Zoe Donovan Mystery: Haunted Hamlet Part 6

"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. G.o.d, 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 jalapeno 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 eyeb.a.l.l.s are easy and tasty, and I can make cheese b.a.l.l.s 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 brides, 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 a.s.sertion that everyone was coming with a date. I knew Jeremy was going to attend with Jessica, and my other a.s.sistant, 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.

"Zoe?" he greeted me.

I hopped down out of my monster of a truck.

"Yes, I'm Jeremy's friend, Zoe Donovan, and this is my friend, Ellie Davis." I reached out to shake the man's hand. "Your ranch is gorgeous."

"Thank you; I like it. The land has been in my family for four generations and I'm quite proud of it."

"I didn't realize you raised horses as well as dogs," I commented as a herd of horses trotted by in a nearby pasture.

"My father and his father before him were horse breeders, but I've always had a fondness for dogs and dog training, so when I inherited the ranch, I added the dogs."

"Do you train the horses as well?" I asked.

Peter nodded toward a man sitting on the fence of one of the corrals, watching another man dressed in Levi's and a plaid shirt put a large black horse through a series of commands. "Actually, I turned the horses over to my dad's best friend, Chip, who has lived on the ranch since before I was born. I enjoy the horses, but I really prefer to work with dogs. Chip has a way with horses that only comes from decades of working with them."

"So you train the dogs for law enforcement?" I asked.

"I do train dogs for law-enforcement agencies, but I raise and train guide and service dogs as well. I have two full-time a.s.sistants, but I still keep darn right busy."

"I can imagine."

"Can we meet Shep?" Ellie entered the conversation.

"How about we chat a bit first?" Peter suggested. "There's a table and some chairs inside, if you'd like to follow me."

"Okay." Ellie trailed along behind the man, who was quite the looker, as we made our way to the office that was located in the front of the white building we had parked near.

"Please take a seat," Peter directed Ellie.

"What would you like to know?" she asked, fidgeting as she sat down and waited for him to begin.

"Have you had a dog before?" Peter asked.

Ellie hesitated. "No. Is that a problem?"

Peter shrugged. "Not necessarily. Are you familiar with the handling and care of dogs?"

"I pet sit for Zoe all the time."

"And she's a fantastic pet sitter," I added as I walked around the large room, looking at the photos on the wall. "My dog Charlie absolutely adores her."

"Tell me a bit about your home situation."

"Home situation?"

"Are you married? Single? Do you have children? Other pets? Do you rent or own your home? House or apartment? That sort of thing."

"Oh, okay."

Ellie seemed nervous, but I thought she was doing fine, so I decided to wander around the office while they chatted. The walls were covered with photos of men with horses. Some of the photos were in black and white, while others looked to have been taken fairly recently. The photos were interesting; not only could you see the progression of men who had lived and worked on the ranch but the ranch infrastructure as well. The earliest photos showed a house a third of the size of the current structure, with only a single red barn. As we'd driven up, I'd noticed at least four large buildings, which I guessed housed either dogs or horses.

There were also photos of men and women I a.s.sumed were family members, as well as some from the key moments of Peter's life. In one photo he stood proudly in a cap and gown alongside a group of friends, and others were of the various proms he'd attended, as well as several of him alongside various dogs.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," I said as I did just that, "but this man standing with the group in front of the lake: who is he?"

Peter looked up from the paperwork he was filling out as he spoke to Ellie. "His name is Adam Davenport. The photo was taken the summer after I graduated high school. My friend Puk talked me into getting a job with him at the summer camp they used to have at Star Lake."

"Adam was a counselor?"

"Yeah, everyone in the photo was. I only worked at Star Lake that one year, but Puk went back every summer until they closed the camp down after those counselors died."

Star Lake is only about five miles from Ashton Falls. The privately owned lake had been home to a summer camp for inner-city kids until it closed thirteen years ago. I was only a kid at the time of the incident, but I vaguely remembered that although it was strictly against camp rules to leave the area or to possess alcoholic beverages, a group of counselors snuck away to the Henderson house to party one summer night. Three people had died and another was missing before the night was over.

"Was Puk one of the counselors who snuck off?" I wondered.

"No; he was working out at the camp when the tragedy occurred," Peter informed me.

I looked back at the photo. There were eighteen men and women posed in front of the lake. There was one woman who looked sort of familiar, although I couldn't place her. I didn't recognize any of the others, so my guess was that none of the counselors who were on staff with Peter that year had remained in the area. I had no way of knowing how many of the counselors in the photo were still on staff by the time the accident occurred. For all I knew, with the exception of Puk, the staff could have turned over completely. It did, however, make sense that at least a few had remained. I tried to decide if the man in the back left-hand corner was a younger version of the man I'd seen in the costume shop that night.

"Was Adam Davenport working at the camp that year as well?"

"Yes, I believe he was. Why do you ask?"

"Mr. Davenport recently came to Ashton Falls to do research on the Henderson house. I'm afraid he's dead."

"Dead? What happened?"

I explained to Peter Darwin the series of events leading up to and preceding Mr. Davenport's death, while he filled me in on what he knew about the incident thirteen years ago. I felt bad that Ellie's bid to adopt a new puppy was being waylaid by our conversation, but eventually Ellie did meet Shep, it was love at first sight on both sides, and soon Ellie and I were packing up the truck to head back up the mountain.

"Thank you so much." Ellie hugged Peter for what seemed like the hundredth time. "I'll take such good care of Shep; I promise. And feel free to come by to check on him any time you're in the area."

"I just might do that." Peter smiled as he helped to load Shep into the back of my truck, which had been specially outfitted to transport both large and small animals. "I like to keep track of my kids."

"Do you have a lot of dogs to keep track of?" Ellie wondered as she petted Shep one last time before closing the door of the crate that would ensure a safe trip home.

"Hundreds. But each and every one is dear to me."

"Well, please do come and visit Shep. We'd both enjoy spending time with you at the lake. It's beautiful in the valley, but nothing compares with October at the lake."

Was Ellie actually flirting with Peter Darwin? It seemed like it, and if I read things correctly, Peter didn't mind the attention at all.

"I planned to make the trip up the mountain to attend the Haunted Hamlet this weekend. Perhaps we can meet up somewhere?" Peter suggested.

"I'm working the zombie run in the morning on Sat.u.r.day, but maybe Friday evening or Sat.u.r.day afternoon? We have a new event this year. It's a haunted hayride, which promises fun for all who dare to venture into the ghostly forest."

"Perhaps Friday." Peter smiled. "I have your number; I'll call you to confirm a time and place."

Wow, way to go, Ellie. She'd come away from this trip with both a dog and a date, while all I'd managed to acquire was a clue to a murder mystery I'd sworn to myself I'd stay out of.

"Do you mind if we stop by the hardware store so I can try to talk to Puk?" I asked Ellie as we drove back down the dirt road connecting Peter's ranch to the county road that led to the highway.

Peter had shared that Puk, whose real name was John Pukman, owned Bryton Lake Hardware and could usually be found there at this time of day. If he remembered anything about the night the campers were killed, I wanted to have the chance to interview him before Salinger realized he could be a good lead in the murder investigation. Not that Salinger and I weren't getting along much better than we had originally; it was just that I still didn't put a lot of faith in the man's detective skills. He was okay at maintaining order in our community when it came to the easy stuff, like petty theft and handing out speeding tickets, but when it came to murder . . .

"Not at all," Ellie said. "Shep and I will take a walk around that park just down the street. It'll give us a chance to get to know each other. He really is a great dog."

"Yeah, he's a sweetie. I didn't realize he'd be a long-haired shepherd. He's going to require extra brushing, but his coat is gorgeous."

"Remind me to pick up a good brush and the other supplies I might need when we're at the feed store. I hope they're still open."

"They stay open late on weeknights," I confirmed.

"So do you think this Puk knows anything that can help explain Adam Davenport's death?" Ellie wondered.

"I don't know. Maybe. It just seems to be a huge coincidence that he comes to Ashton Falls to do research on a house where a terrible tragedy occurred at which he may have been present, and then turns up dead in that very same house thirteen years later."

"It does seem sort of spooky. I know the whole town was in an uproar when those counselors died, but other than the fact that the deaths were cla.s.sified as 'mysterious,' I don't remember a whole lot about them."

"Three counselors died while at the Henderson house. According to Trenton, one of the girls fell down the stairs, another was. .h.i.t on the head, and one of the boys ran out of the house and was. .h.i.t by a car that was fleeing the scene. A fourth counselor, another guy, disappeared and was never heard from again. Most people believe the missing counselor killed the others and then fled, but no one has ever figured out why."

By the time Ellie, Shep, and I got back to Ashton Falls it was time for me to leave for book club. Normally, it's on Thursdays, but with the opening of Haunted Hamlet the next night, we'd decided to move it up a day. Apparently, Wednesday really wasn't the best day for many of our members; as of the official start time, only Pappy, Hazel, Nick, and I had arrived.

"We can give it a few more minutes, but then I say we vote to table the discussion until next week," Hazel suggested.

That was fine with me. After the day I'd had, I was exhausted and anxious to get home to Zak and Charlie. Not that sitting in front of the warm fire Hazel had built in her brick fireplace wasn't pleasant. In fact, with the addition of the delicious wine she'd provided, I found that it was close to impossible not to nod off.