Chapter Twenty-Five

I was in the stable, tending to the horses, when Cindy finally ventured out of the safety of her room.  I stood in the walkway and watched as she snuck from the house to the stable like a thief in the night.

“What’s with the I spy routine?” I asked as I went back to mucking out Peter’s stall.

She grabbed a pitch fork and began cleaning Daisy’s stall.  “I was worried that Hap was still here.”

“He left around eight,” I said. I dug the tines of the fork into the soft floor of the stall and asked, “What’s wrong with Hap?”

She wiped at the tears as she said, “I saw him bring those girls in the night. He had them handcuffed and tied together like cattle.”

“Hap?” I practically screeched with surprise.

“I know,” she said.  “I thought that he and my uncle hated each other.  You can imagine my surprise when I saw him de