Toni Donovan Mysteries- Books 1-3

by Helen Gray

  Toni returned to the living room. “Dad, Garrett tells me our heating system at home is making funny noises. Could you get me the number of that repairman you were telling me about a few weeks ago?”

  “Sure. Give me just a minute.” He got up and went to the dining room.

  There was silence for several moments, then, “Hey, Faye, guess what I just found.”

  THE END

  Preyed

  in

  Murder

  by

  Helen Gray

  PREYED IN MURDER

  Copyright @ 2017 by Helen Gray

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any reviews, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Any references to historical figures, places, or events, whether fictional or actual, is a fictional representation.

  Cover by Cynthia Hickey

  For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

  2 Timothy 1:7 NIV

  Chapter 1

  Friday, April 27

  “There are ten items on this list.”

  Toni Donovan held a small sheaf of papers above her head. “They have point values ranging from five to twenty-five.”

  “Does that mean some of them are harder to find?” a student asked.

  “That’s exactly what it means.” Toni glanced over the group of students gathered on the grassy lawn around a pavilion near the Clearmount Community Center. They faced her and three other supervising teachers. Wooded hills rose behind the school, and a large fenced field stretched to the west of the building.

  Between them and the highway were two ball fields, one that was used for softball and the other for baseball. A road between them led to the community center. At the rear corner of the baseball field, a small fence-enclosed area contained a Veterans Memorial. Beyond that was a small park bordered by a creek that meandered along the highway. Walking trails crossed the grounds and continued past a big dip to a walking bridge.

  It was a beautiful spring day, only three weeks until school would dismiss for the summer, and everyone was dressed comfortably and having a great time. Another group of students populated the field in front of them. The math department was overseeing races in which the students had to calculate speed, distance, motion, and force. The communication arts and social studies departments were back at the high school.

  It was an educational field day provided for the high school students as an opportunity to relax after a grueling week of standardized testing. The middle school and elementary field day had been held the day before. The school and the city had reciprocal arrangements regarding the use of their adjacent facilities.

  Toni and her three colleagues were conducting a nature scavenger hunt for the science department. In charge of this particular activity, Toni wore their school colors, black jeans and an orange tee shirt imprinted with their school name and mascot, and orange trimmed tennis shoes.

  “There are some rules,” she announced, waving the papers in the air. “You will have thirty minutes to find as many of the items on this list as you can. The highest scoring team will be given certificates that can be used for bonus points in your science classes. You’ll work in teams, so I want you to group yourselves in threes and take one copy of this list.”

  “All right!” The three boys at the edge of the group pumped their fists in the air and high-fived one another. Dack Murphy, Jeremy Barnes, and Quint Lakowski were best friends and bright students, but somewhat disorganized and often a bit too exuberant. They called themselves the Terrific Trio.

  Once each group had a list, Toni signaled for their attention. “On the table there are plastic bags that you can use to carry the items you collect. The first two things on the list, something fuzzy and something sharp, are only worth five points each. Something white and a feather are worth ten points. A chewed leaf…”

  “Hey, here’s one,” Dack interrupted, picking up a leaf and nibbling on it.

  “It must not be chewed by you,” Toni stipulated, slightly irritated. “If you’ll read your list, you’ll see that’s what it says.”

  “It has to be chewed by something like an animal,” Beth Price, a petite, dark haired junior, interjected, directing a disdainful glare at Dack.

  He tossed the leaf to the ground. “Oh, all right.”

  “The chewed leaf is worth fifteen points. So is something that reminds you of yourself,” Toni continued.

  “That would be a nut for Dack,” Jeremy sang out loudly.

  “Hold the wise cracks.” Toni raised a hand in a gesture for silence. When it was quiet she returned to commenting on the list. “A thorn and a bone are worth twenty points each. A piece of fur and part of an egg are worth twenty-five.” She noted the time on her watch. “Okay, you may begin.”

  “A perfect score would be one hundred fifty. That’s what we’ll have,” Dack hooted as the students took off in different directions. He swung a palm at Jeremy’s raised hand. The three boys bounded toward the creek bed, yelling and bragging about how they were going to be the winners. All three wore the typical teenage long baggy shorts, tee shirts and leather sandals.

  Dack was stocky and sandy haired, about five foot nine. Jeremy was tall and skinny, probably six foot, around a hundred twenty pounds, and dark haired. Quint was a strawberry blond and between the other two in height and weight. The guys called him Q, a nickname they had attached to him as a young boy when the three had been hooked on old James Bond movies. Toni liked it because it made it easier to distinguish between her student and her brother, whose name was Quint, when speaking of one of them.

  As the students spread out over the field and along the creek bed, Toni turned to rejoin her colleagues. “Are those three as enthusiastic when you have them?”

  “Absolutely,” Dixie Thomas, one of their two business teachers, declared with a laugh. “They’re always coming up with the greatest ideas in the world, according to them.”

  “Same in my classes,” John Zachary said. Toni’s science colleague, he taught the physical sciences, chemistry and physics, while Toni handled the life sciences, including a forensics class. John’s wife, Jenny, was also on the staff. She taught music and was assigned to one of the groups back at the school. The two were much more than just colleagues to Toni. Close friends, they were frequent guests in the Donovan home.

  “They’re not trouble prone, just a little…” Kelly Graham, the counselor, hesitated, searching for the right descriptive word.

  “Overzealous,” John supplied.

  “Right,” she agreed, snapping her fingers and chuckling.

  “Sometimes I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when they get an idea in their heads,” Toni said with a shake of her head.

  “But you know to keep your eyes on them.” Kelly spoke in the tone of one who knew from experience.

  Toni gazed out over the activity in the field, the breeze lifting the ends of her dark shoulder length hair onto her cheeks. “Remember their lawn mowing business?”

  Dixie’s brows furrowed. “What lawn mowing business?”

  Kelly laughed. “Tell her about that.”

  Toni eased her five foot six inch frame back onto the picnic table in the pavilion, adjusting her position so she could chat with her companions while keeping an eye on the students.

  “About two years ago they decided to go into business,” Kelly began. “It was the summer after their sophomore year, and Jeremy and Q had just started driving. Dack is a few months younger and couldn
’t drive yet. Anyhow, they decided to go into the lawn mowing business.”

  “Sounds like a good enough idea,” Dixie said. She liked ideas related to entrepreneurship, since she taught a class in the subject.

  “It was,” Toni agreed. “But, in their usual impetuous manner, they jumped in without thinking it through. They decided that they would be the best in the business and snap up a load of customers. A sure-fire way to get business was to promise potential customers that, if the job was not finished within a certain amount of time, they wouldn’t have to pay.”

  Dixie grinned. “If it works for pizza places, it should work for them, right?”

  “Dack, their accepted leader, came up with it,” Toni explained. “He’s always gung ho about everything. Jeremy, their self-acknowledged nerd and computer whiz, immediately started to lay out a business plan with all the details.”

  “But Dack was too impatient for that,” John interjected.

  Toni laughed. “Yep. He ran right out and lined up ten jobs. But only one boy had a mower, a big riding model that they had no way of transporting.”

  Dixie frowned. “So they were doomed before they started?”

  “Almost,” Kelly said with a chuckle.

  “It was Q’s mower,” Toni explained. “He talked his dad into letting them use his tractor to haul it around on a wagon. They worked almost around the clock for two days.”

  “Did they get all of them done?” Dixie asked.

  “They made it,” Toni said with a big grin.

  “Was that the end of their business?”

  Toni shook her head. “No. They went around to the neighborhood garage sales and bought some old push mowers. Most of them didn’t work, but Q, their mechanic and electronics man, took parts from the real junkers and got the better ones running. Their summer business ended up successful after all.”

  “It sounds like you know those boys pretty well.” Dixie’s comment was questioning.

  Toni emitted a long sigh. “Quite well. We attend the same church, and I had them in Bible School classes when they were younger.”

  “They’re more resourceful than I realized,” Kelly admitted.

  “Well, I’m just waiting to see where that resourcefulness leads them next,” came from John.

  “You and me, too,” Toni admitted.

  Dixie’s expression was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

  Toni and John both laughed.

  “They’ve decided they’re going to be detectives,” Toni explained. “That’s why they signed up for my forensics class.”

  “Dack told me they’ve signed up for an online PI class,” John added.

  Dixie’s expression brightened with comprehension. “That’s why they’re so excited about winning this scavenger hunt—to prove how good they are as detectives.”

  “I can guarantee you one thing,” Toni said. “There’s never a dull moment with them in class.”

  “Hey, look,” John said brightly. “Here comes the lunch crew.”

  Sure enough, Ken Douglas, their high school principal, and a gentleman Toni recognized as Dr. Garlin Tate drove up in a station wagon. Dr. Tate had been hired a few days earlier to replace their superintendent who had been killed just before Christmas. A member of the teaching staff had killed the woman, as well as a student, and subsequently been fatally injured while pursuing Toni. That had been a terrifying experience that Toni never wanted to repeat.

  One of their regular substitute teachers had been hired to finish the year for the teacher who had died, and now Dr. Tate would be taking over as superintendent after his contract with another district expired at the end of June. He had been introduced at the last board meeting, which a number of the staff had attended, including Toni, but she had not met him personally. She had heard he was visiting the district during yesterday and today’s field activities.

  Ken backed the station wagon up to the table, and he and Dr. Tate exited and rounded the vehicle. “Here are your hot dogs and hamburgers,” he called as he raised the rear door. “Hope you have your grill ready.”

  “John’s taking care of that,” Kelly called back. She met them and took the grocery sack Ken handed her. Dixie took one from Dr. Tate. As they carried them across the short expanse of lawn to the picnic table, the two men followed with coolers of sodas.

  John had been keeping an eye on the students as well as watching the time. “Ten more minutes,” he informed Toni as they arranged things on the table.

  He turned and greeted their new administrator. “Hello, Dr. Tate. I’m John Zachary, high school physical science.”

  “I’m happy to meet you.” Dr. Tate smiled as they shook hands. “I understand that the science teachers had some stressful experiences at the beginning of the semester.”

  “We did,” John affirmed. “Have you met Toni?”

  “I haven’t had the pleasure.”

  Ken Douglas joined them at that moment and took over the introductions. “Dr. Tate, these three ladies are our counselor, Kelly Graham; Dixie Thomas, one of our two business teachers; and Toni Donovan, our other science teacher.” He indicated each in turn.

  Dr. Tate greeted and shook hands with each, but his eyes lingered on Toni.

  “Yes, she’s the one who found Mrs. Carter’s body and figured out who killed her,” Ken said, his expression controlled.

  Toni glanced at her watch. “I’m pleased to meet you, Dr. Tate. I don’t want to be rude, but time is up for those guys.” She pointed at the students in the distance.

  “We’re having a nature scavenger hunt,” John explained as Toni stepped a couple yards away from them. She placed two fingers in her mouth and emitted a shrill whistle, motioning with her other hand for the students to return. “Time’s up,” she called.

  The students began moving toward them, with the Terrific Trio galloping in the lead. “Hey, Mrs. Donovan,” Dack called as they approached. “We found everything on the list but a piece of fur, but we found three bones. They should be worth twenty points each.”

  “They only get to count points for them once,” another student protested. “That’s how we understood the rules.”

  Toni raised her hand for silence. “Let’s don’t argue. I want you to form four lines so Mrs. Graham, Mrs. Thomas, Dr. Zachary, and I can check your bags and tally your scores.”

  The Terrific Trio immediately took positions in front of Toni. Dack thrust their plastic bag at her. “Here, Mrs. Donovan.”

  Toni took the bag and saw a slender curved bone protruding from the top of it. She stared in silence at what looked like a rib.

  “That one’s mine,” Q announced brightly, then went quiet as he noticed the alarm-tinged pensiveness Toni couldn’t keep from her expression.

  She removed a second bone, an odd shaped one. Then she dug into the bag again and found a third bone. She put the bag down and stared at the three bones she held in her hands, gulping silently. She took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice steady. “Where did you boys find these?”

  Sensing something unusual, the principal and superintendent walked over to where Toni stood. “Is something wrong?” Ken asked, glancing at the bones in her hands. His eyes widened.

  “I’ve asked the boys to show me where they found these,” she said, hoping her voice and manner didn’t betray the alarm growing in her.

  “We’ll finish tallying the scores while you go check that out,” John said, having joined them and done a quick assessment of the situation.

  “Yes, you go on. We’ll help keep an eye on things here and get the food ready. Take as long as you need,” Ken urged quietly. “You’re covered here.”

  “Okay, lead the way,” Toni instructed the boys, smiling and trying to inject brightness into her speech.

  They hesitated a moment, but then turned and headed across the lawn. They led her around the back of the softball field to the little park. Q pointed toward the bridge. “They were over there.”

  Their little quartet hiked across the par
k to where the bridge crossed a large creek. Then the boys led Toni under the bridge and across a small clearing to where a big rotted log lay beneath a bunch of woody and leafy debris. “I got the long one behind that log,” Dack said, pointing.

  “Mine was over here.” Q went to a spot about a dozen feet away and pointed.

  “My funny looking one was over here.” Jeremy went to a spot in the other direction.

  If Toni wasn’t mistaken, that funny looking bone was a clavicle. The long thin bone looked like a rib, and the other one was possibly a section of thoracic vertebrae. And she feared they were human.

  “Okay, thank you for showing me,” she said, looking around. She walked past the log and picked up a broomstick-sized branch.

  Using the stick as a probe, Toni began raking around in the debris, scraping it back gently. The muscles in her stomach tightened when she found a small pocket of bone fragments. She knelt on the ground to examine them closer, and placed the branch across the rotten log.

  The slight touch of the stick caused fragments of rotten wood to crumble from the old log, and Toni caught a glimpse of something white inside it. She crawled closer and peered inside the log—and found herself staring at a hollow-eyed skull.

  Chapter 2

  The boys, sensing the magnitude of whatever she had found, squatted around Toni and peered into the log. Their eyes rounded when they realized what they were seeing. “It’s a skull,” Jeremy whispered.

  Dack whistled.

  Q emitted a lengthy, flatulent sound.

  “Excuse him, Mrs. Donovan,” Dack apologized for his pal. “He does that when he’s excited or scared.”

  Toni stood. “That’s okay, Dack. Don’t touch it,” she warned as the boy reached toward the log. “Why don’t the three of you have seats on the grass?”

  “But we want to find more bones,” Jeremy protested.

  “We shouldn’t disturb things anymore,” Toni explained as calmly as she could.