Haunted Hamlet.

by Kathi Daley.

This book is dedicated to Jessica Fischer, who jumped in to help me out when I commented on my Facebook page that I was having difficulty with the cover image for this book. You know what they say about it taking a village. Thank you, Jessica, for being part of my village.

I also want to thank Amy Brantley for her contribution of the recipe for loaded mashed potato bread.

And I must mention my team of advance readers for taking time out of their busy lives to help me launch each new book and the awesome bloggers in my life for helping me publicize them.

And, as always, love and thanks to my sister Christy for her time, encouragement, and unwavering support. I also want to thank Carrie, Cristin, Brennen, and Danny for the Facebook shares, Randy Ladenheim-Gil for the editing, and, last but not least, my super-husband Ken for allowing me time to write by taking care of everything else.

Chapter 1.

Friday, October 17.

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I know most people don't really get my obsession with all things spooky, but I love everything about this awesome time of year. I love the decorations, the annual events, horror movies on TV, personalized pumpkins, and finding the scariest costume of all. But it's not just the awesomeness of the holiday that I love, it's the coziness of the season. The romance of that first wood fire, hot cider with good friends, hiking through groves of aspens dressed in fall colors, and the scent of snow just around the corner.

"I'm thinking witch." My best friend, Ellie Davis, held up a mask with a huge wart on the nose. She'd been sort of down all week, so I was happy to see her enthusiasm for the pre-holiday shopping trip.

I frowned. "Weren't you a witch last year?"

"And the ten years before that," the third member of our triad, Levi Denton, added.

Ellie shrugged. "It's what I do. Every year: witch."

"Doesn't that seem a little boring?" I wondered.

"I think the word you're searching for is consistent." Ellie smiled.

"Come on, El, you need to make a little effort for the tenth annual Zoe Donovan Halloween Spooktacular," Levi persuaded.

"Technically we missed last year, so this is only the ninth annual Spooktacular," Ellie pointed out.

Ellie was right. Normally, I have a party every year, but last year my plans were interrupted by the discovery of a dead football coach in the bas.e.m.e.nt of a real haunted house. The same haunted house, I hate to say, that the Ashton Falls Events Committee voted to use as a venue for this year's Haunted Hamlet.

"Okay, then don't you want to make more of an effort for the ninth annual Spooktacular?" Levi corrected himself.

"Fine." Ellie sighed.

"How about this?" Levi held up a cat costume that was little more than a black unitard with ears and a tail.

"In your dreams." Ellie laughed. "I'm pretty sure that outfit will leave nothing to the imagination, and personally, I like to maintain just a bit of mystery."

"Come on; it's an awesome costume," Levi insisted.

"Then you wear it." Ellie grinned as she poked her index finger into his chest.

"It would show off my boyish figure," Levi teased as he jokingly held it up in front of his sculpted frame. "I have to admit I'm looking quite svelte since I've been putting in extra time at the gym so that I can keep up with Darla."

"Oh please." Ellie rolled her eyes. I knew that Levi's new girlfriend was a sore subject with the woman who had suffered the agony of falling in love with a man she would never have.

"Have you seen where they keep the pus?" I asked in an attempt to change the subject and break the tension.

"Pus? Really?" Ellie put her hands on her hips in disgust. "This is the first big party you and Zak have thrown as a couple. Don't you think you should go for something other than oozing wounds and external entrails?"

"It's Halloween," I pointed out. "Zak will expect pus."

"Personally, I'm thinking I'll woo the crowd with my gentleman pirate imitation," Levi offered as he plopped a pirate hat on his head. After taking a look at Levi, I realized that with his dark, wavy hair grown out, he had the looks to pull it off. "Would you perchance care to be my lady?" he asked Ellie.

"What about your actual lady?" Ellie responded.

"A pirate can never have too many ladies." Levi wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh please," Ellie repeated, picking up a plastic parrot and plopping it on Levi's shoulder.

"I was going to be a zombie," I offered, "but they seem so pa.s.se."

"If you get the zombie outfit, you can get twice the bang for your buck and use if for the zombie run," Levi pointed out.

"True. I was so busy with the murder investigation last year that I didn't even dress up for the zombie run. This year I plan to be corpse free so I can enjoy all the walking-dead fun."

"Did the guys I sent over from the football team get squared away?" Levi asked.

"Yeah, they're going to be great. Thanks for rounding them up."

Every year as part of the Haunted Hamlet, the town of Ashton Fall's sponsors a zombie run in which partic.i.p.ants attempt to complete a five-mile course with volunteers dressed as zombies chasing them. The zombies, who are often members of the high-school football team Levi coaches, try to "kill" the runners by capturing their flags before they cross the finish line. Usually only a handful of runners complete the course alive, but fun is had by all.

"I had a lot more volunteers this year because we don't have a game the night before," Levi commented.

"Why don't we have a game next weekend?" I asked.

Last Halloween Ashton Falls played our biggest rival, and the pregame hijinks the highly antic.i.p.ated event created caused quite a lot of trouble for everyone involved. It started with friendly pregame pranks and ended with a murder that threatened people and things I hold near and dear.

"We have a bye next weekend," Levi explained. "We play Juniper Valley tomorrow. You're coming?"

"I wouldn't miss it. How's Juniper's record this year?"

"Not as good as ours." Levi grinned.

"Undefeated after five games is quite a feat," I agreed. "I remember last year, when . . ."

"Watch out." Levi grabbed my arm as a group of elementary schoolaged boys ran down the aisle, knocking me into the shelving behind me in the process.

"There sure are a lot of kids in here," I commented as I righted myself.

"It is Halloween," Ellie said. "Halloween is a children's holiday."

"I guess we should have come in earlier in the day, while the little b.u.g.g.e.rs were in school." Aston Falls is a small town without a lot of shopping choices, so our annual venture had turned out to be a popular destination for others seeking seasonal costumes and decorations.

"Kids are fun," Ellie insisted.

"Sure, if you're observing them from behind security gla.s.s," I countered.

"Whatever." Ellie picked up a ghost costume and headed toward the checkout counter of the Halloween shop that had temporarily rented s.p.a.ce on Main Street. So much for Ellie's good mood. I guess I shouldn't have teased her about the kids. I like kids. I really do. It was just that today, with half the under-ten population of Ashton Falls gathered in one small s.p.a.ce, things were louder and much more hectic than I'm used to. Most of the time I prefer to enjoy the company of children in small doses. Very small doses.

"What's her deal?" Levi asked.

"I'm not sure. It seems like she's been in a bad mood all week. I know she broke up with boyfriend number seventeen. Maybe this whole marathon-dating thing she's been doing is getting to her."

After her fiance left her to return to his hometown, where he married the mother of his two-year-old daughter, Ellie had decided she wanted a baby of her own to fill the void left by the toddler she missed more and more every day. She'd wanted to look into having a baby the no-daddy way, but I'd convinced her to wait until she had a chance to really think things through. For the past three months she'd been out on a date almost every night, but so far she'd yet to meet Mr. Right.

"So why doesn't she just quit?" Levi wondered.

"You know why."

I felt bad for the difficult situation in which my two best friends had found themselves. I was certain that each loved the other, but I was equally sure that a relationship between them could never work. Ellie was obsessed with the idea of starting a family and Levi was equally committed to the idea of waiting to have children until some point in the very distant future, if at all.

"So anyway, you were saying before the mini tornado blew through?" Levi prompted.

I shrugged. "I forget. I don't think it was important. I'm going to go to check on Ellie."

I set the mask I'd been holding aside and wandered to the front of the store, where I'd spied Ellie at the checkout counter. I hated to see my best friend miss out on the fun of the season. Normally, Ellie was cheerful and easygoing. I guess her obsession with everything baby was really getting to her. At first I couldn't understand where she was coming from, but now that I have a baby sister and am able to experience firsthand how sweet and adorable infants can be, I guess I'm beginning to sympathize with her situation to some degree.

"Have you seen Zak?" I asked Ellie as I walked up beside her.

"In the back, looking at life-size monsters. The guy is really in to the whole decorating thing. If you aren't careful, your lakefront mansion is going to look like the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland."

"Wouldn't that be awesome?" I grinned. I know this may be hard to believe, but my world-traveling, been-there-done-everything boyfriend had apparently never been to a Halloween party. How does anyone get to the ripe old age of twenty-five without bobbing for apples or eating snacks out of a coffin at least once in their life?

"We still need to get together to discuss the food for the party," I added. "I'm thinking theme food, like mummy dogs and eyeball skewers."

"I'm sure I can come up with something," Ellie answered with little enthusiasm.

"And I was thinking maybe we should make up goodie bags for any trick-or-treaters we might get. I have a few ideas, but you're really the queen of the gift bag, if you want to help."

"Sure, that would be fun."

Ellie's tone of voice didn't really match the words she'd spoken, and I couldn't help but notice the tears that had welled up in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Come on, Ellie. You've been down all week, and we both know that you usually love Halloween."

"I know, and I do love Halloween. It's just that . . ." Ellie paused. She took a deep breath as she struggle to get her emotions under control. "You know, I think I've changed my mind about the costume. I'm just going to wear something I already have. Can you put this back for me?" She handed me the ghost costume.

"Can I help?"

"I have a bit of a headache. I think I'm just going to head home."

I watched as she turned toward the side door that exited into the parking lot.

"You don't want to come to dinner with us?" I called after her. The four of us had planned to go out for pizza and beer.

"Not tonight. I'll see you tomorrow."

I watched Ellie put her head down as she hurried away. Poor Ellie was really having a tough time. As her best friend, I felt like I should be able to do something to help her. The problem was that I had no idea what that something might be.

"Ellie leave?" Levi asked as he walked up behind me with the pirate costume in his arms.

"Yeah. I guess she wasn't feeling well. She said she was going to skip dinner and catch up with us tomorrow."

Levi frowned. "I guess I'll skip dinner too."

"Are you sure? You love beer-and-pizza night."

"I know, but I don't really feel like playing a third wheel and Darla is busy. I'll catch up with you tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll see you at the game. Maybe we can do something after," I suggested.

"Yeah, that would be fun. I'm sure we'll have a victory to celebrate."

"I'm sure we will. Mulligan's at six?"

"Sounds like a plan. Darla is out of town for the entire weekend at some yoga retreat, so it will just be the four of us, a.s.suming Ellie comes and doesn't bring one of her many-in-a-long-line of dates."

"I'll ask her, but she hasn't mentioned a date. Are you sure you don't want to come with Zak and me tonight?" I tried one last time.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Levi kissed me on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I felt bad that my friends were going to miss out on a weekly tradition, but as I looked across the store, I realized that their defection meant that I was going to have Frankenstein all to myself.

"What do you think?" Zak asked as he walked toward me with a mask over his head.

"It's perfect."

Zak is tall. Before I stopped resenting him and starting loving him, I often referred to him as Frankenstein freakishly tall.