Ghostly Graveyard (Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery Book 17) (11 page)

While I didn’t believe either man could be guilty, it seemed prudent somehow to speak to them before officially crossing them off the list. I’d see Ethan that night at book club, so I decided to head to the hospital to speak to Dr. Cutie Pie, the nickname I came up with for him pre-Zak. Ryder was a healer. I couldn’t imagine him as a killer, but in my experience, a lot of people I would never have believed capable of doing such a horrendous thing had turned out to be murderers after all.

“Ryder in?” I asked the nurse at the front desk.

“He’s in his office. You can go on back.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“No Charlie today?” the nurse asked.

“No. He’s at home. I’m just popping in to ask a quick question.”

“There’s a six-year-old girl with us who would really benefit from Charlie’s special brand of comforting if you have time to bring him by later.”

“Absolutely. I’ll bring him by right after lunch.”

I headed down the hallway to Ryder’s office. It had been a while since I’d brought Charlie by to do his therapy thing. I was going to have to make more of an effort. He provided a lot of comfort to those in pain. When Charlie and I had come up with the idea for him to serve as a therapy dog, it was Ryder Westlake who had made it happen.

“Hey, Zoe, where’s your better half?” Ryder greeted me when I walked into his office.

“Charlie isn’t with me now, but I’m going to bring him by after lunch. The reason I’m here is to ask about your Halloween costume.”

“Yeah, about that. I’m afraid I’m not going to make it to your party as I had originally planned. The doctor who was supposed to be on duty that night had a family emergency and had to fly home, so I’m covering for him.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe you can return your costume for a refund.”

“Don’t have to. I sold it to Benny Feldman last week.”

I frowned. Benny? I couldn’t believe he’d kill a man, but he’d been at the haunted house just a short time before I stumbled across the body, and if he had the black robe …

I tried to track down Benny, but he wasn’t at his job or his apartment. I considered just sharing what I knew with Lesserman, but I wasn’t certain Benny was guilty of anything and I didn’t want the deputy to start hassling him until I was sure.

When I got home from the hospital Zak had some interesting news that occupied the remainder of the morning.

“I’ve been looking into the possible link between Alvin and Isaac,” Zak informed me. “It seems that Alvin and Isaac’s father, George, were friends.”

“Friends? Friends how?”

“Based on the information I could dig up, it looks as if they met in college. They both attended Oxford between 1883 and 1887. Alvin was the son of a duke, so a higher education was expected of him, and although George was a commoner, his father was a scholar who published several volumes about the history of the area where they lived.”

“If Alvin was the son of a duke do we know why he was in Ashton Falls in 1915?” I asked.

“Not really. I found an old article that was published in a London newspaper that mentioned that Alvin was coming to America in 1895. He was thirty at the time. The article didn’t say why he was coming or how long he planned to stay, and I can’t find anything that explains what he was doing in a little mining town. It’s possible his stay in Devil’s Den was part of a different trip entirely. I’m still trying to find something that shows whether Alvin lived in America from 1895 until he died in 1915 or if he went back to England at some point after his 1895 trip and then returned in 1915.”

I stood behind Zak, looking over his shoulder at his computer screen. He was toggling back and forth between the various documents he’d uncovered. I suppose if Alvin and George were friends and Alvin had a mission he needed to entrust to someone he knew he could depend on, he might call upon that friend’s son. It still didn’t explain what he could have had in his possession that was so important that he would ask a man to travel halfway across the globe to retrieve.

“Did you uncover anything that might indicate whether Alvin had a wife and children?”

“No, but I’ll keep looking. I need to head over to the academy in an hour or so. I thought I’d grab some lunch. Care to join me?”

“I’d love to,” I found myself saying, despite the candy bar and taco I’d already eaten that morning. “By the way, Tiffany is all set to watch the house and the animals over Thanksgiving, so I guess the ski trip is on.”

Zak pulled me into his arms. “I love our life here, but I’m counting the days until I can have you all to myself.”

I wound my arms around Zak’s neck. “Yeah, me too. It’ll be nice to sleep in and not have to worry about having a million things to take care of.”

Zak kissed me on the lips. “And it will be nice to spend time in our private hot tub and not have to worry about getting kids to bed.”

I looked into Zak’s eyes. “So how hungry are you?”

“Suddenly, not at all. At least not for food.”

After Zak and I had “lunch,” Charlie and I headed to the hospital to visit the little girl. She was a tiny thing who looked lost in the big bed the hospital provided, with tubes and monitors attached to various parts of her body that Charlie and I would need to be careful not to disturb. I almost commanded Charlie to remain on the floor until I saw her whole face light up when Charlie jumped up onto the foot of her bed. I had him lie down next to the girl and then carefully arranged the equipment so it wouldn’t be disturbed.

“What’s his name?” the girl asked.

“Charlie. And I’m Zoe. What’s your name?”

“Charisa.”

“It looks like you have a lot of tubes for such a little girl.”

The girl sighed. “The doctors keep doing tests, but they don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

I frowned. “How long have you been sick?”

“A while. The doctors are trying to make me better, but it isn’t working.”

“I’m so sorry. I know how hard it is to be in the hospital.”

“It’s boring and the tests make me feel bad.”

Charlie put a paw on the girl’s stomach. She grinned. “Do you always come to the hospital?” she asked.

“Not always. I happened to stop by today and the nurse told me you needed some Charlie time.”

“Oh, I do. Can he come again?”

“I’ll speak to Dr. Westlake, but as long as it’s okay with him, we’ll definitely come again. Maybe even tomorrow if you’re still here.”

“I want to go home, but the doctors say I’m too sick. I don’t like it here, but I don’t want to go to another hospital either.”

“They might move you?”

“Dr. Westlake wants to send me down the mountain to a big hospital with a special doctor, but my mom can’t get off work to go with me and I don’t want to go by myself.”

“I can understand that. Tell me what you like to do when you aren’t in the hospital.”

Charisa and I talked for almost an hour before I realized I needed to leave. I spoke to Dr. Westlake, who confirmed that it would be fine for Charlie to come for another visit the next day. He also explained that Charisa needed to see a specialist, but the mother wouldn’t permit her daughter to be moved unless she could go with her and her boss was refusing to allow her paid time off. Maybe Zak and I could help in some way. If money was the only obstacle to getting Charisa the help she needed we would definitely do what we could.

By the time Charlie and I left the hospital it was time to pick Scooter up from school. He had soccer practice that afternoon, so there wouldn’t be time to talk to Zak about Charisa’s situation until later that evening.

“How was school?” I asked Scooter.

He grinned as he held up his spelling test, which had a giant
A
written on it in red ink.

“Awesome!” I raised my hand for a high-five.

“My teacher said she’s proud of me.”

“I’m proud of you too. We have soccer right now, but I think a congratulatory ice cream cone might be in order afterward.”

Scooter clicked his seat belt across his lap. “Coach said he’s going to make me and Tucker starting forwards. He said we’re a force to be reckoned with.”

I smiled. “You are at that. I’m glad Tucker decided to join the team. You work well together. I’m looking forward to the tournament in a couple of weeks.”

“Coach said if we make it to the championships we’ll play Thanksgiving week. I told him I wasn’t going to be here and he said he was sorry to hear that.”

“I imagine he was.”

“Do I have to go to my grandparents’?”

I pulled into the parking lot near the soccer field. “I really think you do. Your grandparents love you. They miss you. I know you have a life here now and it’s important to you, but your grandparents are your family. They want to spend time with you when they can and they haven’t seen you for a long time.”

“Yeah.” Scooter sighed. “I know.”

“Besides, your dad said he might be there. I know you’ll want to see him if he’s able to make it.”

“He won’t come. He never does.”

I hated to admit it, but I was willing to bet Scooter was right. Dang those parents who let their kids down time after time. It really wasn’t right.

“Grab your cleats. We don’t want to be late,” I instructed.

Soccer practice ran late, so by the time we got home it was time for me to leave again. Zak handed me a sandwich as I headed out the door. I thought about skipping book club, but I really did want to talk to Ethan. Not only was he one of the five men on the monk’s robe list and I really wanted to get him crossed off but he was a historian who might be able to shed some light on why Alvin had been in Devil’s Den in the first place.

Hazel had really outdone herself this evening. She presented a pleasant place for us to hold our meetings and consistently provided delicious snacks but in the spirit of Halloween, this week she’d gone all out with seasonal flower arrangements, scented candles, delicious and artfully presented appetizers, and holiday accents throughout.

“Your house looks amazing,” I complimented Hazel.

“Thank you, dear. I’m pleased with the way it turned out. I wanted a seasonal feel without the gaudy.”

I laughed. “Wait until you see our place. Zak has officially turned back into the overly obsessed Halloween decorator. Although I have to say the kids are feeding his frenzy. Especially Alex. I can’t believe how many different kinds of Halloween decorations you can buy. Every time I come home there’s a new mechanical monster or a blow-up figure in the yard.”

Hazel smiled. “Zak does tend to go overboard in his enthusiasm, but I’m happy to see him acting like a kid for a change. Alex too. They both have a tendency to be a bit too serious.”

“I guess that’s true,” I admitted. “I’m afraid Alex’s habit of overthinking things has landed her in a bit of a predicament.”

I explained about the situation she was facing with her mother and a trip she didn’t want to take over the holidays.

“I’ll think it over. I’m sure I can come up with something that even her parents will determine takes priority over a visit. Though I suspect convincing them might be easier than you think. It seems to me that they aren’t all that excited about having her with them anyway.”

I sighed. “So true. I imagine the invitation was a response to Alex’s less-than-sincere e-mail stating that she was sad they wouldn’t be together at Christmas. I bet they’ll be relieved if Alex is tied up in Ashton Falls.”

“I do feel bad for the poor girl. I’m glad she has you and Zak.” Hazel picked up a serving tray with small bites of several delicious creations. “I’m going to pass these around before we begin.”

“I need to speak to Ethan in private. Would it be okay to use your library?”

“Absolutely. I’ll ask him to meet you there. If you pull him aside everyone is going to wonder why, and we both know that once the group gets onto the murder case we’ll never get around to discussing the book.”

“Thanks. I’ll head back there now.”

This wasn’t the first time Hazel had helped me to separate those I needed to speak with from the crowd. I was sad that my grandma had passed and I missed her every day, but I didn’t want Pappy to spend his remaining days alone, and if he couldn’t be with Grandma, I would just as soon have him with Hazel. She was kind and intelligent and seemed to make him smile.

“You wanted to see me?” Ethan asked when he joined me in the library.

“Did you put on a monk’s robe and kill Duncan?”

“What? Why would you even ask that?”

“You’re on my list.” I held up the paper.

“And how did you come up with this particular list?” Ethan asked.

I explained about the robe and my discovery that seven of them had been in stock and six had been sold and picked up.

“It looks like everyone is crossed off except Benny,” Ethan observed.

“And you. Did you kill Duncan?”

“Of course not. I was at the Hamlet the entire evening. A lot of people saw me there.”

I crossed Ethan’s name off the list. “I didn’t really think you did it, but in the movies it’s always the person you least suspect.”

Ethan frowned. “And are we thinking Benny killed Duncan?”

I shrugged. “His is the only name left on the list and he was at the haunted house that night. In fact, he left about thirty minutes before I did. I also know he was miffed at Duncan for trashing the place. I hate to think he would be driven to killing the man, but it does seem to add up.”

“Have you spoken to him?” Ethan asked.

“Not yet. I looked for him today, but he wasn’t at work or at his apartment. I guess I’ll fill Lesserman in tomorrow. I didn’t want to throw Benny’s name into the mix if I wasn’t sure he was guilty, but it’s looking pretty damaging right now.”

“I think sharing what you know with the deputy is a good move. What does Zak think?”

“I haven’t actually asked him. He’s been busy trying to figure out how the Duke of Everlay and Isaac Wainwright are related.”

“Who’s the Duke of Everlay?”

I told Ethan everything I could remember about what Zak had discovered. I’d forgotten a few of the specifics like dates, but I thought I had a pretty good grasp on the situation.

“You say Isaac’s father went to college with the duke’s son?”

“That’s what Zak said.”

Ethan frowned. “I might know something, but I need to do some checking. The books I need are at my house. I’m game to skip the book discussion and pick this conversation back up at my place if you are.”

“Let’s go. The sooner I get this whole thing figured out the better.”

Ethan’s house looked exactly like you’d expect the home of a single male history professor who’d traveled the world would. The walls were lined with shelves that held books, art, and artifacts. The entire house was decorated in tones of brown and beige, and the furniture had been selected for comfort rather than aesthetic appeal.

Ethan’s office featured a huge desk that was surrounded by file cabinets and bookshelves. The only softness to the room was the large fluffy white cat who watched us from the sofa.