Henry looked over Maggie's shoulder. One of her sandals was in her bag.
The other was nowhere in sight.
"The barn thief struck again!" Henry exclaimed.
"Cole and I were looking at your bag right before we came outside.
Both sandals were definitely in there then."
Cole nodded. "I guess this means Daisy isn't the thief."
"It's another weird theft," Henry said. "Who would steal one sandal?"
Cole grinned. "The same person who would steal one sock!"
"This isn't funny!" Maggie complained. "My parents are going to kill me!"
"Not if we can catch the thief," Henry said. "This could be another clue."
"What do you mean?" Cole asked.
"Daisy didn't steal that sandal," Henry said. "We also know it wasn't Zach."
"We do?" Maggie asked.
"Yes," Cole chimed in.
"Zach was in the riding ring when the sandal disappeared, so he couldn't have taken it.
But what about Eleanor? She went back into the barn to get a tissue."
"Exactly what I was thinking," Henry replied.
"Jill could have done it too. She was inside working the whole time."
"So what are you waiting for?" Maggie asked. "Go question them!"
"Aren't you coming with us?" Cole asked.
"I can't." Maggie stepped toward her pony's stall.
"I need to take care of Big Spot first.
Ms. Wood is already mad at me about that missing saddle pad, remember?"
Henry was secretly relieved.
Sometimes Maggie got too excited when she was questioning people.
They'd probably have better luck without her.
"We'll be back soon," he said.
Then he and Cole went to find their suspects.
They found Eleanor first. She was taking the saddle off her pony.
"Hi," Henry said. "Are you feeling okay?"
"What do you mean?" Eleanor asked.
"We were worried because you were in the barn for a while," Henry said.
"You know, when you went to get a tissue. We thought you might be sick."
Eleanor gave him a funny look. "I'm fine," she said.
"I got a tissue, and then I stopped to get Little Spot a drink of water.
He was hot and thirsty from running around the barn."
"Oh." Henry tried to think of another question.
But he couldn't come up with anything. He looked at Cole, who shrugged.
"Okay," Cole said. "See you later."
They walked away. "That didn't tell us anything," Henry said.
"Let's find Jill."
Jill was cleaning a saddle in the tack room.
"Hi," Cole said. "Have you been in here the whole time?"
"What do you mean?" Jill sounded grumpy.
Henry thought fast. "We were wondering if you'd seen my baseball glove.
I think I lost it again."
That wasn't true. Henry's glove was still sitting near Big Spot's stall.
But Henry figured that if Jill had taken Maggie's sandal, she'd probably seen his glove sitting nearby.
Maybe she would say something to give herself away.
But Jill just rolled her eyes. "Sorry. I told you before.
I don't have time to keep track of your stuff."
Henry sighed. So far their questioning wasn't going very well.
Maybe it was time to think of another plan.
He stepped out of the tack room.
But he had to stop suddenly as a furry shape raced past him at top speed.
Another furry shape was right behind the first one.
"What was that?" Cole peered over Henry's shoulder.
"I think Little Spot is chasing the barn cat," Henry said.
"Let's go rescue her!"
They chased the dog and cat down the aisle.
The cat stopped at the end and turned to face the dog.
Little Spot lunged forward with his mouth open.
"Oh no!" Cole exclaimed. "He's going to bite her!"
But Little Spot didn't bite the cat. He licked her!
The cat just sat there as the dog licked her again and again.
Henry laughed at the grumpy expression on the cat's face.
"I don't think she likes being licked," he said.
"No," Cole agreed. "But Little Spot is enjoying himself!"
Henry watched the beagle for a moment. "Come on," he said. "I have an idea."
"What?" Cole followed as Henry rushed away.
Henry didn't stop to explain.
They didn't have much time to test his new theory.
When he reached Big Spot's stall, he stopped.
"Give me that cat toy from your bag," he said to Maggie.
"What cat toy?" Maggie stopped brushing the pony, looking confused.
Henry was already digging into her bag.
"I'm going to set another trap," he said, pulling out the cat toy.
Cole looked doubtful.
"Who would want to steal that thing, other than the barn cat?"
"The same thief who would steal one sock or one sandal." Henry smiled.
"I'll explain on the way. We've got to hurry!"