Halloween Hijinks (A Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 1) (8 page)

“Next time you come to do
a therapy session let me know,” he added as I turned to walk away. “I’d like to sit in.”

“Okay, I will.” I
smiled.

“Zoe, what are you doing here?
” Warren asked as Charlie and I continued down the hall and entered his room.

“Charlie wanted to come by and say hi
.”

“I’m thrilled for the company
. I asked the doc if my dad could bring my dog by but was told that hospital policy doesn’t allow pets.”

“Charlie is a certified therapy dog,” I explained
.

“Hey
, Charlie.” Warren tried to lean over the side of the bed to get a better look at him, but his leg was in a sling that hung from a rod over the bed, making it almost impossible to do so. “Can he come up?”

“Charlie
, up,” I patted the bed and commanded.

Charlie carefully leapt up
onto the bed, settling next to Warren’s arm on his uninjured side. Warren grinned as Charlie carefully laid his head on Warren’s stomach and let him pet his head.

“Did you find out anything more about who did this to you?
” I sat down in a chair next to the bed.

“All I remember is
a white truck. It was getting dark and I was in a hurry to get home after practice. The whole thing happened so fast. I was lucky I had time to swerve. The guy could have killed me.”

“So it was a man driving?”

Warren frowned as he thought about it. “Yeah, it was. Tall, dark hair, some sort of hat. Maybe a baseball cap? You know, I didn’t remember any of this until this moment.”

“Happens that way sometime
s,” I explained.

“I didn’t see his face at all
, though. Like I said, it was getting dark and his headlights blinded me. I’m lucky to be alive, although I’m pretty upset about missing the game on Friday. The team was counting on me.”

I didn’t know what to say
. The team
was
counting on him. He was the best player they had. There was little chance they were going to win without him, and we both knew it. I struggled to come up with something witty or at least comforting.

“How’s the food?
” I asked when I drew a blank.

“Terrible.”

“Are you on a restricted diet?”

“I’m not sure
. Based on the crap they’ve been feeding me, I’d guess yes, though.”

“Let me see what I can do
. Charlie, stay,” I instructed as I slipped out the door.

Luckily
, Doctor Gorgeous hadn’t left yet and I was able to get permission to bring Warren anything he wanted to eat. When I returned to Warren’s room he told me he’d kill for a pizza, so I had one delivered, along with a six pack of soda, then Charlie and I sat with him while he ate his dinner and told us stories of his best football plays from the past. By the time we left, he was nodding off from the pain killers the nurse had brought in after he finished his meal.

The next morning I saw Ellie exiting the Ashton Fall
s Community Bank as I made my rounds along Main Street. I knew that a prime storefront had become available on the pier near Timberland Beach, and Ellie and her mother were trying to secure the necessary funding to open a soup and sandwich shop there. The facility wasn’t large enough to house an industrial kitchen, so their idea was to sell cold sandwiches, salads, and soup premade in Rosie’s main kitchen to the crowd who gathered at the lake during the warm summer months. There was a large deck area where they planned to set up an outdoor patio, as well as several BBQs where they could grill ribs, chicken, and hamburgers made to order.

During the winter
, when the beach crowd had migrated indoors and the cross- country ski mob overran the beach, they planned to convert the sandwich and BBQ shop into a warming hut specializing in hot beverages, both with and without alcohol, as well as homemade soup, bread, muffins, and other sweet treats.

“So?” I pulled over in front of the bank
. “How’d it go?”

Ellie reached inside the passenger window to pet Charlie
. “Good, I think. Blakely,” she said, referring to the bank president, “wants me to submit a formal business plan complete with a sample menu for both summer and winter. He also wants me to bring in some samples.”

“Samples?”

“Of the soup we plan to serve, mainly. He says the samples will help him evaluate the potential success of the enterprise but if you want my opinion, I think he just wants a free lunch.”

I laughed
. I had to agree with Ellie’s assessment of Blakely’s true intent. He was a portly man who loved to eat but was also famous for being a tightwad of the tightest kind. If he could find a way to dine for free, he wasn’t too embarrassed to take it. “So are you going to do it?”

“Of course,” Ellie replied
. “If a couple of servings of soup will get us the loan we need, I’m happy to oblige. Now I just need to figure out which soups to bring.”

“Your
shrimp chowder for sure,” I suggested. “And Levi swears by your beef stew. Oh, and your cheesy chicken chowder is to die for. Darn, now I’m hungry.”

“Mom made soup this morning
. I think todays specials are Timberland Shrimp Chowder and Pizza in a Pot.  Come on over and grab a bowl.”

“I need to finish rounds
.. How about if I get there around eleven-thirty?”

“
I’ll see you then.” Ellie waved and continued down the street.

Charlie and I continued on our rounds
, but I knew we were both trying to figure out which of Rosie’s soups we’d try for lunch. I was leaning toward the shrimp chowder, but I was pretty sure Charlie would prefer the Pizza in a Pot. Maybe I’d have to turn a blind eye and let him have a small bowl of that.

The morning continued smoothly enough. I slowly drove my familiar route, keeping an eye out for stray animals. Most times if there was a homeless pup on the loose, I’d find him or her scavenging garbage from the Dumpsters that lined the alley behind the main drag. During the summer months, when the beaches were crowded with families sharing picnics on the warm sand, the homeless animal population tended to gravitate toward the shoreline along the lake.

I decided to stop
and check in on Gilda Reynolds, owner of Bears and Beavers Gift Shop. Gilda is short and stout with bright red hair that she wears naturally in a sort of frizzy Afro. One of the biggest contributors to the town, she serves on several community groups, including the  First Baptist Coats for Kids Coalition and the Timberland Mountain Arts Project, in addition to the Ashton Falls Events Committee.

Gilda recently
had adopted a chocolate lab that was exhibiting severe anxiety any time she was left alone. She’d tried numerous “remedies” as suggested by friends and family, but nothing seemed to be working. The last time I’d talked to her, she was close to throwing in the towel and asking me to find Hershey another home. While I didn’t disagree that Hershey might be happier in a situation where her owner was a little less busy, I also felt that with time and patience on Gilda’s part, she and Hershey could be very happy.

“Hey
, Gilda,” I greeted as I walked into the quaint mountain shop. “I thought I’d stop by and check on Hershey.”

The dog
looked up from the corner where she’d been napping when she heard her name. She really was a sweet dog, and generally well behaved, but every time Gilda left her alone in the house, she went just a little bit nuts. I had to admit Gilda had been more than patient with the emotionally damaged dog. If she left Gilda in a crate, she howled the entire time she was gone, earning her the wrath of her closet neighbors, and if she left her free in the house, Hershey chewed on anything and everything she could find to destroy.

“She’s doing better since I started bringing her
with me to work,” Gilda answered my unspoken question. “We’ve settled into an agreement of sorts where I take her where I can and she behaves when I have to leave her. I’ve been thinking about getting another dog to keep her company. I watched my daughter’s little terrier for a few days while she was out of town and Hershey tended to do better.”

“It might help,” I agreed
. “If you want, I’ll keep an eye out for a good match and let you have him or her on a trial basis before committing to the adoption.”

“That would be great.”

“I heard you had a visit from the random bandit,” I added. I had to admit the antics of this particular late-night stalker had captured my attention.

“Random is right
. I don’t really get this guy. He breaks in, takes a beaver cookie jar and a set of coffee mugs with bears on them, doesn’t even touch the cash I’d left in the till, and then locks the door when he leaves.”

“You left cash in the till?
” I asked.

“Sometimes I forget to put it in the safe,” Gilda admitted
. “I’ve never had a problem before.”

“Maybe the thief didn’t rea
lize there was cash in the register.”

“Maybe,” Gilda acknowledged
. “But it still seems odd that he took a few inexpensive items and left a whole store full of much more expensive merchandise untouched.”

“Yeah, that does seem odd,” I agreed
. “It seems like that’s his pattern. The whole thing is bizarre.”

By the time I finally made it to Rosie’s the lunch crowd had begun to gather. Ellie was busy in the kitchen, so I placed my order and settled onto one of the pine benches on the patio. It was a nice day for late October, but a bit on the chilly side for most, so Charlie and I ended up having the whole deck to ourselves. After I finished off a huge bowl of shrimp chowder, it occurred to me that Warren might appreciate a decent meal as well. I called the hospital and verified that his dietary restrictions hadn’t changed before calling him on his cell phone and getting his order.

“I’m so glad you called
.” Warren grinned as Charlie and I walked through the door of his hospital room carrying a take-out bag that contained a double cheeseburger and fries. “The staff has been super nice, but I’m pretty sure they’re trying to starve me.”

“Any idea when you’ll be moved down the mountain for surgery?
” I pulled a table over to Warren’s bed and set the bag where he could reach it easily.

“My parents are still trying to work that out
. There’s some problem with the insurance. I just wish they’d let me wait at home. Sitting here all day is getting to me. Luckily, Michael is coming by after football practice and has promised to spend the rest of the afternoon.”

“Michael Valdez?
” I confirmed, as Warren dug into his lunch.

“Yeah
. We hung out at my dad’s camp last summer and became good friends. It’s killing me that I won’t be able to play in the big game with him and the rest of the guys.”

“I’m sure the team misses you,” I sympathized
. “Did you ever hear anything more about who ran you off the road?”

“Not officially
, but the guys are convinced it was Griswold. He has a reputation for doing anything it takes to win. I’ve never played for him, but  Michael did when he was a kid. Say’s the guy is bad news.”

“Bad news?
” I asked.

Warren shoved a handful of fries into his mouth and chewed
. “Michael said he was obsessed with winning. His practices were brutal, and if you screwed up, he made you run laps till you dropped. A lot of kids ended up quitting.”

“I’m surprised the
ir parents didn’t complain.”

Warren shrugged
. “A few did, but the team was mostly undefeated so most didn’t say anything. There’s something most parents won’t ʼfess up to, but the truth is, they like to win.”

I talked with Warren
a while longer and then returned to the shelter. The least glamorous part of my job is the significant amount of cleaning that’s required to keep all the pens and cages sanitized. Jeremy and I usually trade off cleaning the bear cage, and today was my turn. Not a pleasant way to spend the afternoon, but a necessary one all the same.

Other than cleaning i
t had been a slow afternoon, so I decided to cut out early. I was trying to decide whether to use the time to go kayaking or hit the haunted barn when my phone rang. It was Jeremy, informing me that someone had called to complain about a dog howling at the Henderson place. He had a date and wondered if I’d have time to check it out.

Let me state for the record that I am normally a brave sort who rarely shies away fro
m any act that’s required to do my job and do it well. But Hezekiah Henderson was a crazed lunatic in life and has, by all accounts, continued to be just as crazy in death.

“You want me to respond to a call at the Henderson place?
” I asked. “Alone?” I cringed. “You know that place is haunted.”

“I know
. I’d go myself, but Gina really isn’t one to be kept waiting.”