Deja Diva Read online

  Deja Diva

  A Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery

  by

  Kathi Daley

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 by Katherine Daley

  Version 1.0

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Next from Kathi Daley Books

  Chapter 1

  Every hero has his or her nemesis. Mine is a chameleon named Claudia Lotherman. I first met Claudia in Alaska, where she was pretending to be an old woman named Ethel Montros in order to hide out from the Interpol agents hot on her trail. I’d suspected something was off about the woman almost from the beginning, but it wasn’t until one of the guests was murdered at the inn where Zak and I had been staying that I began to suspect exactly how off she really might be.

  As it turned out, Claudia was not only a fugitive on the run but a middle-aged master of disguise who kidnapped and tried to kill me once she realized I was onto her.

  Fortunately, I managed to get away.

  Unfortunately, so did she.

  We next crossed paths in Ashton Falls just before my wedding to the love of my life, Zak Zimmerman. This time, Claudia was disguised as Longines Walters, a stylist who’d been hired by Zak’s mother to try to make me presentable for my wedding to her rich and high profile son. Longines was part of a wedding planning team living in my home, and while I spoke to him every day during his stay, I still hadn’t realized that the portly man with the unusual sense of style was really the tall thin woman I’d scuffled with while in Alaska.

  Again, she tried to kill me.

  Again, I got away.

  Unfortunately, again, so did she.

  Claudia next drifted into my life shortly after my daughter, Catherine, was born. This time, instead of attempting to kill me directly, she kidnapped Zak and then made me participate in a ridiculous contest she’d titled The Sleuthing Game. To be honest, that one almost did me in. Looking back, I’m still not sure how I survived the game and saved Zak’s life, but somehow I had.

  I’d hoped that by beating Claudia at her own game, she’d realize I was a worthy adversary and move on to other prey.

  Of course, as I was soon to discover, finding a worthy adversary with whom to play had been her end game all along.

  “Zoe?” Hazel Donovan, my grandfather’s wife and the town librarian, asked in a tone that left no doubt that she’d asked me a question and had been expecting a reply.

  “I’m sorry,” I smiled weakly, trying to focus my attention. “I guess my mind wandered.”

  “I asked if the plans for the haunted barn have been finalized. The Haunted Hamlet is scheduled to kick off in just nine days. I need to know that everyone has done their part.”

  I looked around the room at the other members of the Ashton Falls Events Committee, which had been founded years ago to oversee the numerous events the town held on a monthly basis. While many of the members had changed over the years, the core group still gathered on Tuesdays at ten.

  “Everything’s set,” I promised Hazel. I glanced at my best friend, Ellie Denton. “Ellie found a location and has taken care of signing the rental agreement, and Zak and Levi are putting together a decorating crew,” I referred to my husband, Zak Zimmerman, and Ellie’s husband, Levi Denton. “The event will run for four nights, Thursday, October twenty-second through Sunday the twenty-fifth.” I glanced at my father, Hank Donovan, who was sitting next to me. “I’m particularly excited about the fact that we’ll have a full moon on Halloween this year and wanted to ask about extending the hours for the spooky maze on Halloween night. Since we decided to have the haunted barn the previous weekend, the maze will be the only major event open on the thirty-first.”

  “I don’t see any reason why we can’t go later to take advantage of the full moon as long as the weather cooperates,” my dad answered. “Let’s not forget that we’ve seen snow on more than one Halloween in the past.”

  “That’s true,” I admitted. “But so far, it’s been a mild October, so I think we should schedule the volunteers to go late. We can always pull back if we need to.”

  “What are we doing about the food vendors this year?” my grandfather, Luke Donovan, asked. “I think having them centralized in the park worked out best. I know we’ve experimented the past couple years with scattering them around town, but I didn’t like having to buy my pulled pork sandwich at one location and then cross town to buy the onion rings to go with it.”

  Pappy hadn’t originally participated on the committee, but after marrying Hazel, he’d decided to get involved. In fact, since marrying Hazel, he’d become involved in a lot of different things in an attempt to keep up with his energetic wife. My grandfather had adored my grandmother, and we both still missed her very much, but I loved the fact that Pappy had found love not once but twice in his lifetime.

  The talk continued amongst the group as I filtered the conversation so I could pay attention to what was being said and allow my mind to wander. I knew these meetings were important, and I actually did enjoy getting together with some of my favorite people once a week, but Zak had been out of town for the past five days, which had interfered with my sleep, leaving me feeling irritable and anxious. I glanced at Levi, who seemed to be staring at his hands. It appeared he was daydreaming as well. Pulling my cell out of the pocket of my sweatshirt, I texted him a message asking about this week’s football game. He texted back, letting me know he had an away game that was most likely going to be a bust given the fact that four of his best players had just been suspended.

  “Why?” I texted back.

  “Grades,” he replied.

  I texted back asking about the away game the following week and the homecoming game, the week after that. Homecoming was always the biggest game of the year, and I knew it would destroy him if he didn’t have access to his full team.

  He texted back, letting me know that he wasn’t certain if his players would be back by next week or not, but he hoped to have a full team by homecoming. He’d texted that he’d talked to the principal and tried to work out a compromise to suspension, but it seemed the administration was adamant that academics came first.

  “Maybe we can set up some tutoring sessions,” I suggested with my next text.

  He looked doubtful but did grace me with a half nod, which seemed to indicate we could discuss it later.

  Poor Levi. He really did try, but it seemed that every year, just as the most important game of the season rolled around, something happened to mess things up for him. Still, if grades were the only obstacle to Levi having his full team, it seemed that with a little help from the kids at Zimmerman Academy, we might be able to make things right in time for the big game.

  “Tawny is going to chair the community dinner for Thanksgiving,” I heard Hazel say as I returned my attention to the group. “Fortunately, Madison will be back by December, and she’s informed me that she plans to chair the annual Christmas festivities.”

  Madison Montgomery Donovan, my mother, normally chaired the events committee, but she’d fallen while hiking and broken her leg in three places, so she was laid up at home until it healed. I
knew she was frustrated about not being part of our plans for Halloween, but my father insisted that she heal completely before engaging in any activities.

  “Okay, so does anyone else have any new business before we adjourn?” Hazel asked.

  No one spoke up, so Hazel called the meeting to a close. After hugging both my dad and grandfather goodbye, I walked out with Ellie and Levi.

  “So, what’s this about tutoring sessions?” Levi asked.

  “I just thought that if the only reason your guys are suspended from the team is because of their grades, maybe I can ask a few kids from the academy to help tutor those who need a hand getting caught up.”

  I referred to Zimmerman Academy, the private school Zak and I ran for gifted students.

  “I appreciate the offer, but I doubt the guys will go for it. The reality is that most of the kids on my team consider the academy kids to be elitists who they have little tolerance for.”

  “That’s really unfair,” I shot back.

  “Is it? The rivalry between the two schools appears to work both ways. The kids at the academy refer to the kids who attend the public high school as townies, and the kids from town refer to the kids who attend the academy as eggheads.”

  I supposed Levi had a point. I had heard the kids at the academy refer to the kids who went to the public school in just that manner.

  “The thing you have to understand is that teens tend to compartmentalize their peers into easy to understand groupings,” Levi continued. “Even within the boundaries of the public high school, there are jocks, goths, nerds, drama queens, and stoners, among others. These kids tend to identify with one group or another and then stick with their peers within that group. The only thing all these kids agree on is their mutual hatred for the academy kids, who they see as uptight and snobbish. I really do appreciate the offer, but I’m pretty sure there’s nothing I can say to my jocks that will convince them to sit down with one of your eggheads for one-on-one instruction.”

  “Whatever,” I said, irritated with Levi even though all he was doing was explaining a social construct that had been around since before I was in school.

  After Levi left to head back to work, I turned to Ellie, who’d remained silent during our exchange.

  “The committee meeting went a lot quicker than I anticipated,” Ellie said as we headed across the lawn in front of the library where the meeting had been held. I suspected she was looking for a way to tactfully change the subject to something a bit less volatile.

  “Maybe it seemed quick to you, but to me, it seemed to drag on and on.”

  Ellie tapped her watch. “Check the time. It actually turned out to be one of our shorter meetings.”

  I grabbed Ellie’s arm and glanced at her watch. She was right. The meeting had adjourned ahead of schedule. I guess I’d been distracted and hadn’t realized the meeting had moved right along. “Do you have time to grab lunch?” I asked.

  “I do.” She smiled. “I don’t need to pick Eli and Alya up for a couple hours. Rosie’s?”

  “Rosie’s will work.” I pulled out my phone and looked at the display. Clicking on the calendar app, I considered the commitments I’d made for the rest of the afternoon. “I did tell Jeremy I’d stop in at the Zoo so we can discuss the expansion before I have to pick Catherine up from preschool, so it will need to be a quick lunch.”

  Jeremy Fisher was my partner and the manager of Zoe’s Zoo, a rescue shelter for both domestic and wild animals. Zak bought the building before we’d even started dating, but Jeremy really ran the place, so I’d made him a full partner a couple years ago.

  “How about we have a nice leisurely lunch, and then I’ll pick Catherine up at preschool when I pick Eli and Alya up,” Ellie suggested. “You can meet with Jeremy after we eat, and then you can pick Catherine up at the boathouse when you’re done.”

  I grinned. “That sounds like a wonderful plan. It has been a long time since we chatted for more than a minute or two at a time. I’ll call Jeremy and let him know I’ll be later than I first thought, and then I’ll meet you at Rosie’s.”

  Ellie agreed to my plan and headed toward her car.

  Once I’d made my call, I drove across town to the diner Ellie’s mother used to own but had since sold. I joined Ellie in our regular booth in the back. We ordered our favorite sandwich and soup combo and then turned our attention to catching up on the latest news. There had been a time when we’d talked pretty much every day, but Ellie was busy with her husband and two adorable children, and I had Zak and the three children who lived with us to take care of, and more often than not, our conflicting schedules got in the way.

  “So, when is Zak coming home?” Ellie started off.

  “He’ll be back in the States by the end of the week,” I answered. “Maybe even sooner. It just depends when he’s able to wrap up his business.” Zak had gone to Italy to meet with his business partner, Pi. Pi had been Zak’s ward when he was younger, but he was an adult now. Zak trusted Pi implicitly and had made him a full partner in Zimmerman Software several years ago.

  “It’s been a while since Pi’s been home,” Ellie commented.

  “Several years, but Zak says he’s super busy and doing a wonderful job. I suspect that at some point, Zak will turn the management of the entire company over to him.”

  “That seems like a big responsibility.”

  “It is, but Pi has really stepped up and embraced his role as Zak’s partner. We both think he can handle it, and Zak wants to focus on expanding Zimmerman Academy to take on students from kindergarten through high school now that Catherine is getting older and will be ready to start school in a couple years.” Currently, Zimmerman Academy was only open to students between the ages of twelve and eighteen, but with the expansion, students aged six to eighteen who qualify and either live in the area or don’t mind boarding away from home would have a place to go that would enlighten and enrich them. “We don’t expect to have a lot of applicants under twelve, but it would be nice if we had a few younger students by the time Catherine is ready for school, so she’ll have friends.”

  “Catherine does seem to have inherited her daddy’s IQ and would benefit from an enhanced learning environment,” Ellie agreed. “How is she doing with the new preschool situation?”

  “She loves it,” I answered. “She loves her teacher, and she loves having children her own age to play with.”

  Ellie glanced down at my very flat stomach. “She would probably enjoy a brother or sister.”

  “She would,” I admitted, rubbing my hand across the front of my jeans. “And Zak and I have talked about it, but we’ve both been busy, and the timing just hasn’t seemed right.”

  “If you wait for the timing to be right, it will never happen,” Ellie warned.

  “I guess I know that, and it has been on my mind. The house is currently a loud and busy place, but I know that’s about to change. Not only has Nona moved to Arizona with her biker boyfriend so they can live out their days under the desert sun, but Alex and Scooter will both be heading off to college in less than two years. Then it will be just Catherine, Zak, and me. Well, along with the animals, of course,” I referred to the dogs currently living with us: Charlie, Bella, and Digger and our cats: Marlow, Spade, Snowball, and Annie. “I would like to have another child by the time the kids go off to college. Maybe a baby will help fill the void.”

  “You’re sad they’re leaving.”

  I nodded. “I am. I’d like to think I’m fine with Alex and Scooter growing up and moving away, but I’m pretty sure I’m not. It seems unimaginable to me that I won’t have them in my life every day. I can’t quite wrap my head around the idea that in less than two years, there will be no more soccer games in the pouring rain or last-minute school projects requiring an emergency run into town for supplies.”

  “As you’ve already pointed out, Catherine will be going to school in a couple years, and Eli is going to start soccer in the spring and football in the fall. You know yo
u will be expected to attend every game, rain or shine.”

  I smiled. “I guess you’re right. I am looking forward to both Eli starting sports and Catherine starting school. It just seems like time has flown by. I can still remember that first Christmas when Scooter brought Alex home from boarding school with him. I was expecting a boy, but instead, I was gifted with a girl who would become my daughter.” I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. “But enough of that. Alex and Scooter aren’t going off to college quite yet, so I’ll save my tears for when they’re actually needed.”

  Ellie put her hand over mine on the table. “I know it feels like a chapter in your life is closing, but keep in mind that another chapter is opening. If you want to add to your family, you should do so before there’s too large a gap between Catherine and baby number two.”

  Picking up my water, I took a sip. A long sip meant to give me the time I needed to process Ellie’s comment and decide on an appropriate reply. I loved Zak and Catherine, but part of me had resisted the idea of another child to this point. “I know you’re right about the gap,” I started off. “And I know Zak wants at least three children. Actually, if he had his way, I think we’d have more than three, but I’m not sure I want to put my body through so many pregnancies.”

  “Three is a good number,” Ellie said. “Levi and I have talked about whether or not to add to our family. We have a boy and a girl, and in many ways, that seems just perfect, but Alya is going to be two in December, so I know if we do want to have a third child, we should get to it.”

  I chuckled. “I can’t believe we’re sitting here discussing whether or not Levi Denton might want to have a third child or stop at two. I remember when he was certain that he didn’t want any.”

  “Trust me, I remember that too,” Ellie said. “But he’s changed. He loves being a father, and he’s a good one. I can see that Eli is going to take after his daddy when it comes to sports. He’s already very adept at throwing a football and hitting a baseball.”