Costume Catastrophe (Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 21) (11 page)

The fact that Alex had picked up on Ellie’s secret due to her probably unconscious tendency to touch her stomach indicated that Ellie might have a problem keeping her secret from Levi with the two of them spending so much time together over the next few days. I’d have a chat with her in the morning to let her know what had occurred. But maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing for Levi to figure out what was going on. It’d take the pressure off Ellie to find the perfect time to tell him, and perhaps that would be best for everyone involved.

“Alex figured out Ellie’s pregnant,” I said after we got into bed. I sat back against the pillows I’d piled in front of the headboard.

“She did? How did she do that?”

“She picked up on Ellie’s tendency to touch her stomach.” I picked up the tube of hand lotion I kept on the bedside table and squeezed a small amount into my hand.

“Really? I’m not around Ellie as much as you are, but I never noticed.”

“I’m not surprised. Alex is very observant and she spent the afternoon alone with Ellie today. I guess it makes sense that she’d pick up on the subtle clues. I feel confident that Alex will keep Ellie’s secret, but it did occur to me that Levi is also hypersensitive to Ellie and her every mood and move.”

After I finished rubbing the lotion into my hands Zak pulled me into his arms. I rested my head on his chest as we continued to chat.

“Do you think it’s all that bad a thing if Levi does figure it out?” Zak asked. “We’ve both pretty much decided it’s time.”

“Actually, I was just thinking it might be a good thing if he figures it out on his own. Keeping this secret has been really hard on Ellie. She’s stressing out over finding the right time and the right words to tell him. Maybe it would be better if the decision was taken out of her hands.”

“It does seem that the ideal time for them to have that particular conversation has come and gone.”

“Yeah.” I sighed. “I have to agree. It’s time. I do feel for her, though. Not knowing how he’ll react has to be killing her.”

Zak ran his finger up my arm. “He might be shocked at first, but Levi is a good guy and I know he really cares about Ellie. I think in the end he’ll do the right thing by her.”

“I suppose.”

Zak shifted so that we were lying face to face. “So about that end-of-date kiss you promised me earlier…”

“Actually,” I countered, “I think I promised you something even more if you played your cards right, which you most definitely have.”

Zak grinned as he turned off the light.

Chapter 8

Friday, October 28

I woke in the middle of the night to the sound of rain hitting the side of the house. Zak was snoring softly next to me and Charlie was sleeping at the foot of the bed. I stepped over Bella as I made my way to the sofa in front of the fireplace, which still held bright orange embers. I tossed another log on the fire and then curled into the softness of the overstuffed piece of furniture. I pulled a quilt over my legs and watched as the flames from the dry wood began to dance in front of me. Charlie must have sensed my absence because he abandoned his spot on the bed and trotted over to join me.

Normally, I enjoyed the quiet of the night, but on this particular evening I found my thoughts in turmoil. I’d investigated many murders in the past. A number of them tied to people I knew as well as I knew Joey. It was always a difficult and upsetting thing to do, but this time, with the addition of the letters, it seemed as if the killer was challenging me to prevent further bloodshed. The only way to do this was to figure out who the shooter was and why they’d chosen the particular targets they had.

As I stared into the flame I reviewed in my mind the information we had to date. It seemed on the surface that the killer was the woman who we suspected was behind all three notes, but the reality was that the person behind the notes might very well be no more than a pawn in some psycho’s game in much the way I was. The fact that two notes had been delivered to our home with no evidence left by the delivery person was beyond bizarre. Especially tonight, when the rain and resulting mud had provided a perfect platform for footprints, of which we’d found none. Of course it was raining pretty hard. Perhaps the footprints had simply washed away. I also suspected Albert could be behind the shootings because of the grudge he seemed to hold against Joey and Tommy, and he’d come right out and told me he planned to look up Tommy shortly before he was shot. Logic would dictate that both these people made fine suspects, but my Zodar was telling me that in the end neither lead would pan out.

Which left me where?
You have to know what to see.
What exactly did that mean? Was it intentionally vague and cryptic or was I simply missing something? Add to that the second clue—
Beware of
a mirror that does not cast a reflection
—and you had a real puzzle.

The window next to the fireplace rattled as the wind slammed against it. I was somewhat surprised that I was the only one who had been disturbed by the storm. Zak was a sound sleeper, but both Alex and Scooter had knocked on our door during storms past and this one seemed to be as strong as any we’d had.

I snuggled Charlie’s warm, comforting body close to my chest.
You have to know what to see.
I supposed there were examples of this; in art, for example. I remembered paintings I’d seen that looked like one thing but, if you changed your perspective, turned out to be something else entirely. Could it be that a change in perspective was in order? Initially, I’d focused on those who might want to do harm to Joey and then, after Tommy was shot, I focused on the similarities between them. The most obvious connection between the two men was their membership on the same football team all those years ago, but I was sure if I set that theory aside I’d come up with others.

Charlie growled as the wind changed direction and whistled through the house the way it did when it came down from the north. I held him tighter and whispered that things would be okay and there was no need for him to leap into guard-dog duty. Charlie was the sort to be alert and attuned to noises in his environment. At the time the third note had been delivered that evening there had been five dogs in the house. It really was odd that none of them had heard anything. Normally, all three of our dogs are barking in unison long before the sound of the doorbell alerted us to a visitor. Of course it had been raining and quite windy, which brought its own kind of noise.

“You okay?” Zak asked from the bed. He was leaning up on one elbow, looking in my direction.

“Yeah. Couldn’t sleep. I guess I have a lot on my mind.”

“Do you want to talk? I can get up.”

“No. I’ll come back to bed.” I stood up with Charlie in my arms and walked across the room to the bed. “I don’t suppose I’m going to figure anything out tonight.”

Charlie resumed his spot at the foot of the bed and Zak wrapped me up tightly in his strong arms. No matter how loud the world yelled, I found I could always find peace and comfort in the arms of the man I loved. I closed my eyes and willed myself to relax as Zak’s soft snoring serenaded me into the land of dreams and possibilities.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” Zak woke me with a large cup of coffee.

“Sounds like it’s still raining.” I pulled myself into a seated positon and accepted the cup.

“It is. As far as I can tell, it hasn’t let up at all.”

“Even if the rain lets up by tomorrow the field is going to be a soggy mess.”

“Mud and football do seem to go together. I’m going to take the kids to school and then I’ll be back. Levi has already gone and Ellie is still sleeping.”

“I thought you were going to drive Levi to work.”

“He insisted on taking his own car, and he’s a grown man. He’ll be fine. When I get back we’ll brainstorm. Maybe we can figure out what last night’s note means. In the meantime, try not to stress too much”

Easier said than done.

“Oh, and Levi asked if we were coming to the pep rally this morning,” Zak added. “I told him I’d ask you.”

I enjoyed the pep rallies the high school held before each game. “I wouldn’t mind going.”

“It’s at eleven. Maybe we can do lunch afterward.”

After Zak left I settled back against my pillows with my coffee. I was sorry the rain was going to ruin opening day for Haunted Hamlet, but I did enjoy listening to the sound of the rain hitting the window. It made me think of our trip to Ireland, when it rained almost the entire time we were there. I’d been thinking a lot about another trip to Dunphy Castle. Maybe after we solved this murder and got through the weekend activities I’d do something about making more specific plans.

Jeremy had returned from his honeymoon the previous evening. He’d called to say he was back and that he’d had a wonderful time. Initially, he hadn’t been due to return to work until the following week, but he’d said he’d missed hanging out with the animals and was ready to get back to his regular routine, so he planned to be back at the shelter first thing this morning. Given the current situation, it was just as well he was back at the helm at the Zoo, freeing me up to focus on finding the killer.

I was debating whether to head downstairs for more coffee or skip it in favor of a hot shower when the phone rang. It was Salinger.

“Donovan. I have news, and fairly interesting news at that.”

I yawned. “Okay, what’s your news?”

“It appears Joey Waverly and Tommy Payton may have been shot by different people.”

That got my attention. “What?”

“At this point we don’t know that for certain, but we do know they were shot with different guns.”

“Okay, that’s just bizarre. Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.”

Salinger sounded tired and frustrated, and I could understand that. He was, after all, the person responsible for putting an end to this very strange shooting spree, and I was sure he was getting a lot of pressure to do just that from the main office in Bryton Lake.

“Zak and I have a few things we want to follow up on. I’m not sure our leads will end up anywhere, but we’ll keep you in the loop. If there are two shooters we may be looking at a whole different set of motives.”

Salinger sighed. “You know I appreciate your help. If you find out anything that might help us nail this down call me. Just be careful.”

“Yeah, we will.”

I decided to skip the coffee and head for the shower. I had no idea how this piece of news would help or hinder us, but I wanted to be up and dressed when Zak returned in the event he had some insight he wanted to follow up on before the pep rally. Two shooters? Wow. That really would be a game changer if it ended up being true.

When I got downstairs I found a note from Ellie, saying that she and Shep had headed home. She had a dentist’s appointment that day and wanted to shower and change beforehand. She reminded me that the only reason she’d stayed the previous night was so that Levi would, and that she herself wasn’t considered to be a potential victim, so I shouldn’t worry. Of course if there were two killers and the shootings were unrelated, Levi might not be a potential victim either. But with such a wild card thrown into the deck, it was hard to know who might be next.

“I half-expected to find you still in bed,” Zak said when he walked into the kitchen through the side door, which led out to the drive. He took off his coat and hung it on a peg, then shook the rain from his hair.

“Salinger called. It looks like Joey and Tommy were shot with different guns. Salinger is now entertaining the idea of two shooters.”

Zak frowned. “Two shooters? That makes no sense.”

“Agreed. I think Salinger is pretty frustrated with the whole thing.”

“I can see why. Two shooters would change everything.”

Zak poured himself a cup of coffee before walking across the room and opening the refrigerator. “Eggs?”

“Not if we’re going to lunch after the rally. Maybe just cereal.”

Zak grabbed the milk as well as a box of bran flakes. He set the ingredients on the table while I took out two bowls.

“I was thinking about going back to the house the neighbor identified as the witch’s,” I added. “I’m not saying the woman is a witch, but it would really help if someone saw something. I’m about out of suspects, although if there are two shooters I guess we can add a random person back onto the list. The only reason we eliminated him was because a random person wouldn’t be responsible for Tommy’s shooting as well.”

“I’m in,” Zak answered. “We might want to go by to talk to Tommy again as well. Now that he’s had a chance to recover a bit maybe he remembers something. Anything at all could help.”

“Yeah, okay. That sounds like a good plan. I just need to check on the baby otter before we go. I’m sure Alex fed him this morning, but it’s going to be a long day and I don’t want to forget about the little guy.”

When we arrived at the little cabin that had been pointed out as the witch’s, I was glad to see a curl of smoke rising from the chimney. Zak and I parked in front of it and then hurried to the front door, which was elevated just a bit off the wet, muddy ground. The rain had slowed to a drizzle and I hoped it would stop altogether within the next couple of hours.

“Yes?” a short, gnarled woman with white hair and a hunched back asked.

“My name is Zoe and this is Zak. We’re consultants with the sheriff’s office and we wanted to ask you about the shooting that occurred at the house down the road earlier in the week. Do you think we could come in for a few minutes?”

“You must be here to see Yari. She’s been expecting you.” The woman took a step back and motioned for us to enter the small but tidy living area.

“Yari?” I asked.

“My daughter. Have a seat. I’m sure she’ll be down any minute.”

I glanced toward the stairs, which I assumed led to bedrooms. The cabin seemed to be compact but functional. Zak took my hand and led me over to the sofa, which was situated along one wall. I didn’t notice where the old woman had gone off to. She was there one minute and then she was gone. I supposed she must have slipped upstairs while I wasn’t looking.