Haunted Hamlet (Zoe Donovan Mystery) (12 page)

“Maybe
.” Ellie shrugged, as if she didn’t care, but I knew that she did.

“So is Peter s
till joining us tonight for the hayride?” I asked in an attempt to segue into a less sensitive subject.

Ellie smiled. “He is. I can’t wait to show him around the Haunted Hamlet. I know he’s been here before
, but somehow this year seems special.”

I noticed Willa waving to me from across the street.
She probably had chores for me to do before I went off-duty for the day. “It looks like Willa needs me. Catch ya later?”

“We can meet at the hayride as planned
, unless Willa talks you into filling one of the ghostly graveyard roles.”

“She needs more people?”

“That’s the rumor. If I were you, I’d be prepared with a really good excuse.”

“The line for the haunted hayride goes all the way to the fence,” Ellie observed later that evening. “I really thought we’d have fewer guests with the change in venue, but I guess people are excited to get a peek at something new. I hope Peter can find us okay.”

“He’ll find us,” I assured my friend
, who was looking nervously toward the festively decorated street. Luckily, Willa hadn’t asked me to play a role in the event but rather to help Joel set up a few additional props he had decided on. If the spooky display I witnessed was any indication, the hayride was going to be a huge success.

“What time is Zak supposed to be here?” Ellie asked.

I looked at my watch. “He has another half hour at the snack bar, but I doubt we’ll be at the front of the line by then. Oh look, there’s my mom and dad.”

I waved at
them as they came toward us, my baby sister in her stroller. It had been two months since they’d finally tied the knot, and based on all appearances, they couldn’t be happier.

“You dressed her up as a bunny rabbit,” I gushed as I picked up Harper. She looked adorable in her fuzzy outfit and droopy ears.

“I figured it would be warm,” Mom commented. “And she was born at Easter, so I figured it was appropriate that a bunny be her first Halloween costume. We stopped by the house earlier to pick up the diaper bag we left the last time we were there and got the grand tour of Zak’s decorations. I have to say, they’re really something. He must have spent hours getting everything into place.”

“He’s been working on the design since
the beginning of October,” I verified. “I especially love the life-size Frankenstein and Mrs. Frankenstein at the front door. They can be set to speak to you when you come in, but I have that part turned off for now. It was making the dogs crazy, plus it’s a little creepy if you come in alone after dark.”

“With all those orange globes you have
, I’m not sure how you can see the dark for all the light.”

“Tell me about it. I had to make him put them on a timer so they weren’t shining in our face
s when we went to bed.”

“So far the only decoration
we have is a pumpkin for the front porch. I think that in this case less is more, and up until today, I was pretty sure your dad felt the same way. But after seeing all Zak’s electronics, I’m half-expecting to wake up to a decorating nightmare.”

I laughed. “What is it about boys and their toys?”

“Every time I point out to your dad that perhaps he doesn’t need to get every electronic device his future son-in-law has, he reminds me that I have an entire closet dedicated to shoes.”

It occurred to me that this was the first time
Mom had referred to Zak as her future son-in-law. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, since we weren’t even officially engaged. On the other hand, I guess everyone realized it was only a matter of time.

“Your dad and I were going to head over to the snack shack and get a couple of burgers. Do you want to join us?
You too, Ellie.”

“Thanks
, but we’re going to wait to eat with our dates.” Ellie actually blushed, which was weird because she’d been dating like crazy and everyone knew it.

“Well
, you girls have a nice time,” Dad said as he kissed me on the cheek before leading Mom and Harper away.

“Oh
, there’s Peter coming from the parking lot,” Ellie informed me. “Save our place in line and I’ll go to meet him.”

I
grinned as Ellie jogged away. She really was in to this guy. I just hoped he was as super as he seemed. I wasn’t sure that a relationship would work out for them in the long run since he lived in the valley and she owned a business at the lake, but it would be nice if she found someone nice to hang out with in the short term.

“I spy with my little eye the f
airest maiden in all the land.” Zak jogged up behind me and scooped me into his arms.

“Zak
, you nut, put me down.”

“Not unless you know the magic phrase,” he teased.

I whispered something in his ear.

He smiled. “That’s not what I had in mind
, but it will do.” He set me on my feet.

“I thought you had another
half hour at the snack bar.”

“A couple of the guys scheduled for the second shift showed up early
, so I decided to see if my princess was in need of rescue. Are you? In need of rescue?”

“Not at the moment
, but
you
might be if you keep calling me princess.”

“Oh
, I do love them sassy.”

“You are such a jerk.”

“Maybe, but I’m an excellent kisser.” And he kissed me to prove his point.

I couldn’t help but smile at his playful mood.
Zak was almost never in a bad mood, but he did tend to be more serious than silly. Maybe the Halloween spirit had gotten him in touch with his inner child. Whatever the reason for his playful mood, I liked it.

“Dad said he came by the house earlier. I guess you’ve given him
the decorating bug. Mom said he’s itching to keep up now that he saw all your electronics.”

“He can try to catch up
, but I am the
decorator.
” Zak said that last word in the same way someone might say
terminator
.

I laughed.
“I think you have Halloween on the brain.”

“I thought it was your favorite holiday.”

“It is.”

“So why aren’t
you
going a little Halloween crazy?”

“I’m crazy
, just not as crazy as you. How about we check out the maze after the hayride? Just you and me,” I suggested. “We can hide in the shadows and make out.”

“Why don’t we go home
to make out and save the maze for tomorrow?”

“
An even better idea.”

“By the way
, Levi stopped by the snack bar. He and Darla aren’t going to join us. He thought things might be a little weird between Darla and Ellie.”

I was sorry Levi wasn’t
meeting us, but it was probably just as well. Ellie was on a date of sorts—a first date—and the added tension of the Ellie/Levi dynamic might give Peter the wrong impression. Or I guess it would actually be the right impression, but perhaps not the one she’d want to make right out of the gate.

“Zak
, this is Peter; Peter, Zak,” Ellie introduced the guys when she returned with Peter on her arm.

“So how is Shep doing?” Peter asked Ellie once the introductions
had been made.

“He
’s settling in nicely. He loves having the lake in his backyard to romp around.”

“I’ll bet.”

“If you’d like to see him, you can come by the boathouse after the hayride,” Ellie offered.

“I’d like that.”

I looked at Zak and winked. We both recognized the smooth way she’d gotten him to come back to her place. Or maybe he was the one with the smooth moves? Either way, I was certain I was witnessing a romance in the making.

By the time we got to the front of the line
, it was completely dark, which added a whole other level to the event. Riding through the dense forest at night, with all the nocturnal animals rustling about in the shrubs, was spooky even without the actors dressed as ghosts who floated around in the woods as the wagons traversed the narrow dirt trail. I was impressed by how many automated props Joel had managed to set up in the short amount of time he’d had to prepare.

I snuggled close to Zak for both warmth and security. It seemed that Peter and Ellie ha
d had a similar idea. I was glad to see that Ellie had finally hooked up with a guy with genuine potential.

I suppressed a scream when
a headless horseman came riding up wielding a sword. The live actors really added a sense of the terrifying to the event. I was pretty sure the man in the horseman costume was my dentist, but even with that knowledge, I found my heart pounding as he threatened to take the head of anyone who passed through the woods.

“That was really fun,” I said
when the wagon had returned us safely to the staging area. “Anyone up for a drink?”

“I think Peter and I are going to head back to the boathouse,” Ellie informed me. “
I hate to leave Shep alone for too long. Catch up with you tomorrow?”

“Have fun
.” I grinned.

“You know,
” I reached up to wrap my arms around Zak’s neck after they’d gone, “I bet Charlie and Bella are lonely too.”

“Then I think we should definitely go home and check on them.” Zak grabbed my hand and
we started toward the truck. “I left a bottle of champagne to chill in case we decided we wanted to take a late-night dip in the spa.”

“Champagne? That sounds
. . . oh shoot.” I stopped walking.

“We have a problem?”

“I forgot that I promised Tawny I’d cover the final two hours of her shift at the haunted maze. Her babysitter needed to leave early. Rain check on the champagne?”

The worst thing about the zombie run is that it always starts very early in the morning after a very late night. Last year Zak had arrived early and gotten everything set up before I even showed up, and this year was no different. When my alarm went off a full hour after the time I’d originally set it for, I found a note from him where his warm body should have been, letting me know that he was heading over early to set things up and that the coffee was on the timer and an egg pie was warming in the oven.

Have I mentioned that I have the best boyfriend
ever
?

“Ellie’s not here?” I asked after eating my breakfast, showering, and driving to the starting point of the run.

“I haven’t seen her,” Zak answered after he kissed me good morning.

“I guess she might have had a late night with Peter. Do we have enough volunteers to man all the stations?”

“I think we’re covered. Levi is going over last-minute instructions with the zombies and Darla is manning the sign-in table for the runners. I have all the electronic equipment set up, and a couple of cheerleaders showed up with the football players Levi recruited to play the zombies, so I have them giving out numbers and T-shirts. We should be good to go. Did you decide to leave Charlie at home?”

“Yeah, he was curled up with Bella. I made them go out before I left
, but they both seemed pretty content to go back to sleep. I miss having Charlie with me as much as I used to, but I think he enjoys hanging out with Bella part of the time.”

“I
bet dogs like spending time with other dogs the same way people like spending time with people.”

“I know there’s
one
people I like to spend time with.” I stood on tiptoe and gave Zak a quick kiss on the cheek. “I missed waking up to you.”

“I figured you’d prefer to sleep in a bit.”

“You figured right, but I have to say I’m quite enjoying this cohabitation thing.”

Zak smiled.

“I guess I should head over and make sure the runners know the rules.”

“I’m pretty sure Levi has that handled,” Zak assured me. “You might want to check with the cheerleaders
, though.”

I looked toward the table where the four young girls were talk
ing and laughing. Sometimes it seems like a million years since I was in high school and my biggest goal was to get an invitation to the homecoming dance and my biggest fear was that I wouldn’t. Of course, all the high-school students at the race today were either jocks or cheerleaders, so I was pretty certain all of their dating needs were taken care of.

“
Who is that talking to Paul?” I asked.

Paul Iverson,
the newest member of the events committee and the new director for the summer camp in the area since Frank Valdez had been arrested for attempting to rob the bank the previous spring, was standing near the registration booth talking to a man I didn’t recognize.