed to mix with other
horses in case she got an infection or something.
Instead her mother would sneak her into the shack
where the stablehands watched TV. Something
happened with that TV exposure because one day
Leila started speaking like a human.
    Well, her mom had flipped! She was happy for
her daughter because it opened up a whole load of
possibilities but, at the same time, she warned her
never to reveal to humans that she could talk. Leila's
mom was doing a dancing show at the time and she
made sure Leila got all the showbiz tricks she needed:
how to mug to camera, how to toss your mane just so,
how to suck up to the director. But she was a working
mom and her work took her away for long stretches.
She was away when Leila got her first big role, and of
course Leila slayed them in the aisles.
    Next thing she's got a mountain of chocolates, her
own spa, a massage bed. Naturally that's going to go to
a young filly's head. And a lot of it was Leila wanting
to get back at her mom for what she saw as deserting
her.
    Still, Feathers had never given up hope on Leila. He
was sure she just needed the right catalyst to make her
understand what was truly important. Now, though,
she was gone. Feathers felt very, very sad and worried
about how he would break the news to Leila's mom.
He wondered if they would ever see Leila again.

Chapter 8
    Next morning at five-forty-five, Charlotte was already
dressed in her new riding clothes. She liked the feel of
the tailored jacket and jodhpurs, which she had
ironed assiduously. No way would she give Miss
Strudworth an excuse to fault her today. But she
couldn't find her boots anywhere. She was certain
she'd left them under her bed last night after polishing
them to a bright sheen, but they weren't there now.
She spent ten minutes looking everywhere she could
think of. Now she was growing worried. The Evil
Three were dressed and heading out.
    'Have you seen my boots?' she asked in
desperation.
    She noted the sly flicker of a smile on Emma's lips.
    'You're not suggesting we did anything to them, are
you?'
    And Charlotte knew then that they had.
    'What did you do with them?'
    She saw Lucinda and Rebecca scuttle out but
Emma stood her ground.
    'You're so paranoid, Charlie.'
    Charlotte would have loved to have punched her
then and there but she couldn't afford the time. Where
had they put her boots? She had searched the
bedroom and bathroom. Her gaze slowly settled on
the window. She threw it open and looked down on
the parade ground below, where some girls were
already assembling. She couldn't see any boots. And
then she noticed the big tree right in front of her
window. She looked up.
    There they were, wedged high in the branches. She
checked her watch. Four minutes to six. She had no
option but to try and get them.
    She climbed up onto the window sill. It wasn't that
far to jump to the nearest branch but it was a long way
down if she slipped. Taking a deep breath, she pushed
off with all her might.
    She felt the thrill and terror of sailing through the
air before gravity began to pull her down. Her hands
shot out and wrapped around the closest branch, but
the momentum was too great and she began to slip. In
desperation she dug in with her