Zoe Donovan Mystery: Haunted Hamlet Part 12

"How about something with Boris Karloff?"

"Karloff sounds good."

Every Tuesday for the past five years, I've attended the Ashton Falls Event Committee meeting. Well, almost every Tuesday. I've missed a few over the years, and I was planning to skip this week, but I decided to show up even if I would be late. Ellie had mentioned that Willa was planning to hand out a.s.signments for both the Thanksgiving dinner and the Christmas Carnival at this week's meeting. The committee had a habit of a.s.signing unpleasant tasks to committee members who were absent. The last time I missed the preholiday meeting, I ended up wearing tights and a pointy hat in Santa's Village for the entire carnival weekend, so I figured this wasn't a good meeting to miss.

"Oh good, Zoe's here," Willa said as I walked through the hallway that separated the back room from the main part of Rosie's Cafe. "We have a new member today, so I hoped everyone would be here."

"New member?" I asked.

"Zoe Donovan, I'd like you to meet Brooke Collins."

My heart sank as I looked at the woman sitting between Levi and my dad. Brooke Collins was not only the most stunningly beautiful woman I had ever met, but I had the sickening feeling she was none other than Zak's ex-girlfriend Brooke. The only reason I knew that he and this woman had once . . . I really couldn't think about that . . . was because he still carried a photo of her in his wallet.

"Zoe, how are you, dear? I've heard so much about you," Brooke greeted me like I was some sort of easily dismissed child.

"Really?"

"Zak mentioned that the two of you were dating the last time I spoke to him. I'm always happy to meet Zak's women."

Zak's women? I really had thought I'd put Jealous Zoe to bed once and for all, but when I looked at the tall blonde with legs that seemed to go on forever, I was pretty sure Jealous Zoe was alive and well.

"Brooke has been kind enough to bring her big-city fund-raising knowledge to our little village in an effort to help balance the budget, which is currently on life support," Willa added. It was obvious by Willa's smile that Brooke had at least one fan in the room.

"I thought the committee was for residents only," I pointed out.

Originally, the committee had been organized by a small group of residents who wanted to pool their resources to fund their specific projects. At the time, I worked for the county animal control, which was vastly underfunded and really needed the money we earned. Now Zak owns the Zoo and it's fully funded by his millions, but I remain on the committee to support the rest of the community and their pet projects.

"Brooke has informed me that she's in the process of moving to Ashton Falls," Willa all but gushed. "Isn't that wonderful?"

"Yeah, wonderful."

Ellie got up and grabbed another chair, which she set next to her own. She waved me over, indicating that I should take it.

"Now that we're all here," Willa emphasized, "I want to share with you our fabulous news."

"News?" I asked as I sat down beside Ellie.

"As you are all aware, the money the committee is able to earn through our events and the needs of those we try to serve have suffered a widening gap as of late. Brooke came to me with a suggestion that I think could make all the difference to next year's budget."

Ellie must have known what was coming because she squeezed my leg in warning.

"November has always been a money-loss month rather than a money-gain month for us," Willa began.

"The Thanksgiving dinner is something we do for the citizens of our community," I spoke up. "It isn't supposed to make money."

"I realize that." Willa scolded me with her eyes for interrupting. "However, with the increase in budget each nonprofit is asking for, I've been looking for the opportunity to turn that around. Luckily for the volunteer firefighters, library, and theater arts program, Brooke has come up with a wonderful idea."

I glanced at Ellie, who was digging her nails into my leg by this point. She gave me the "look," indicating that I should maintain my silence.

"Brooke has suggested that we open the dinner to the public, rather than limiting it to locals. If we do that, we can sell tickets, which should make us a nice profit."

"Why would anyone pay to come to our dinner?" I asked.

Ouch. I glared at Ellie, who had actually pinched me.

"Because," Brooke spoke up, "we're going to couple the dinner with a bachelor auction. Ashton Falls happens to be the home of one of the nation's most eligible bachelors, so I antic.i.p.ate that the event will draw the sophisticates we need to make a killing."

I paled. They wanted to auction off Zak to the highest bidder? Brooke glared at me, and all at once I had a preview of who would end up with the winning bid. Maybe Zak making the top-ten bachelor list wasn't such a great thing after all.

"Of course," Brooke added, "we'll want to enlist the help of all of the eligible men in the area. You can't really have an auction with one prize. I have the connections to bring affluent women to the area, but you'll need to provide the men."

I was about to open my mouth when Ellie squeezed my hand so tight that it brought tears to my eyes.

"The last auction I attended with a partic.i.p.ant from the top ten made over . . ." Brooke mentioned a number that made even my head spin.

"Everyone in favor of Brooke's idea?" Willa asked for a vote "Aye," everyone in the room, including Ellie, agreed.

"Levi, Paul," Brooke looked directly at each of them in turn, "I'm a.s.suming you'll partic.i.p.ate?"

"Of course," both agreed.

"I figure we need at least ten men. Fifteen would be better," Brooke informed us. "With Zak we have three. Suggestions?"

"We don't know that Zak will agree to do this," I spoke up.

"Of course he will." Brooke laughed. "Zak is the most altruistic man I know. If it will benefit the community, he'll happily join in."

Brooke wasn't wrong. Zak probably would agree to the ridiculous idea if he felt it would help the community to buy the new fire engine we needed or books for the library.

"There are a couple of single firefighters I could probably talk into partic.i.p.ating if it means a new truck," Dad spoke up.

Traitor.

"There are a few single men in the theater group as well," Gilda added.

I could barely sit still as the members of the committee sat around pimping out the single men of our community. There seemed to be only one solution. Zak and I would have to move.

My exbest friend Ellie pulled me aside after the meeting. "I'm sorry, but it would've been worse if we didn't support the idea. The auction could make a huge difference to the community. You know how much we need a new engine for the volunteer firefighters, and we just talked last month about cutting funding to the summer camp and theater arts program altogether. We need this fund-raiser.

"Easy for you to say; your boyfriend doesn't live in Ashton Falls."

Ellie actually looked hurt. "First of all, Peter is not my boyfriend, and second of all, even if he was my boyfriend and he lived here, I'd be okay with his partic.i.p.ating if it meant that Levi's afterschool sports program won't be cut and Tawny won't have to turn away preschoolers who are in need of scholarships. It's just for one night."

"Maybe, but you don't have America's biggest s.l.u.t trying to steal your boyfriend."

"She isn't trying to steal Zak."

I just looked at Ellie.

"Okay, maybe she is, but she won't be successful. Zak loves you."

I knew Ellie was right. Zak did love me. Even if Brooke successfully bid on him, I knew I could trust him. "Yeah, I know you're right. I guess I just let Jealous Zoe get the better of me."

"You could always bid on him," Ellie suggested.

"I can't afford him."

"I guess you could always marry him."

I glanced at Ellie.

"I'm kidding. Marrying someone to prevent compet.i.tion is the worst reason ever to get hitched."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I guess I'll just have to start saving my money so I can buy the man I love."

"That's my girl." Ellie looped her arm though mine.

Chapter 12.

By the time I arrived at the Zoo, Jeremy and Tiffany had taken care of all of the routine ch.o.r.es. We talked about a possible placement for the pup Zak and I had found and all agreed we wanted to find the perfect human for the little guy if his owner couldn't be located. Scott was on his way out when I called him but agreed to stop by the house to take a quick look at our newest orphan at some point in the afternoon.

"Did Gunnar say how the animals did during the storm last night?" I asked.

"The wild animals didn't seem to mind it, and now that Trick and Treat have been adopted, we don't have any cats, so Gunnar let all the dogs sleep with him. When I came in this morning he was snoring away with all ten resident dogs either lying on him or next to him," Jeremy answered.

"Aw, that was so sweet of him. I'll have to be sure to thank him for going above and beyond."

"He seems to really care about the animals. Tank does as well. I think you made a good choice in hiring them. I hear we might be in for another storm tonight."

I looked out the window at the darkening sky. "Yeah, it looks like it."

"By the way," Jeremy continued, "Ellie came by yesterday to introduce me to Shep. He's a real beaut. I'm glad it worked out."

"It seems like he'll be a good fit for her, and she certainly has been happier since he came into her life."

"She mentioned that she's been out with Peter. He's a great guy, and you know I love Ellie, but I'm not sure about them as a couple. I hope she doesn't end up getting hurt again."

"I think she's taking things a bit more casually this time around. It's nice that you're concerned about her, though."

Jeremy shrugged. "We've become friends since she started hanging out with the single parents group. Even though she isn't dating a single parent anymore, she seems happy to babysit whenever anyone asks. Hopefully, she'll have her own little bundle someday."

"Hopefully. By the way, I spoke to the man who came in and wanted to adopt Jigger. I'm not sure he'll be the best match for the dog. Jigger has some pretty serious dominance issues, and the man I spoke to seemed timid, although he tried to appear like he was a tough guy. I'm afraid Jigger would walk all over him, so I suggested he take a look at the Great Dane that was brought in last week."

Jigger was a pit bull, and they tend to attract tough-guy types, but the reality is that many of them aren't all that tough at all. The Great Dane was large enough to appeal to a "real man" but was as gentle as a kitten.

"Did you get the feeling that the man otherwise qualified for one of our dogs?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, he seemed to really want a dog, and he's had them before. He has a large yard and his children are grown, so he lives along. He likes to go fishing, and he indicated that he would bring his dog along with him. The Great Dane is a mellow dog who will be happy to lie next to him while he sits at the lake for hours on end. I suggested that he might want to take him for a trial. He seemed open to the idea but indicated he'd get back to me. If he calls, it's okay to do a conditional adoption."

"Okay, great. And Jigger? Any 'real' men you can think of for him?"

I frowned. Jigger was a sweet dog but a tough placement. He would respond well to a human who was firm but not cruel. If he was placed with someone who wasn't able to maintain the upper hand with him, Jigger would most likely run roughshod over his new owner. On the other hand, if he were placed with a human who ruled with an iron fist, I was afraid the dog could become aggressive.

"I'll need to think about it a bit more. He loves Tank and Gunnar, but I'm not sure they're looking for a permanent roommate. He might do well with Buck Stevenson."

Buck was the new owner of the local lumber mill. He was a man's man, but also a kind and caring soul who tended to a.s.sert his dominance with a stern look or firm voice.

"Buck would be perfect." Jeremy smiled. "I'll ask him about it."

I returned to my office and called Zak. What I wanted to do was ask him if he knew that Brooke was in town. What I did ask him was how he was doing with the tape. He reported that he'd had some luck making out portions of the video. He was working on gaining access to the rest, but from what he could see, it looked as if someone had been in the secret pa.s.sage, taping the entire evening from peepholes drilled into the ceiling of the second floor.

"So the noise Dawn reported hearing from the attic was probably coming from the secret room," I realized.

"It looks like the whole thing was staged," Zak said. "There was definitely someone in the room other than the nine counselors and the as-of-yet unidentified girlfriend. The thing is, the woman who has to be the girlfriend based on the process of elimination looks familiar. From what I've been able to see so far, I'm willing to bet she was working with the cameraman. She isn't drinking or smoking, and she seems to be the one who suggested that the group move to the room where they ended up."

"We need to find that woman."

"Why don't you swing by the house and take a look? You've been in the area longer than I have. Maybe you'll recognize her."

It turned out that I did recognize her. Her name was Tricia. I knew her from a diner where I occasionally have lunch when I'm in Bryton Lake. I called the diner and found out that she got off work at three. I decided to show up as she was getting ready to punch out and ask if she would be willing to go for coffee or something.

"I really appreciate your taking the time to speak with me," I said as I placed our order with the bartender at the saloon down the street from where Tricia worked.

"Hey, if you're willing to buy me all the rum and c.o.ke I want, I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"Great," I responded as the bartender set my gla.s.s of water and Tricia's rum and c.o.ke in front of us.

I waited until Tricia had gulped down her first drink and indicated to the bartender that she wanted another before I began.

"I wanted to ask you about your recollection of what happened at the Henderson house thirteen years ago."

Tricia nodded. "Yeah, so you said. What do you want to know?"

"We found a video that was taken the night the counselors died. I recognized you in it from the diner. I know you weren't one of the counselors, so I was wondering why you were at the house that night."

Tricia looked at me. "Guy I met in the park asked me to help him make a video for some film cla.s.s he was taking. I didn't know what was going to happen."

"Who exactly was it you were helping?" I wondered.

"Like I said, some guy I met in the park. I never did get his name. He was filming people walking by and I thought it was cool, so I stopped to talk to him. He said he was going to make a horror film later that night and asked me if I would help. He offered me a hundred bucks and I wasn't busy, so I agreed."