Haunted Hamlet (Zoe Donovan Mystery) (8 page)

“Trenton indicated that while the men had taken differing paths after completing their undergraduate work
, they had many viewpoints in common,” I said. “He told me that he shared what he knew about the history of the house, including the mysterious deaths that had occurred over the years, and Davenport provided small tidbits of information that Trenton had never known.”

“Such as?”

“Such as the fact that Hezekiah Henderson wasn’t the only Henderson to die in that house. According to Trenton, Hezekiah’s grandparents died unexpectedly when Hezekiah’s father was a young man. His father, an only child, inherited the house, and after marrying a young girl from the area, he settled in to raise a family. By the time Hezekiah reached his twenty-fifth birthday, his parents and siblings had all died. According to Trenton, Davenport felt that each of the deaths he looked into could have a supernatural cause as well as a logical one.”

“Like what?” Zak sat forward in his chair. He took one of my bare feet and placed it in his lap. He began to massage away the tension in my entire body by skillfully working his magic on my foot.

“He didn’t really go into a lot of detail. To be honest, I was in a hurry and didn’t ask him to elaborate. He did say that in the one hundred fifty-odd years the house has existed, Davenport is the fifth person who died from falling down those same stairs.”

“
Okay, that’s a little weird. And I didn’t realize the house was that old.”

“Trenton said Davenport told him that the
place was originally built as a cabin and had been expanded many times since.”

Zak frowned. “I’m surprised more people don’t know that story. It seems pretty sensational.”

“Hezekiah Henderson was an old man when I was a child. If I remember correctly, he was in his late eighties when he died. I was nine, so Pappy would have been around fifty. If Hezekiah was, say, eighty-five when he died, that would make him a good thirty-five years older than Pappy. If Hezekiah’s family was dead by the time he was twenty-five, Pappy wouldn’t even have been born yet.”

“
The town hadn’t been incorporated back then,” Zak added. “Which means there wouldn’t have been a lot of recordkeeping.”

“Yeah
, and the newspaper in Bryon Lake wouldn’t even have been in existence.”

“How did Davenport find all of this out?” Zak wondered.

“Death records and personal accounts from the diaries of some of the mill workers who lived in the area during the days when it was used as a logging camp, among other things.”

“So
although Hezekiah lived a long life, dozens of others have died of mysterious causes over the years,” Zak concluded. “Wow. It sort of makes you believe in the haunted house theory.”

“I know. Right?”

I switched feet so that Zak could work on the left side of my body. Zak really does give the best foot rubs. He knows all the pressure points to address to create total body relaxation.

“So Davenport comes to get a ‘feel’
for the house and ends up dead,” Zak continued after I’d made the switch. “I agree that the whole thing is odd and sort of spooky, but I think it’s best we don’t get too caught up in the theory that a ghost or otherworldly spirit is guilty of scaring Davenport down the stairs.”

“Why not?” I groaned as Zak found an extra
-sensitive spot.

“Assuming the man did
n’t simply fall, he was most likely pushed, and there very well could be a real killer out there.”

“That’s basically
what Trenton said,” I admitted. “Although he did say that it seemed like there was more going on with Davenport than he communicated.”

“Like what?” Zak asked.

“Trenton didn’t really know. He said Davenport seemed extremely invested in the history of the house, and the personal detachment that most researchers try to bring to a project seemed to be skewed by something Davenport wasn’t saying. Trenton didn’t go so far as to say he was lying about his true purpose for investigating paranormal activity in the house, but he did say that his words seemed deliberate, and at times he became downright evasive.”

“So Davenport thinks there may be more to the killings than meets the eye?”
Zak began to work his way up my calf. I hadn’t had a chance to go for a run in several days and my muscles felt tight, so Zak’s magical hands felt
wonderful.

“Not really
,” I answered. “Although he isn’t completely convinced the killings were random either. He spoke to Salinger, who thinks the killer ghost theory is hogwash, so I assume he’s focusing on locating a living, breathing killer. I feel like I should be doing something, but I’m not sure what that would be at this point.”

“It’s not your job to track down every killer
who lands in the area,” Zak reminded me.

“I know. Which is why I
’m going to leave the investigation to Salinger for once. Besides, I’m going off the mountain tomorrow and will be gone most of the day.”

Zak looked surprised. “Really
? Where are you going?”

“To see a man about a dog.”

“I can’t believe how excited I am.” Ellie smiled as we drove through the valley toward the home of Peter Darwin, the breeder Jeremy had told me about the day before. Not only was he willing to meet Ellie to discuss placing a puppy with her but he happened to have a pup in need of placement. Talk about perfect timing.

“Remember
, it’s not a for-sure thing until he meets you,” I warned her as we made the trip down the mountain. A rambling river paralleled the narrow, winding road as the thick evergreen forest gave way to the foothills, painted with autumn colors. “He wants to be certain that you and Shep are a good match before he agrees to the adoption.”

“Yeah, I get it. You would do the same thing.”

“Yes, I would.”

Ellie took a deep breath and looked out the window. I could tell she was nervous
, which, to be honest, sort of surprised me. When I’d first suggested a puppy, she hadn’t been interested, and now she was acting like getting this puppy was the most important thing in her life.

“
How old is Shep?” Ellie turned to face me.

“He
’s eight months old. Jeremy said he’s smart and attentive and showed a lot of promise, but he suffered a broken leg when he was four months old and it didn’t heal up well enough for him to be placed into police service. According to Jeremy, his limp isn’t noticeable unless you know what you’re looking for, and it doesn’t hinder his ability to run or enjoy a normal life, but the screening process to become a law enforcement dog is tough. Shep is well trained and very friendly. Peter told Jeremy that he seems to prefer women and will make a good dog for a female handler.”

“He sounds perfect.” Ellie grinned.

I felt like it was the first genuine grin I’d seen from her in quite some time.

“
I know I never really cared about having a dog,” Ellie added, “but I’m really happy you talked me into it.”

I talked her into it?

“If I’m approved, when can I bring him home?”

I slowed to maneuver an extra
-tight S curve. “Today, as far as I know. We can stop at the animal supply store in Bryton Lake and pick up everything you’ll need. We’ll need to keep him on the same food the breeder has him on, at least for a while. If you decide to change the brand, you’ll need to do so slowly.”

“I
’m sure that whatever food the breeder uses will be fine for me. I don’t have a lot of experience feeding dogs, so I plan to follow the breeder’s recommendations to a T.”

“That’s usually best.”

“I know I’ve already said this like ten times, but I really hope this works out. I love living in your boathouse, but it’s pretty isolated. I think I’ll feel better with a big dog on the premises.”

“Remember
, it’s not for sure.”

“I know.”

I was taking a chance bringing Ellie to meet Shep when she was so vulnerable. God, I hoped this worked out. I was afraid if it didn’t, she’d spiral into a depression I wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with. Ellie seemed to like dogs and was super good with Charlie and the other dogs in my life, but she’d never had one of her own. Her mom had never wanted animals in the house when Ellie was growing up, and when she got her own apartment, animals weren’t allowed. I hoped she understood the time commitment that comes with having a canine buddy.

Of course, I reminded myself,
although I’m pretty sure I didn’t do or say anything to actually talk her into getting a dog, it had been my idea in the first place. I had a flexible schedule, so I’d simply make the commitment to help out as needed, and if this dog didn’t work out for some reason, I’d find her an equally awesome replacement.

“We have another thirty minutes
at least until we get to Peter’s property; maybe we should use this time to talk about food for the Halloween party,” I suggested.

“Okay, I’m game
.” Ellie shifted in her seat so she could reach her purse. She pulled out a small notepad and a pen. “What type are you thinking?”

“Zak has gone all
-out with the decorations and is building coffins that he plans to fill with dry ice to serve the food. I was thinking we could do theme food, like mummy dogs.”

Ellie clicked the end of the pen
as she thought about the situation. “I have an idea to make wontons shaped like bats. I could do a couple of different fillings. Crab and cream cheese are my favorites. I also have a recipe for jalapeño popper wontons, as well as a sausage-based wonton that everyone seems to love.”

“Sounds perfect. What else do you have?” I hoped our talk about food would help Ellie relax before we arrived at the ranch.

“Deviled eggs made up to look like eyeballs are easy and tasty, and I can make cheese balls shaped like jack-o’-lanterns or spiders in several different flavors. We can make up some roaches and other bugs using figs and other veggies and add them to any dips we want to provide, and we can make homemade pizzas with jack-o’-lantern faces on them.”

“Levi will be looking for chicken wings.”

Ellie shrugged. “I’m sure I can come up with a spooky way to present them. Give me a day or two to really think about it and I’m sure we can come up with a variety of offerings. Did you ever decide on a costume?”

“Zak is going to go as Frankenstein and I
’m going to be the Bride of Frankenstein.”

“Speaking of bride
s, did you ever have the talk?” Ellie asked.

“No, not in so many words. I guess we
decided to put the subject of marriage on the back burner for now. I know he loves me and wants to marry me, and I want to marry him too. Someday,” I qualified. “I imagine it will come up again at some point, and I’m hoping I’ll be ready to say yes with the enthusiasm and certainty he deserves. How about you? Have you come up with a costume?”

I made a left
-hand turn off the highway to a narrow county road lined with aspens in full autumn color. The unirrigated pastures had turned brown, providing a striking contrast to the yellows and oranges.

“I still can’t decide
.” Ellie sighed. “Please don’t take this wrong, but I’m not all that excited about the party this year. Not that it won’t be awesome. It’s just that you’re going with Zak and Levi is going with Darla, which leaves me to play the third wheel—or I guess I should say fifth wheel.”

“You could come with Kelly,” I offered.

“Kelly is bringing a date.
Everyone
is coming with a date.”

I felt bad for Ellie. I realized she might not be all that far off with her assertion that everyone was coming with a date. I knew Jeremy was going to attend with Jessica
, and my other assistant, Tiffany, was coming with our veterinarian, Scott. As I thought about the situation, I realized Ellie could very well be the only person who wasn’t paired up. Suddenly, I had a new mission to add to the fifty others I was already juggling: find Ellie a date, and not just any date, an awesome date.

“Oh
, hey.” Ellie interrupted my thoughts. “It looks like we’re here.”

I pulled onto a dirt road
that served as a private drive. The ranch was far enough off the beaten path so as to appear to be totally isolated. There was a large sign that read
Darwin Horse Ranch and K-9 Academy
. The large ranch-style house was surrounded by miles upon miles of green pasture that apparently was irrigated and divided into neat sections with white fences. Each pasture was dotted with happy residents grazing in the warm afternoon sun.

“Wow, it’s really beautiful,” Ellie gushed.

“Yeah, it’s awesome. Peter said to meet him in at the kennel, which must be that white building to the left.”

“Yeah, the red building is definitely a barn
, and the white one looks like it has individual dog runs attached,” Ellie said.

I slowed my truck to a crawl to avoid kicking up more dust than I had to on the dirt road. As I pulled up in front of the white building
, a tall man who I would guess was in his midthirties walked out to greet us. He was dressed in faded jeans and a light blue T-shirt. He wore a baseball cap with the San Francisco
Giants
logo on his head.