Nona, watching the screens just as closely as she did. The remainder of Nona’s team had left the house to test fence perimeter cameras and examine every square inch of the arena. Quincy hoped they’d report back soon that they had found a point of entry.
As for the camera footage, nothing popped up. Absolutely nothing . Glancing at the time of the footage being viewed, which was three hundred hours, Quincy was about to lose patience and ask Nona to increase the fast-forward speed. But no, wait. Quincy saw a flash of bright light and knew his dad and Nona had also seen it, because they stiffened.
“What the hell was that ?” Quincy asked.
Nona clicked on the upper right frame of monitor four to enlarge the view, reversed the footage, and then they all watched that section of film again, this time in the slowest mode possible. Again, there was a blinding flare of light, and the next instant, Ceara stood in Beethoven’s stall. Her delicately sculpted face was just as Quincy remembered, too pretty for words, and even on camera, that red hair was extraordinary. She had a dazed look, suggesting that she felt disoriented and confused. She stood on the center of a star-shaped piece of cloth. At each point of the star was affixed a stone that appeared to glow eerily blue. As Ceara stepped off the cloth, the light in the stones vanished. She wobbled on her feet. Then she leaned against the black stallion that normally allowed no one but Quincy to touch him. To Quincy’s consternation, Beethoven never even twitched his tail. Instead, he turned his head to nuzzle Ceara’s shoulder as if he were reuniting with an old and trusted friend.
After seeming to regain some of her strength, Ceara carefully folded the star, keeping the stones at the center as if to protect them. She then placed the bundle inside the tapestry satchel, which already bulged with other items. Quincy had searched the bag earlier, but he hadn’t noticed the star. He guessed that he had mistaken the bundle of cloth for clothing, and wondered what else he might have missed.
There was no time to return to the arena right then to collect the satchel. “Back up,” he told Nona. “I want to watch that again. It’s a trick of some kind. She used an explosion of light so the cameras couldn’t record how she got into the stall.”
“That’s the only explanation,” Nona agreed.
But after several replays, they still could see nothing, because the flare of brightness caused a whiteout. Again and again, it looked as if Ceara had simply appeared in the stall from out of nowhere.
Nona used her cell phone to call one of her subordinates. “I want you to go over the black stallion’s stall again,” she ordered. “Keep a lookout for anything that could have created a bright flash of light.” She listened for a moment. “I know you’ve examined every square inch of the stall, Matt. But you’ll be searching for something else this time.” Pause. “Yes, I know, but that’s how the cookie crumbles.”
She ended the call. “Lunchtime,” she said over her shoulder. “It’s only eleven, but Matt’s already watching the clock for noon break.” She backed up the footage again. “Okay, one more time, and then I think we should move on to see what she does and where she goes inside the arena after gaining entry. Agreed?”
“Agreed. If she went near the feed room or hay storage, I swear to God, she’ll be an old woman before she gets out of jail.”
They resumed watching the footage. After resting against the horse, Ceara wobbled to the stall gate to peer out at the exercise arena. Then, apparently exhausted, she collected her satchel and made herself a bed in the straw in one corner of the stall and lay down to sleep.
“That’s exactly where I found her just before dawn,” Quincy said. “How the hell does that make sense? Keep watching her. I can’t believe she went to the trouble of trespassing onto my land and breaking into my arena, only to
As for the camera footage, nothing popped up. Absolutely nothing . Glancing at the time of the footage being viewed, which was three hundred hours, Quincy was about to lose patience and ask Nona to increase the fast-forward speed. But no, wait. Quincy saw a flash of bright light and knew his dad and Nona had also seen it, because they stiffened.
“What the hell was that ?” Quincy asked.
Nona clicked on the upper right frame of monitor four to enlarge the view, reversed the footage, and then they all watched that section of film again, this time in the slowest mode possible. Again, there was a blinding flare of light, and the next instant, Ceara stood in Beethoven’s stall. Her delicately sculpted face was just as Quincy remembered, too pretty for words, and even on camera, that red hair was extraordinary. She had a dazed look, suggesting that she felt disoriented and confused. She stood on the center of a star-shaped piece of cloth. At each point of the star was affixed a stone that appeared to glow eerily blue. As Ceara stepped off the cloth, the light in the stones vanished. She wobbled on her feet. Then she leaned against the black stallion that normally allowed no one but Quincy to touch him. To Quincy’s consternation, Beethoven never even twitched his tail. Instead, he turned his head to nuzzle Ceara’s shoulder as if he were reuniting with an old and trusted friend.
After seeming to regain some of her strength, Ceara carefully folded the star, keeping the stones at the center as if to protect them. She then placed the bundle inside the tapestry satchel, which already bulged with other items. Quincy had searched the bag earlier, but he hadn’t noticed the star. He guessed that he had mistaken the bundle of cloth for clothing, and wondered what else he might have missed.
There was no time to return to the arena right then to collect the satchel. “Back up,” he told Nona. “I want to watch that again. It’s a trick of some kind. She used an explosion of light so the cameras couldn’t record how she got into the stall.”
“That’s the only explanation,” Nona agreed.
But after several replays, they still could see nothing, because the flare of brightness caused a whiteout. Again and again, it looked as if Ceara had simply appeared in the stall from out of nowhere.
Nona used her cell phone to call one of her subordinates. “I want you to go over the black stallion’s stall again,” she ordered. “Keep a lookout for anything that could have created a bright flash of light.” She listened for a moment. “I know you’ve examined every square inch of the stall, Matt. But you’ll be searching for something else this time.” Pause. “Yes, I know, but that’s how the cookie crumbles.”
She ended the call. “Lunchtime,” she said over her shoulder. “It’s only eleven, but Matt’s already watching the clock for noon break.” She backed up the footage again. “Okay, one more time, and then I think we should move on to see what she does and where she goes inside the arena after gaining entry. Agreed?”
“Agreed. If she went near the feed room or hay storage, I swear to God, she’ll be an old woman before she gets out of jail.”
They resumed watching the footage. After resting against the horse, Ceara wobbled to the stall gate to peer out at the exercise arena. Then, apparently exhausted, she collected her satchel and made herself a bed in the straw in one corner of the stall and lay down to sleep.
“That’s exactly where I found her just before dawn,” Quincy said. “How the hell does that make sense? Keep watching her. I can’t believe she went to the trouble of trespassing onto my land and breaking into my arena, only to
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