Costume Catastrophe (Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 21) (13 page)

“You think so? He is in high school and I’m sure he’s gone to a lot of dances.”

I thought about Alex’s friend. He was an extremely intelligent fourteen-year-old who was as socially awkward as he was brilliant. I had a feeling he didn’t have a whole lot more experience dancing with the opposite sex than Alex did.

“Maybe he’s been to a lot of dances and maybe he hasn’t,” I answered. “He chose to hang out with you tonight and I’m sure you’re going to have a wonderful time. Just relax and remember that all that’s really going on is that you’re hanging out with a good friend.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“It’ll be better than fine. Go and have the time of your life and then you can tell me all about it when you get home.”

Alex hugged me. “Thanks, Zoe. Wish me luck.”

“Luck.”

After Alex left I knocked on Scooter’s door to ask him what he wanted to do that evening. I could tell he was a little mad he hadn’t been allowed to go to the dance with Alex. Zak and I had discussed allowing him to attend, but the dance was for Zimmerman Academy students and their dates, and Scooter didn’t attend the Academy. Besides, Scooter really was too immature for a high school dance. Alex was the same age, but she was much, much more mature than her honorary brother.

“Is the maze open?” Scooter asked.

“I’m not sure. It’s stopped raining, so maybe. We can drive by to check it out if that’s what you want to do.”

“Is it going to be haunted again this year?”

“Yes, I believe they planned to add a haunted element at night. In fact, some of the ghosts and ghouls who signed up to do the haunted house are doing the maze instead, so it should be extraspooky this year. Be sure to dress warm. Even though the rain has stopped it’s still pretty nippy out there.”

Scooter chatted nonstop as we drove through the festively decorated town. While Alex could be quiet and introspective, it seemed at times that Scooter never shut up. Not that I minded. It made my heart warm to see him so happy and well adjusted. There’d been a time not all that long ago when I’d worried that the lonely little boy would never have the chance of a normal life. There was no doubt about it; Zak and I were rescuers. Whether it was animals or children, if there was a spirit in need we were there to fill the void.

“I hope Tucker is better by Halloween. We were going to hang out and go trick-or-treating.”

“I hope so too. If not, I’m sure Alex will go with you. Did Zak help you with your costume?”

“I wanted to be a ninja, but all the ninja costumes were sold out, so Zak was going to try to order one on line. It’s not here yet, but he said he paid for express shipping, so we should have it by tomorrow. I hope it’s black, like the one in the picture.”

“I’m sure if you ordered a black one that’s what they’ll send you. Do you want to grab some dinner first or go to the maze?”

“Maze. I hope it’s really scary, not just something for babies.”

“I’m sure it will be very scary.”

“Do you think there’ll be zombies?”

“Zombies are very popular right now, so I’m going to say that yes, there’ll most likely be zombies. Let’s not forget a flashlight. The maze has lights, but I remember there were some pretty dark passages last year. I’d hate to get lost.”

“Isn’t that the point?”

“Yeah, I guess, but I’m pretty hungry, so I’d prefer not to get too lost.”

Scooter and I had a wonderful time at the maze. We did get lost, but in a fun way, and by the time we found our way out we were both ready for pizza. It seemed as if half the people in town had the same thought because the place was packed, but we managed to find two stools at the counter.

“Look, there’s Levi,” Scooter announced after we’d settled in.

I looked where Scooter was pointing. Levi was seated in a booth with Rachael and her daughter, who looked even more like she might be related to him now that they were sitting side by side. All three occupants of the small booth were laughing and smiling, so I assumed the purpose of the gathering hadn’t been to inform Levi he was a daddy. As obvious as it seemed to appear to me that Levi could very well have a daughter, I really hoped for Ellie’s sake that I was imagining the resemblance.

“Can we go say hi?” Scooter asked.

“We might lose our seats.”

“Can I go say hi while you save the seats?”

“Sure. I guess that would be okay.”

I watched Scooter as he trotted across the restaurant. He greeted Levi, who must have asked Scooter who he was with because he turned and pointed at me. Levi waved and I waved back. There was a knot in the pit of my stomach as I considered the implications of Levi and Rachael becoming a couple whether they shared a child or not.

It looked as if Rachael was introducing Scooter to her daughter, which I supposed was a good thing because they would be going to the same school as of Monday. Scooter, in his usual fashion, chatted a mile a minute until our pizza arrived and I had to wave him back over. Levi got up and accompanied him when he returned to where we were sitting.

“It looks like we had the same idea. I would have invited you to join us, but we were just finishing up when Scooter came over.”

“Are you heading out to the events?”

“Yeah. I thought I’d show Rachael and Joslyn around. Scooter said you went to the maze.”

“We did. It was fun. There were a lot of monsters around every turn and they set the hay bales up a little differently this year, so it wasn’t the same route as last year.”

“We got lost, but it was a fun lost,” Scooter contributed.

“I’ll definitely have to check it out. If Joslyn doesn’t want to go, I’ll head over there later.”

“Are you planning on spending the night at our place again?”

“No. I only did last night because Ellie looked panicked and I wanted to help relieve her stress. I really don’t think I’m in any immediate danger and I want to get an early start in the morning before the game.”

Levi turned and motioned to Rachael that he’d be just a minute.

“I’d forgotten that you and Rachael dated senior year until I ran into her the other day,” I fished.

“For a while. She dated Tommy before me and Joey after, so I won’t go so far as to say what we had was really special, but we had fun. And we’re having fun now.”

Levi certainly wasn’t acting like a man who suspected he might be a father. Either he didn’t notice the resemblance or he had no reason to suspect the possibility. Scooter had polished off two slices of pizza while Levi and I had been chatting.

“Someone was hungry,” I commented.

“I was, but I’m done now. Can we go back out?”

“You may be finished, but I haven’t even started,” I reminded the boy.

“Scooter can come with us if he wants and it’s okay with you. It’d be nice for Joslyn to have someone her own age along, and if Scooter goes with us you can eat your pizza in peace and quiet. I’ll drop him by your house later.”

“Can I?” Scooter asked with a huge grin on his face.

Part of me wanted to say no. Part of me wanted this time alone with Scooter. I’d spent a lot of one-on-one time with Alex but much less with Scooter, who tended to hang out with Zak. Still, based on the look of expectation on his face, it was clear what Scooter wanted.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll see you both at the house later.”

As soon as Scooter left with Levi, I ditched my soda and ordered a glass of wine. I watched the television over the bar while I nibbled on my pizza and sipped my wine. The movie of the night happened to be
Funny Farm
with Chevy Chase, which seemed like a perfect fall movie. I laughed along with the dialogue. I’d forgotten how funny the movie could be. When they got to the fake Christmas scene at the end I was reminded that things really weren’t always what they seemed to be. I had to wonder which part of my current investigation, if any, was nothing more than an illusion.

“Anything else?” the bartender asked.

“No, just the check.”

“Heard you were looking into Joey’s murder. Any news?”

“No,” I answered. “I’m afraid not. Were you and Joey friends?”

“He came in for pizza a couple times a week. He sat at the bar and we chatted.”

I looked around. The restaurant had cleared out quite a bit while I was eating and the bar was almost deserted except for me and a couple at the other end. “If you spoke to Joey recently had he said anything that might explain why someone would want to kill him?”

The bartender took my empty wineglass and set it in the tub under the bar. “Not really. Joey did seem to have demons he was fighting, though. Especially the last month or so. To tell you the truth, he pretty much stopped ordering pizza in favor of whiskey a few weeks before he died.”

“Did he ever come in with anyone?”

“There was a guy. Rocco. I guess he used to play football with Joey back in the day. Sometimes they’d meet up here and talk about their glory days. It was kind of sad.”

It must be sad if you believed your best days were behind you.

“Did they meet with or talk to anyone else?”

The bartender began wiping down the bar with a white towel. “Not that I can think of. I did hear them talking about someone, however. Seems that one or both of the men were in to some woman named Lisa.”

I wasn’t sure who Lisa was, but I did know Rocco. He worked at the bowling alley. If I was lucky he would be working and I could get the rest of the story.

Ashton Falls Bowl was a smallish place with just a dozen lanes. It had been in the same place since as far back as I could remember, and by the look of things it had never been updated once. All the lanes were occupied, making for a noisy environment as the colorful balls hit the white pins.

“Hey, Rocco,” I greeted the man standing behind the counter.

“Hey, Zoe. I’m afraid we’re full up.”

“Not a problem. I’m actually here to talk to you, if you have a minute.”

“I’ve got a minute unless someone comes up.”

“I guess you heard about Joey?”

Rocco’s lips got tight, but he didn’t comment.

“I’m helping Salinger look into things and I heard the two of you were friends. I was just wondering if you knew anything at all that might help us.”

“I wouldn’t say we were close friends. We used to meet up for a beer every now and then. We kept our conversations pretty causal, but I will say he seemed to change after he hooked up with Lisa.”

“Lisa?”

“Some dame he met a couple of months ago. He said he was lonely and enjoyed her company, but the woman was a loon. I guess crazy must be contagious because the longer Joey hung out with that broad, the loonier he got.”

I crossed my arms on the counter and leaned in just a bit. “What do you mean by crazy?”

“Angry. Paranoid.”

“Do you know where I might find her?”

“Haven’t seen her since Joey died.”

“Do you know her last name?”

Rocco paused. “No. I’m not sure I ever knew it. Joey did mention once or twice that she worked over at the seasonal store, so I guess you could ask around over there if you really want to talk to her.”

“Thanks. I’ll do that.”

When I arrived at the Halloween store it was packed from front to back. Everyone who had put off buying costumes until the last minute seemed to be there tonight. I looked around for someone I knew, hoping they could point out an employee named Lisa. Given the seasonal nature of the store, the staff tended to turn over fairly often, but I’d been in several times recently and knew a friend from high school could be found in the back, mending and repackaging opened and damaged costumes.

“Looks like you have your work cut out for you,” I greeted her.

“Tell me about it. I don’t know why the customers feel the need to open every package. We provide samples for people to look at, but apparently that isn’t good enough. Are you here looking for a costume?”

“Actually, I’m looking for a person. Lisa? I was told she works here.”

“She did work here. She quit without notice yesterday. Talk about lousy timing. We’re expecting a busy weekend with everything that’s going on in town.”

“Do you know Lisa’s last name, or maybe her phone number or address?”

“I don’t have her contact information. You’d have to get that from the personnel office, and everyone in there has gone home for the day. I think her last name was Payne, or maybe Payton. Something like that.”

I used to know a Lisa Payton—Tommy’s sister—but she’d moved away years ago. “Do you know how old this Lisa is?”

“I guess around eighteen. I know she used to live in the area and just recently moved back. She seemed to like it here, but I guess she must have decided to split. I can’t think of any other reason she’d up and quit the way she did.”

“Okay, well, thank you for your time. And good luck with the weekend.”

I left the store and decided to call Salinger to fill him in on what I’d learned that evening. When I got his cell he suggested I come by the office. I figured I had a while before Levi brought Scooter home and I was just down the street from the county offices, so I headed over there.

“So what’s on your mind?” Salinger asked when we’d settled into his office.

“I have new information.”

“Shoot.”

“First of all, I found out that Joey had been hanging out with someone named Lisa just before his death. Tommy Payton has a sister named Lisa who’s a bit younger than he is. Based on my best guess as to the age difference, I’m going to say Lisa is around eighteen now.”

“And you think Joey was dating Tommy’s little sister?”

“I don’t have any hard evidence, but that would be my guess.”

Salinger leaned forward so his elbows rested on his desk. “We know Joey and Tommy had been friends for a long time. It seems reasonable that Joey would know Tommy’s sister.”

“Maybe. I feel like her presence in Joey’s life combined with the fact that Tommy and Joey were involved in some sort of an argument might be relevant.”

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to track this woman down and have a chat with her. Anything else?”

“I also found out that Joey had been hanging out with a guy named Rocco who works at the bowling alley. I asked him about Joey, but he didn’t seem to have any information that could help us track down his killer. Still, it might not hurt for you to speak to him as well.”