Toni Donovan Mysteries- Books 1-3 Read online

  Toni Donovan

  Mystery

  Series

  (A Collection of Christian Mysteries)

  Educated in Murder

  Copyright © 2017 Helen Gray

  All rights reserved.

  ASIN: B06XH4L7LC

  Preyed in Murder

  Copyright 2017 © Helen Gray

  All rights reserved.

  ASIN: B06XH3D45K

  Coached in Murder

  Copyright 2017 © Helen Gray

  All rights reserved.

  ASIN: B06XH5K8LR

  Copyright © 2018 Helen Gray

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author.

  Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV), Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

  These books are works of fiction. Names characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations and/or events is purely coincidental. All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Cynthia Hickey

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  I want to acknowledge my daughter, Ginger Zaagsma, for her brainstorming help with this entire series, but especially for book two, Preyed in Murder. That one started with her idea, and the storyline developed in some fun brainstorming sessions.

  My sons Derek and Deven, and my son-in-law John, have also been very helpful, always ready to answer my weird questions.

  Thanks so very much to my personal team of consultants.

  Table of Contents

  Educated in Murder

  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

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Preyed in Murder

  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 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Coached in Murder

  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

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Educated

  in

  Murder

  by

  Helen Gray

  EDUCATED 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, are fictional representations.

  Cover by Cynthia Hickey

  AUTHOR NOTE

  If you’ve read any of my previously published novels and novellas, I hope you enjoyed those romances.

  This series, Educated in Murder, Preyed in Murder, and Coached in Murder, is a departure from that genre. Authors have typically been expected to write in only one genre. Personally, I enjoy reading romance. But I also enjoy a good whodunit. So I decided to break from tradition and write a mystery. I had so much fun with it that I ended up with a series.

  I hope to continue writing in both genres—and that you’ll give the mysteries a try. But it’s okay if you prefer one over the other.

  After much consideration, I’ve decided to write both under my own name rather than use a pen name. But the covers and titles will be designed to make it easy for you to distinguish the difference between the two genres.

  Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. I John 4:20 (NIV)

  Chapter 1

  Toni Donovan shivered in the nearly zero temperature, hugging her coat tighter to her. She stood next to Jenny and John Zachary at the edge of the church parking lot, watching the living nativity scene.

  Members had constructed a crude stable, and Toni’s two sons, ten-year-old Gabe and eight-year-old Garrett, stood at the edge of the stable, gazing toward Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. Dressed in costumes of robes and scarves over their winter coats, Gabe’s left eye was partially covered by his bath towel turban, and Garrett looked peculiar in his orange turban and bright red mittens. A young girl dressed as an angel stood on a bale of hay behind them. Two men and a teenage boy portrayed wise men.

  Jenny edged over near Toni, also shivering. She laughed, but it came out quivery through chattering teeth. “It’s good to see the sheep back on its tether.”

  Toni nodded, grinning. The night before, the sheep had pulled from its tether and run away.

  “A farmer called the radio station this morning and reported a sheep with a rope dangling from its neck grazing in his pasture with his cows. The youth director and I went and got it.” John chuckled as he told the story.

  Over six feet and almost three hundred pounds, John was a mild mannered guy with brown hair worn in a neat, short style. It amused Toni to see the gentle giant with his wife. Only four feet eleven, Jenny was a bubbly redhead who loved to cook almost as much as she loved music, which she taught at their local high school. John and Toni both taught science. Not only were they colleagues, but they attended the same church and were close friends. Classes had dismissed right after lunch, two days ago, for the Christmas break.

  “When is Kyle due home?” Jenny asked.

  “Later tonight,” Toni answered. “He hated missing this.” Her husband was a commercial pilot for Heartland Air Transport, and the Christmas season inevitably meant extra runs—like the one that had kept him working late tonight.

  Jenny shivered again and glanced up at the sky. “The forecast is for more snow. I hope it holds off until this is over.”

  John cleared his throat. “Have you heard that Jack Rayford is calling around asking if anyone has seen Marsha?”

&
nbsp; The mere mention of their school superintendent brought such a boil of anger in Toni that she thought her ears would pop off. She hated the woman, as did other staff members. In thirty-four years of living, Toni had never hated anyone before. She had hated situations and experiences, but never a person. She shook her head and fought to keep her voice calm. “I’ve been busy and haven’t talked to very many people. What’s the story? Do you think she may have left him?”

  John shrugged. “If she has, I hope she keeps walking.”

  Toni’s mouth tightened. It made her feel a little more justified in her feelings, knowing that others disliked the woman as much as she did. But it still frightened her to experience such a strong negative emotion.

  “I know that resentment is high and morale low among the high school and junior high teachers, and I suspect it’s as bad in the elementary,” Jenny said in an angry tone. “The woman is a tyrant. She penalizes all teachers for the lapses of two or three, targets those she doesn’t like, and caters to her favorites.”

  John became still, his gaze focused on his wife and Toni. “It sounds like we need to be praying for her.”

  Toni stared at her big colleague, surprised at his comment. “It’s hard to do that when she treats us like second-class citizens,” she said after several moments, not sure how she could pray for Mrs. Carter while strangling with resentment. The best she could manage right now was pray that the woman had truly left town.

  “Why don’t we go inside for a few minutes and get warm,” Jenny suggested, wrapping her arms around herself while still shivering.

  The evening concluded without incident, but Toni had trouble going to sleep that night. She didn’t know what was wrong, but it was more than just unhappiness over her job. All she wanted was to help Kyle provide for their family and keep them safe—and to provide knowledge and training that would benefit her students’ lives. She should check the state education website and see if there were any listings in the area yet. Maybe it was time to call neighboring districts and see if they anticipated any openings in her field. But this was Christmas Eve. She couldn’t make any decisions right now. She finally fell into a troubled sleep.

  *

  “Mom.” Softly. “Mom, wake up.” Louder.

  Toni struggled from the depths of sleep as a small hand tugged at her shoulder. She reached over, flipped on the bedside lamp, and blinked when the glare hit her eyes. The sight of her older son’s worried expression and rumpled hair sent alarm skittering through her. She bolted upright in the bed. “What’s wrong?”

  Gabe clenched his fists, his brows pulled together below a fringe of ash brown hair. “Garrett’s being spooky.” His voice was shallow and strained.

  Toni reached for her robe. “What do you mean?”

  “He must be having a bad dream. He’s flopping around and saying weird things. I don’t know if he’s awake or not.”

  Toni followed him down the hall to the room he shared with Garrett, tying the belt of her robe as she went. She and Kyle had suggested more than once that the boys have their own rooms, but they insisted they liked being together because they had their video games and equipment set up the way they liked and didn’t want to change.

  Garrett’s small body trembled and thrashed on the bed, his mumbling unintelligible.

  Toni sat on the side of the bed and placed a hand on his arm, being careful not to startle or frighten him. “Garrett,” she said softly. “Wake up, Son. It’s me, Mom.”

  He shivered and mumbled some more.

  Toni reached down and gently pulled him into her arms. “Ssh...wake up and talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me what’s wrong.” She cradled him against her chest.

  Garrett opened his eyes to slits. “Harry Rabbit,” he whispered through a gap in his front teeth, his eyes large and tear-filled.

  What about Harry Rabbit?” Toni asked softly.

  Several months earlier the boys had found an injured rabbit at the edge of the woods behind their house, his leg broken. Determined to save the animal, they had built a pen in the corner of the yard and nursed him. After some discussion about the differences in a rabbit and a hare, they had named him Harry Rabbit. Three weeks later Harry died, and the boys donated his body to science, specifically to Toni’s forensics class at the Clearmount High School.

  The students had placed the rabbit’s body on the ground under a milk crate where they could observe and monitor him to learn about the skeletonization of a carcass. Gabe and Garrett had not viewed the rabbit during that process.

  Was the animal’s death just now coming back to haunt Garrett? Toni hoped not. The boys had been concerned about the rabbit, and naming him Harry had been a game rather than a symbol of long-lived attachment. When he died, their attitude had been philosophical, saying they wanted Toni to put his body to scientific use.

  She smoothed the soft brown hair back off Garrett’s brow. “What about Harry Rabbit?” she repeated.

  “He’s dead,” Garrett whispered in a small hiss, his body trembling.

  “I know he’s dead,” Toni crooned. “You did everything you could for him, but he was too weak to survive.”

  “I saw him,” Garrett mumbled. “And something big and black.”

  She frowned. “Big and black? What do you mean?”

  “Don’t know.” He burrowed his head into her chest.

  “Can you describe it?” She wasn’t sure how much to probe with him only half awake.

  He shuddered and took a shallow breath. Then he looked up, his eyes opening a little wider. “Its eyes were big and round and black. His bones showed. There was something big and black next to him. Something that’s missing. It’s dead.” Garrett shivered once more and went limp in Toni’s arms.

  “It’s okay. Everything’s all right. It was just a dream,” she assured him. “Why don’t you go back to sleep while I hold you. Can you do that now?”

  He nodded drowsily, his eyes drifting shut.

  Toni held him a little longer, and then gently eased him back onto the pillow. As she tucked the covers under his chin, she noticed Gabe perched quietly on the edge of his own bed. She went and sat next to him.

  “Is he all right?” he asked in a small voice.

  “I think so. He just had a bad dream.”

  Gabe’s dark eyes clouded. “Sometimes he moves around in the bed and makes little noises. But not like tonight. He was talking about Harry Rabbit.”

  Garrett’s words echoed in Toni’s mind. What could have upset him? “Maybe he was worried about the sheep running away.”

  Garrett had been upset when the sheep ran away from their live nativity, but thrilled when he found that it had been found and returned.

  “A sheep is bigger than a rabbit, and it could have been dark in his dream. If he was dreaming about animals, he could have remembered Harry Rabbit. The sheep was another animal he liked--and they both went away,” Gabe reasoned in rambling fashion.

  Toni didn’t have any better explanations. “Maybe you’re right. So do I need to tuck you back in, too?” She grinned and gave him a fake punch on the shoulder.

  “No.” With a quick shake of his head Gabe crawled under the covers and peered up at her. “I’m glad Garrett’s okay.”

  “Me, too. Good night.” Toni turned off the light and returned to her own bed, still troubled by Garrett’s behavior. Lights arced across the window and into the driveway. Kyle was home.

  She got back up and met him at the door. He dropped his bag on the foyer floor and gave her a brief kiss. Then he tousled her shoulder length tresses. “Your hair says you’ve been asleep. So how come you’re up now?”

  His deep voice made Toni’s heart rate clip along faster. Way too handsome, her six foot one, sandy haired husband still made her toes curl just by touching her or looking at her in a certain way. He wasn’t perfect, but he was honest, caring, and a good provider. He always put her welfare above his own and was a good father to their boys. When he was home.

  She loved Kyle, but
she feared that his job was becoming more important to him than his family. Toni understood how much he loved flying, but it often kept him away from home days at a time, and it was hard having him gone so much. Her time was consumed by two kids, a demanding job, and church and school activities. There was never enough time in their busy schedules for just her and Kyle, like there had been earlier in their marriage. She feared they were growing apart.

  Toni eased back. “Get your shower while I fix you a snack. Then we can talk.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  Ten minutes later she faced Kyle across the kitchen bar while he ate a ham and cheese sandwich. “Gabe woke me because Garrett’s tossing and mumbling scared him.”

  Kyle paused with the sandwich at his mouth. He lowered it, frowning. “Is he sick?”

  Toni shook her head. “No, he was just dreaming. He talked about Harry Rabbit, and something big and black. Something that’s lost.”

  The crease between his brows deepened. “Garrett finds things we lose. And there have been a couple of eerie coincidences surrounding his dreams. As for Harry Rabbit, it’s been months since he died.”

  Toni nodded at his sandwich. “Go ahead and eat. You know how it is with his dreams. Odd things can trigger them. It might have been the sheep.”

  He started to take a bite, but paused again. “Sheep?”

  “You do remember that the boys were shepherds in the church’s live nativity last night and again tonight …I mean last night,” she amended, glancing over at the clock on the microwave. It read two a.m.

  He nodded and bit into the sandwich so hungrily that Toni guessed it had been a long time since his last meal.

  “When they started to let the alternate cast take their places and go inside the church for hot soup and warmth, the sheep that was tethered to a stake in the ground next to Garrett pulled its rope loose and ran away. No one could catch it.”