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

them have kids who might have played football for Griswold at some point?” Zak asked. “Maybe if we can narrow down who might have a motive, it will point us in the right direction.”
    I thought about it . “Ellie, Levi, and I are all on the committee. None of us have kids, but I guess if we’re looking at things in a totally unbiased way, we’d have to have Levi on the list; it’s well known that he cares deeply for the kids he coaches and would feel protective toward them.”
    “Do you have a pad of paper? ” Zak asked.
    “Top drawer next to the phone.”
    Zak retrieved the pad and wrote down my name, as well as Ellie’s and Levi’s. He put a star next to Levi’s name. “I think we should look at not only committee members but those with proximity to committee members who might have access to the letterhead.”
    “Like family members or employees?”
    “Exactly.”
    I systematically worked through the committee members in my mind . “Willa Walton has a son, Jeremiah, who used to play football, but he graduated two years ago so I doubt she’d try to get revenge at this point. Frank Valdez has a son currently on Levi’s team. He’s a senior now, but Warren mentioned to me that Michael played kiddie league with Griswold before he left the area to serve as coach for Bryton Lake. Still, I can’t see Frank killing anyone.”
    Zak added Frank and Willa to the list.
    I thought about the other members of the committee . Although Hazel Hampton didn’t have children of her own, as the town librarian she was known and loved by many of the kids, Like Frank and Levi, I couldn’t imagine she could hurt a fly, but I suggested to Zak that we add her.
    My dad , Hank Donovan, was on the committee and had only one child, me, who didn’t play football, though Gary Quinby, who had worked at Donovan’s all through high school, had played for Griswold. Gary was in New York attending college, so it seemed unlikely he was behind the blackmail, and there was no way my dad would hurt anyone, although he did tend to be overprotective of those he loved.
    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