Zoe Donovan Mystery: Haunted Hamlet Part 8

"The fire was already built?" I asked.

"Yeah, there was wood and paper already in the fireplace, and extra wood nearby."

Interesting.

"Go on," I encouraged.

"Some of the counselors had brought alcohol, so after we lit the fire we all started smoking and drinking. Looking back on it, I think there was something in the pot because everyone started acting really weird."

"Weird how?" Zak asked.

Dawn shrugged. "Just different than people usually act when they smoke pot. Instead of everyone getting silly and mellow, it seemed like the group took on a sort of manic mood. It got worse when strange stuff started happening."

"What sort of strange stuff?" Zak asked.

Dawn looked uncertain. "I'm not sure if I should say. We all promised not to."

"Griff already told us quite a lot. We just wanted to get another perspective," I pushed.

Dawn looked at Zak, who smiled at her rea.s.suringly.

"It started with all sorts of strange sounds coming from the attic."

"What sort of sounds?" Zak asked.

"There was a lot of thumping and there was this humming sound I can't really describe. Everyone commented on it, and looking back, I know we should have been scared, but we weren't. Everyone started telling jokes about partying with ghosts, and our overall mood was pretty darn close to euphoria."

"So when did the really weird stuff start happening?" Zak asked.

Dawn fidgeted with a napkin while she gathered her thoughts. I felt bad that we were asking her to relive such a horrible memory, but I had the feeling that the deaths of the counselors thirteen years ago and the death of Adam Davenport now were somehow related.

"I guess the first really strange thing that happened was this lamp that flew across the room and hit Carol in the head. She was out cold, but she was breathing, and she wasn't really bleeding all that much, so we moved her to the side of the room and kept partying. I can see now how dumb that was, but like I said, whatever was in that pot made everyone really happy. I had no idea that Carol was really hurt and I don't think anyone else did either."

"So what happened after Carol was. .h.i.t in the head?" I asked.

"Nothing at first, and then the fire went all wonky. Flames were shooting out and there were embers flying everywhere. I'm pretty sure whoever built the fire put firecrackers in some sort of fire-resistant container that took a while to burn through. One of the burning embers got caught in Rachael's hair and she took off running."

I could see that the memory was difficult for Dawn. A tear slid down her cheek.

"She tripped on something and fell down the stairs. Unlike Carol, who we thought was fine, we knew right off that Rachael was dead."

Dawn wiped the tear from her face with the back of her hand.

"After that, everyone freaked out. People started yelling and running toward the cars. I'd come with Rachael, so I wasn't sure what to do, but Griff grabbed my arm and pulled me into his car. This guy George ran right in front of us. Griff hit him and . . ."

Dawn closed her eyes and dropped her head.

"It's okay." Zak took her hand in his.

"It wasn't Griff's fault," Dawn insisted. "There was no way he could have stopped in time. It seemed like that kid couldn't even see us. He was running around and screaming, paying no attention to where he was going." She looked at Zak for a moment. "I probably shouldn't have told you who was driving. We all promised not to."

"It's okay. What happened occurred a long time ago."

"So at this point, when everyone was driving away, can you remember where the others were?" I brought the conversation back around to the subject at hand.

Dawn paused to think about it. "Rachael was still lying at the foot of the stairs, I was with Griff in his car, George was lying on the ground near our car, and Marie took off with Adam in Adam's car." Dawn bit her lip as she tried to remember. "I don't know where Drake was. He might have already left. I do remember that Bart went back in to get Carol, who we thought was still alive."

"Bart is the counselor who turned up missing?" I confirmed.

"Yeah. No one ever did find out what happened to him."

"Were you aware at the time that Bart never came back out of the house?"

She shook her head. "Griff pulled George's body to the side of the drive and we left. He was pretty freaked out. He was worried about getting in trouble for what happened, so he made me promise not to tell."

"Who else knew that Griff hit George?"

Dawn thought about it. "Bart saw what happened. Marie and Adam had already left, and like I said, we were pretty sure Drake had left as well."

"And the girl whose name you don't remember?" I asked. "Do you remember where she was?"

Dawn frowned. "No. I'm sorry. I think she'd already left. I'm really not sure. It was all so crazy."

"And after that night?" I wondered.

"No one other than those of us at the party knew that anything had happened until the next day. Those of us who were able to snuck back into our cabins and acted like we'd never even left."

"Then what happened?" Zak asked.

"When the four missing counselors didn't show up at breakfast, the administration called the cops. Eventually, they found the three bodies. No one ever did find out what happened to Bart. Maybe he just got scared and took off. The sheriff asked everyone at the camp a bunch of questions, but we'd all agreed not to say anything about what happened at the house. We kept saying that we didn't know anything and after a while they stopped asking."

"And in all of these years you've never told anyone what really happened?" Zak asked.

"Not until now."

Chapter 8.

Friday, October 24

When Charlie and I got to the Zoo the next morning, Jeremy informed me that he might have tracked down our mama cat's owner. Apparently, someone had reported a missing cat matching her description a couple of weeks earlier. Taking in strays can be a risky venture when it comes to your heart. While I hadn't had time to bond with the mother cat and her offspring, and hoped that we would find her owner if she had one, I couldn't help but be reminded of the heartache I'd suffered when I'd taken in a pregnant dog named Maggie the previous fall. Maggie was a rescue dog from a puppy mill, and it never occurred to me that she had owners who were looking for and missed her. I gave Maggie my heart only to have it ripped apart when the little girl who loved her was located and I had to let Maggie go.

Of course, I have warm memories of Maggie as well. Zak and I helped deliver her pups, and I can remember sitting by her side for hours, watching her nurse the little darlings. And it did feel good to reunite the little girl with the dog she loved. Reuniting animals with their owners is part of why I went into the animal rescue and rehabilitation profession in the first place.

After meeting with the woman and confirming that the cat we found was indeed hers, I called Zak and arranged for her to pick the mom and kittens up at the house. I'd had a long discussion with her about finding perfect homes for the babies and having the mama spayed once the kittens were weaned. Luckily, she agreed to both.

While he had me on the line, Zak informed me that he'd come up with a phone number for Marie Good, who seemed disinclined to discuss the events of the evening in question. Zak filled me in on the small amount of information he did manage to get out of her, which I in turn shared with Jeremy, who had been listening in on bits of our conversation, after Zak and I hung up.

"Zak told her about Davenport?" Jeremy asked.

"He did. She told Zak that she was sorry to hear that he was dead, and that she really liked him. She indicated that of the counselors who attended the party that night, he seemed to be the most serious and down-to-earth."

"The whole thing was such a tragedy," Jeremy commented.

"It really was. She indicated that the things that happened that night had seemed supernatural in nature and couldn't be explained by logic or rational means," I informed my a.s.sistant.

"So she believes in ghosts?"

"Zak thinks what she believes is a lot worse than a ghost. He said she seemed really scared and even went as far as to say that the house was alive and out for revenge. Zak said she very sweetly asked him to keep her out of the current investigation. It seemed that, although she had moved across the country, she was still concerned for her own safety and wanted nothing to do with the house or its victims."

"Wow, spooky."

After I finished my ch.o.r.es at the Zoo, Charlie and I headed into town to help out with the Haunted Hamlet. The majority of the events would take place over the weekend, but the maze and hayride both opened today, as did the jack-o'-lantern viewing in the park. The pumpkin-carving contest would be held tomorrow, but for tonight, the gazebo would be used as the judging area for the annual bake-off. The bake-off was only open to amateurs, so Ellie wasn't eligible to partic.i.p.ate; as she did most years, she'd agreed to serve as one of the judges.

"So how are the entries this year?" I asked Ellie, who was making her way from table to table, tasting the final products.

"Really delicious. As you know, the committee decided to have several rounds this year. Pies were first, followed by cakes, and now we're tasting cookies and cookie bars. By the time I get around to sweetbreads and m.u.f.fins, I'm going to need elastic in my pants."

Ellie took a small bite of Mrs. Wailington's peanut b.u.t.ter cookie before complimenting her on the flavor and making a note on the judge's sheet attached to her clipboard.

"Many of the entries are very commonplace," Ellie whispered after stepping off to the side, where no one would be able to overhear her. "It seems if they made the requirements a bit more difficult, we wouldn't have as many entries. We had over twenty cookies entered in that one category alone."

I waved at Ellie's mom, Rosie, who was tasting a cookie at another table. "It's fun for average cooks to be able to enter. Not everyone can be culinarily gifted, like you and your mom."

"Yeah, I guess, but as a judge who has to taste every one, it feels like there are just too many chocolate chip cookies to really do justice to any one entry."

"What's been your favorite so far?" I asked as Ellie took a sip from her water bottle.

"Do you mean of the cookies I've tasted so far, or overall?"

"Overall."

Ellie thought about it. "I'm partial to pies, so my favorite overall would be the banana cream pie Mrs. Barker made. Although her daughter-in-law's blackberry pie was equally delicious. Oh, and then there was the ice cream pie with freshly churned apricot ice cream. Darn; now I'm getting hungry."

"You're welcome." I smiled. "I know cookies aren't your favorite, so I figured if I got you thinking about pies, you'd be able to finish the cookies."

"Clever."

"How many do you have left?" I wondered as Ellie headed back toward the judging area.

"Three more cookies and then seven sweetbreads and five m.u.f.fins in about an hour."

"Too bad you couldn't enter your triple berry m.u.f.fins or pumpkin spice bread. Either one is blue-ribbon worthy."

"I have a new m.u.f.fin recipe I'm working on that's even better than the triple berry. I'll bring a few over when I get a chance."

My mouth was already beginning to water. Ellie was a genius at everything she made, but her m.u.f.fins were the best I had ever tasted. She always seemed to get them light and fluffy, yet they held together when you ate them. I hated it when m.u.f.fins crumbled in your hand when you took a bite or were so heavy you needed antacids to digest them.

"Where's Shep while you're eating your way into a larger pant size?" I asked.

Ellie greeted the woman at table eight before taking a bite of her German chocolate cookie bar. The obvious surprise on Ellie's face indicated that she liked it more than she'd thought she would. She praised the woman and then moved on to the next table before answering my question.

"Levi has Shep for the afternoon. He took him for a run and then to the beach. He's stopped by several times since I brought Shep home. They seem to really like each other. I wouldn't be surprised if Levi isn't the next friend to ask you to find the perfect dog."

"Levi doesn't like to be tied down," I pointed out.

Ellie frowned and dropped her eyes. Perhaps that wasn't the best thing to bring up.

"However," I added, "I bet that once he spends time with Shep, he'll find he'd like a little buddy of his very own."

"Maybe." Ellie shrugged, as if she didn't care, but I knew that she did.

"So is Peter still 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 ch.o.r.es 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 a.s.sured 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."