Haunted Hamlet (Zoe Donovan Mystery) Read Online Free Page A

in the barn. I imagine that was how the cat got out. Joel probably left the door open while going back and forth between the two structures and then closed it when he left.
    The house was murky and dusty , with cobwebs hanging from every corner. After old Hezekiah died, the house had been boarded up with all of his furniture and personal possessions inside. Over the years, many of the items had been stolen, but rotting furniture, including a sofa and several chairs, still remained. Many of the walls were covered in graffiti, and the dust on the floor was so thick that you couldn’t make out the original color of the wood.
    The cat seemed to be waiting for me to follow her , so I headed toward the hallway, where she stood. I paused as something crashed overhead.
    “What’s that noise?” Ellie whispered.
    “I’m not sure.” It sounded like someone was walking around upstairs.
    “You should get out of there while you still can,” Ellie warned.
    “I’m fine. It was probably just the wind blowing in through an open window. I really want to find the kittens.”
    “Do you see the mother cat?”
    “ Yeah, she’s heading down the hall. I think she wants me to follow her.”
    I began walking in the direction the cat seemed to be leading. She stopped and turned around every few feet, as if to ensure that I was following. If I had to guess, she hadn’t been on her own for long and welcomed the help that she somehow knew I was willing to provide.
    “Maybe you should just go back tomorrow during the day . I really don’t like the idea of you poking around in there by yourself when it’s getting dark. Weird stuff happens in that house after dark.”
    “I’ll be fine,” I assured her as I headed down a narrow hallway. “I really want to get the cat and her babies to safety. She looks overwhelmed.”
    “She’s a cat. I doubt cats get ‘overwhelmed.’”
    “Obviously you’ve never had a cat.”
    “Maybe not, but we both know that you tend to attribute human emotion to animals. I’m sure the cat is fine, but I’m not sure you will be if you wander around that rickety old place at night.”
    “It’s twilight , not night,” I pointed out.
    I followed the black cat toward the back of the house. Most of the rooms were bedrooms, covered in dust and cobwebs. Many still possessed the furniture that must have belonged to Hezekiah Henderson, while others likely had been stripped bare by vandals.
    “ She’s headed to the basement,” I informed Ellie. “She just went down the stairs.”
    “Zoe Donovan , if you find another body, I am never going to speak to you again.”
    “Don’t worry ; I’ll be fine.” I walked slowly down the steps to the basement and let out a short scream as I opened the door.
    “What’s wrong?” Ellie demanded.
    “It’s okay.” I took a deep breath as my heart rate slowed back to a normal rhythm. “It was just a rat.”
    “Do you see anything?” Ellie asked.
    I looked around. “Not so far. I’m going to check the back of the room.”
    I tried to convince myself that there was nothing to worry about in spite of the murky shadows and scurrying sounds all around me. I’d pretty much convinced myself that the feeling of being watched was all in my imagination until I saw a pile of old sheets shaped suspiciously like a body. I was about to tell Ellie to call 911 when the body in the sheets moved and I passed out cold on the dusty floor of Hezekiah Henderson’s house of horrors.
     
    “So it was just a sheet full of old rags.” Levi laughed as I told him the story.
    “It was humiliating a nd not at all funny,” I said with a groan as I looked around Mulligan’s Bar and Grill to make sure no one was listening in on our conversation. Several patrons were sitting at the bar carving pumpkins for the annual contest, while “Monster Mash” played in the background. It appeared as if the occupants of the bar were busy listening to the music or involved in their own conversations,