The rangers will soon close the fort. They’ll have to check the perimeter as well as everything inside, I reminded myself as I fought to control my urge to scream.Time to get outside, even if you have to fight your way past that hooded stranger. Whoever it was didn’t look huge. You can at least make an effort to evade them and make another run for it.
I fumbled my way back to the opening, where I cautiously peeked around the corner before climbing the stairs to reach the open area of the ditch. Seeing no one, I sprinted toward the main entry.
A figure once again stepped out of the main-entry tunnel. I screamed and stumbled, only to find myself caught up in a pair of strong arms.
“Miss, are you all right?” asked a sympathetic voice.
I looked up into the face of a park ranger. “Yes, sorry, sorry,” I said, pulling away. Blinking, I fumbled for my sunglasses.
“Get spooked or something? I saw you fly up out of the gallery.” The ranger looked me over, his expression kind but confused. “You aren’t thinking you saw a ghost or anything, are you?”
“No, not a ghost. Definitely not.” I shoved on my sunglasses and glanced around. “You didn’t run into someone else here. Wearing a hoodie and sweat pants?”
“In this heat? I should hope not.” The ranger tipped his hat back from his damp forehead. “But no, I didn’t see anyone. Now, can I help you back to the welcome center? We’re closing, you know.”
“Yes, I know, and no, I’m fine. I’m actually meeting someone at the center to give her a ride home.”
“Okay. I need to help my partner do one more check and secure the main doors, so if you’re truly all right …”
“I’m fine. Really.” I forced a smile before thinking about my pursuer hiding in one of the many secret places in the fort. “Just look out for that person, would you? They seemed to be following me, and their clothes were so odd, as you said. Anyway”—Ibrushed sweat-dampened strands of hair away from my cheeks and tucked them behind my ears—“be careful.”
The ranger’s kind expression grew troubled. “Someone was chasing you? Should I call the police?”
I considered enduring another interrogation by the authorities and shook my head. “No, I may have been imagining things. At least the chasing part, although I did see an oddly dressed visitor.”
“All right, then.” The ranger tipped his hat to me. “Take care, miss.”
“Thanks, I will,” I said, turning to stagger back up the path to the welcome center.
Ellen was already waiting outside the front doors. “Charlotte, is everything okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“No ghost,” I said firmly. “Just a strange human.” I motioned toward my car. “Let’s go. I’ll tell you what happened while I drive.”
Once we were on the road, I explained my encounter, or at least what I could make of it, to Ellen.
“You think someone was stalking you?” she asked.
“It seemed like it. Although they didn’t follow me down into the counterfire gallery.”
“Perhaps they spied the rangers and hightailed it out of there.”
“Maybe.” I cast her a side-eyed glance. “We both thought someone was listening to our conversation last night.”
“You think someone at the party overheard your plan to walk around the fort before meeting me?”
I shrugged. “It’s possible, right?”
“Yes, which is … worrisome.” Ellen scrunched the hem of her red-and-white-striped cotton top in one hand. “It really points to one of the guests at the party being our killer.”
“Or one of the staff. Aside from me, I mean,” I added, with a grim smile.
“True. Both Alicia and Damian were there as well.”
A thought filtered through the chaos of my mind. “But not Jennifer Delamont. She was up in her room at that point.”
“Which means she wouldn’t have been our eavesdropper,” Ellen said slowly. “That throws a spanner in the works, doesn’t it? I’d pegged her as the primary suspect after that drunken display last night.”
“Me too. But she wouldn’t have known where I was going to be today …” I frowned. “Listen, do you mind if we make a stop before heading home?”
