Free Halloween Hijinks (A Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 1) by Kathi Daley Page A

take-out bag that contained a double cheeseburger and fries. “The staff has been super nice, but I’m pretty sure they’re trying to starve me.”
    “Any idea when you’ll be moved down the mountain for surgery? ” I pulled a table over to Warren’s bed and set the bag where he could reach it easily.
    “My parents are still trying to work that out . There’s some problem with the insurance. I just wish they’d let me wait at home. Sitting here all day is getting to me. Luckily, Michael is coming by after football practice and has promised to spend the rest of the afternoon.”
    “Michael Valdez? ” I confirmed, as Warren dug into his lunch.
    “Yeah . We hung out at my dad’s camp last summer and became good friends. It’s killing me that I won’t be able to play in the big game with him and the rest of the guys.”
    “I’m sure the team misses you,” I sympathized . “Did you ever hear anything more about who ran you off the road?”
    “Not officially , but the guys are convinced it was Griswold. He has a reputation for doing anything it takes to win. I’ve never played for him, but  Michael did when he was a kid. Say’s the guy is bad news.”
    “Bad news? ” I asked.
    Warren shoved a handful of fries into his mouth and chewed . “Michael said he was obsessed with winning. His practices were brutal, and if you screwed up, he made you run laps till you dropped. A lot of kids ended up quitting.”
    “I’m surprised the ir parents didn’t complain.”
    Warren shrugged . “A few did, but the team was mostly undefeated so most didn’t say anything. There’s something most parents won’t ʼfess up to, but the truth is, they like to win.”
    I talked with Warren a while longer and then returned to the shelter. The least glamorous part of my job is the significant amount of cleaning that’s required to keep all the pens and cages sanitized. Jeremy and I usually trade off cleaning the bear cage, and today was my turn. Not a pleasant way to spend the afternoon, but a necessary one all the same.
    Other than cleaning i t had been a slow afternoon, so I decided to cut out early. I was trying to decide whether to use the time to go kayaking or hit the haunted barn when my phone rang. It was Jeremy, informing me that someone had called to complain about a dog howling at the Henderson place. He had a date and wondered if I’d have time to check it out.
    Let me state for the record that I am normally a brave sort who rarely shies away fro m any act that’s required to do my job and do it well. But Hezekiah Henderson was a crazed lunatic in life and has, by all accounts, continued to be just as crazy in death.
    “You want me to respond to a call at the Henderson place? ” I asked. “Alone?” I cringed. “You know that place is haunted.”
    “I know . I’d go myself, but Gina really isn’t one to be kept waiting.”
    “I really don’t understand why you continue to date her,” I found myself saying, even though it was really none of my business.
    “Have you seen her? ”
    I had .
    “Okay, I’ll go.” I looked reluctantly at the darkening sky. “What’s the situation exactly?”
    “The neighbors to the south called and complained that there’s been a dog howling for hours. They think it’s trapped inside the house and asked if we could pick it up.”
    “Okay,” I sighed, “I’m on my way.”
     
    The Henderson house, under any other circumstances, would most likely be considered a quite normal place. Two-storied with an attic, it sits toward the back of a large, overgrown lot surrounded by an iron fence and an impenetrable gate that opens onto a dirt drive leading to a walkway comprised of four rotted steps and an equally rotted porch. Hezekiah had been an old man already when I was a child. A crazy old man, I’d like to reiterate. Although he seemed to have adequate financial resources to do whatever it was he wanted, what he chose was to live as a recluse who rarely, if ever, left