Halloween Hijinks (A Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 1) (11 page)

It almost killed me to do
it, but I added his name to the list.

“What about Tawny?
” Zak asked. “She runs the preschool. I’m sure some of her kids must grow up to play football.”

“No,” I disagreed, “the timing is wrong
. Tawny started the preschool five years ago. None of her kids would have been old enough to play football when Griswold   coached the kiddie league and none are in high school yet, so they wouldn’t play for him now. Gilda Reynolds’ theater arts program might have some kids that overlap, though.”

Zak added her to the list.

“Are you wearing a costume to the pep rally?” I changed the subject. I wanted to find Griswold’s killer and clear Levi, but our current exercise seemed futile at best. Neither of us really believed that anyone from the committee had killed Griswold. I suppose making the list made us feel like we were doing
something
,
but in the end I knew that Griswold’s killer wouldn’t be found among the town’s most dedicated volunteers.

“I have a mask I wore a few years
ago. I figured I’d slip it on,” Zak said. “You?”

“To be honest
, I haven’t had a chance to give it much thought. I’m supposed to meet Ellie in a half hour, so I won’t have time to come up with much.”

“We’ll stop by my place on the way
. I have several masks from years past. You can borrow one.”

The high school gymnasium was packed to capacity with fans gathered to celebrate their team. Hazel must have gotten the word out about the costumes; a good two-thirds of those in attendance had on a mask or costume of one type or another. “The place is packed,” I commented as Zak and I squeezed in next to Ellie on a wooden bench of the gymnasium bleachers. Levi was busy with the team, so I doubted we’d see him again until after the game.

“
Planet of the Apes
?” Ellie asked as she considered my mask.

“Planet of the I didn’t have a costume and Zak had this on hand
,” I replied. “I like your costume. Those shorts are like, wow, but I have to say you make a pretty believable Daisy Duke.”

“Thank
s.”

Zak, who was sitting to my left
, was speaking to Nick Benson, on his other side and wearing a Frankenstein head, a torn white lab coat left over from the forty years he’d practiced medicine in Ashton Falls, and sturdy boots.

“I’m not sure I like the cheerleaders’ new uniforms,” Ellie
said as the ten girls who made up the spirit squad marched onto the stage. “They seem too dark.”

The old uniforms
had been gold with accents of black, while the new uniforms were black with only the school letters in gold. Personally, I like the black, but Ellie is known for her love of all things bright and flashy.

The gym vibrated with enthusiasm as the girls beg
an the routine they must have spent hours perfecting. It was good to be part of such a large body of positive energy after the stress of the past twenty-four hours. There had been some speculation that the game would be canceled with the news of Coach Griswold’s death, but the administration at Bryton Lake Academy had decided it was best to play the game as scheduled with the assistant coach filling in.

The noise in the gym was overwhelming as fans clapped their hands, stomped their feet, and shouted along with the girls leading the cheers
. It was getting hot, so I took off my ape head and set it on the bench beside me.

“Here comes Levi
.” Ellie grabbed my arm in excitement as Levi made his way to the stage to introduce the team. “Doesn’t he look handsome?”

I turned to look at Ellie
, who suddenly seemed like a teenager in love. Levi and Ellie? I’d never stopped to consider the fact that I might be the third wheel in our trio. I always figured if there was going to be a pairing off, it would be Levi and me. Of course, I’d rejected that idea years ago.

I watched Ellie as she cheered for each member of the team as
his name was announced. Her eyes glowed, her cheeks were flushed, and her smile seemed to light up the already bright gym. There was no doubt about it: Ellie was in love and, based on the way her attention was glued to Levi, I couldn’t deny who she was jonesing for. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. On one hand, I loved both Levi and Ellie and wanted them to be happy, but on the other, a romance between the two would definitely alter the dynamic that had served us well for most of our lives.

“You know,” Ellie leaned toward me so that I could hear her over the roar in the room, “as much as I don’t like the cheerleaders’ new uniforms
, I really love the new jerseys the guys got. Levi looks really good in black, don’t you think?”

“
Black is a good color for him,” I said.

I diverted my attention from Ellie’s happy smile t
o Levi’s somewhat more forced one as he presented an obviously rehearsed speech. I couldn’t help but wonder if Levi was crushing on Ellie the way she seemed to be crushing on him. Neither had said anything about a change in their relationship status, and I had to believe that if the pair acted on their newfound feelings they would say something. Wouldn’t they?

“What’s with the frown?
” Zak put his freakishly large arm around my shoulder.

“Just thinking about the murder,” I lied.

“Not much we can do about it at this point, so you may as well relax and enjoy the show.”

“Has Levi said anything to you about having a new girlfriend?
” I found myself asking almost against my will.

“Girlfriend
? Why, you crushing on him?”

I rolled my eyes
. “Of course not. It’s just…” I hesitated. “Never mind.”

“I think he was going out with th
e new physical education teacher at the high school, but I seem to remember him saying they broke up.”

“Yeah,” I acknowledged
. “That’s been over for a while.”

One of the cheerleaders fell from the human pyramid and everyone in the
gym groaned.

“It looks like the rally is about over,” Ellie stated. “I told Levi we’d meet up afterward and grab lunch. He’ll be tied up the rest of the afternoon with prep for the game.”

“You guys go ahead
. I really should stop by to check in at the shelter. I’ll meet you there.”

“Want me to order for you?
” Ellie offered.

“Veggie
sandwich on whole wheat,” I answered. “Oh and apple crisp for dessert if Rosie has any today.  I won’t be long.”

I didn’t really need to stop in at the shelter; Jeremy was quite capable of handling whatever might come up in my absence. I just used the visit as an excuse to put a little distance between Ellie and me while I figured out what I was going to do about the whole Levi situation. I’d known Ellie for long enough to recognize when she was hooked on someone, and if I was reading things correctly, her feelings toward Levi had migrated from friendship toward something more.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Jeremy greeted
me the minute I walked through the door.

I bent down as Charlie trotted over to
say hello. Most times I took Charlie with me wherever I went, but I figured the noise and intensity of the rally would be too much for the little guy.

“Bryton Lake called and asked if we could take four more dogs
. They said they’d deliver them if need be. Someone brought in ten rescues and they’re booked beyond capacity.”

“Bryton Lake is always booked to capacity
. Don’t they ever recruit people to adopt their dogs?” I sounded bitchy and I knew it. I know the folks at the Bryton Lake shelter do the best they can with what they have to work with.

“Does that mean no?
” Jeremy sounded uncertain.

“No
, of course we’ll take the dogs. I’m sorry; I guess this murder thing is getting to me.”

The truth of the matter was
, it was less the murder and more the Levi and Ellie thing that had my knickers in a knot, but I wasn’t going to admit that to Jeremy. “How many dogs do we currently have on-site?”

“Eight
. I arranged for three adoptions this morning.”

W
e had the capacity for more than twenty. “Okay, tell Bryton Lake we’ll take eight dogs. That’ll give them a little leeway if they have any other dogs come in over the weekend. We could use a few more for the pet adoption booth at the picnic anyway. By the way, did we put an ad in the paper?”

“I dropped it off yesterday
. A copy of the proof is on your desk.”

“How are
our lumberyard mama and kittens doing?”

“Good
.” Jeremy smiled. “They seem to have settled right in. I already have a waiting list for the babies once they’re old enough for homes. I thought I’d talk to Willa about the mama cat if no one claims her. I put her photo in the lost-and-found section of the paper this morning.”

“Did you get a chance to put a poster on the billboard in the park?
”

“Not yet
. I planned to do it as soon as I got a chance.”

“I’ll take care of it,” I offered
. “I’m supposed to meet Ellie and Levi for lunch, so I can do it on the way. I’m not sure if I’ll be back before the game. Call me if you need me.”

“Your cell on?
” Jeremy teased. He knew I was famous for leaving it off.

“Yeah, it’s on.”

“You taking Charlie?”

“Yeah, I’ll take him with me
. See you at the game?”

“Count on
it.”

By the time I met up with the others, our food had been delivered and the gang was enthralled in a conversation regarding defensive strategy against the high-scoring Beavers. I settled Charlie under the table before sitting down next to Zak. On any other day I wouldn’t have welcomed Zak’s presence, but today I found myself thrilled that he was in attendance, saving me from feeling like a third wheel. I realized that I was going to have to figure out a way to deal with the Levi and Ellie situation if I was going to maintain a friendship with two of the most important people in my life, but first I had to figure out if whether either of them even realized there was a situation to figure out.

“I’m telling you,” Zak was saying as I sat down next to him, “the
Beavers have two guys who can carry the ball. Immobilize them and you immobilize the whole team.”

“That may be
, but those two guys are averaging two TDs a piece per game,” Levi countered. “Short of an injury to one or both, I think the only way we’re going to beat the Beavers is to outscore them. Luckily, their defense is worse than ours.”

“Everything okay at the shelter?
” Zak asked as I bit into my sandwich. “You were gone longer than we expected.”

“Bryton Lake is sending over some more dogs
. I had to get the details worked out.”

“Didn’t you pick dogs up from them yesterday?
” Levi asked.

“Yeah
, but they just received a delivery of rescue dogs and needed more room.”

“I heard they busted a guy for running a puppy m
ill in the area,” Ellie added. “Hazel told me that some guy had twenty dogs locked up in cages so small they could barely walk around,  The poor things were so emaciated you could see their ribs. When I think of what the poor dogs must have gone through, I get so mad.”

I pushed my sandwich aside
. If I didn’t feel bad before concerning my outburst over the extra dogs, I certainly did now. I told Jeremy we’d take eight dogs, but we had room for more. Maybe I’d call him back and see if I could find out if any of the puppy mill dogs were taken to other shelters in the area. Ellie said there were twenty dogs and Bryton Lake was set to receive ten. I wondered where the other half had gone.

“Zoe, I’m glad I ran into you,” Er
nie Young from the market greeted me. “I have the items you requested for the kiddie carnival in my van. I was going to drop them off at the shelter, but it looks like you aren’t in.”

I smiled at Ernie’s attempt at humor
. “You can leave everything with Jeremy. Were you able to get the bean bags for the tic-tac-toe game?”

“I
got them, and some extra-large balloons as well. My toy supplier happened to come by as I was ordering the prizes we talked about, and he donated six boxes of stuffed animals.”

“Wow, really
. That’s awesome,” I replied.

“Did you ever find enough zombies for the run?
” Ernie asked.

The zombie run
. In all the death and mayhem, I had totally forgotten about the zombies. I groaned and buried my face in my hands. There was no way I was going to find enough recruits by tomorrow morning.

“Zak rounded up some guys,” Levi
said. “I meant to tell you, but with everything else going on… You should have around twenty, and most of them have done it before. I told them to be at Coopers Field by seven.”