Page 19 of Whisper Through the Pines

The main attraction appeared to be a very old, dilapidated ranch house and a barn. Workers moved around, setting up handmade sets including plywood coffins, scarecrows, straw bales, and jack-o’-lanterns. Grinning skeletons hung in and out of windows and leaned against the barn door. Motor homes sat in a line alongside the fence not far from a firepit, where Raven assumed the workers gathered at night as a place to sit to gossip or tell stories. A few sheds had been erected for storage. As they drove deeper into the complex, he noticed counters with tools and extension cords. A man walked out to meet them, standing hands on hips. He looked to be in his fifties and wore a cowboy hat, dusty blue Levi’s, and a plaid shirt. Raven stopped the truck beside him and buzzed down his window. “Good afternoon, I’m Deputy Raven from the Black Rock Falls Sheriff’s Department and this is FBI Special Agent Carter. We’d like to have a word with you.”

“In regard to what?” The man removed his hat and slapped it against his thigh. “Is this about permits again? I have every permit known to man.”

Raven kept his voice low and calm. “No, it’s about a couple of incidents that occurred in Stanton Forest over the last few days. We’re looking for anyone who might know how to set a projector in the forest in an attempt to lure people into potential danger. I’m afraid at this time of the year some of the Halloween pranks get out of hand. May I speak to anyone who has this type of knowledge?”

“We honestly haven’t got time to play games in the forest.” The man stared at him and lifted his chin in defiance. “Setting up this place in time for Halloween takes all of our time.”

Beside him, Carter had slid out of the truck and opened the back door to allow the dogs to jump down. He pulled on his FBI vest and walked around the front of the truck. Raven climbed out of his truck and indicated to Ben to come to his side. “May I have your name please, sir?”

He looked at the man expectantly and took out his pen and notebook. Carter was staring at the man, his toothpick protruding out the corner of his mouth and his thumbs pushed into the belt of his Wranglers. Beside him, Zorro stood stiffly and lifted his lips, displaying white canines as a low rumble issued from deep in his chest.

“What’s going on, Cal?” A woman stepped out of one of the mobile homes, followed by a thickset man in his thirties and a teenager. She stopped walking and stared at Zorro. “Does he bite?”

“Oh, yeah.” Carter tipped back his Stetson and smiled at her. “But I have him under control.” He held out his hand. “Special Agent Ty Carter and this is Deputy Raven. We need to ask you all a few questions. It won’t take up too much of your valuable time.”

“Lacey Giles, I’m the Halloween coordinator.” She indicated to the first man they had spoken to. “This is the exhibition manager, Cal Woodman, and our special effects guy, Jonah Pike.” She nodded toward a scared-looking teenager. “This is one of our volunteers, Marty Flynn.”

“You all live here?” Carter eyed them suspiciously. “What about you, Marty?”

“I live in town with my folks.” Marty gave Raven his details and then shrank back, making himself look as small as possible.

“What is it you want to know?” Woodman looked from one to the other, his eyebrows raised.

Raven met his gaze. “Who holds the keys to the barn, sheds, and ranch house?”

“The three of us do. We need to be working with different groups during the day.” Woodman glanced at the others, exchanging meaningful looks.

“Do you run power out into the forest for your Halloween set or is it contained within the barn and the ranch house?” Carter’s gaze scanned the immediate area and then rested back on the people they were interviewing.

“It depends on what type of special effects that we’re running at the time.” Pike removed his hat and wiped the sweat from his brow with a bandana. “We’ve been setting up since daybreak. There’s not enough time in each day at the moment.”

Raven nodded. The temperature had dropped considerably and a cold breeze blew around them, and yet Pike was sweating profusely. Was it through exercise or fear? “Has any of your equipment gone missing lately? Portable projectors and batteries, for instance?”

“Man, I don’t know.” Pike gave him an incredulous look. “We do an audit at the end of each attraction. It’s impossible to keep an exact list of what equipment is available at any one time during an event like this.”

Pike’s defensive attitude was unexpected, but Raven indicated toward the forest backing onto the property. “I understand that the majority of the forest behind the cabin was sold off to various ranches in the area, so exactly where do your trails run and are there any spots where someone could hide equipment? Are there any old hunting blinds or abandoned structures?”

“No, not really.” Pike shrugged. “There are a couple of very dilapidated bunkhouses behind the ranch house but we haven’t included them in the display, mainly because they’re unsafe. We do project images throughout the forest, for instance, different types of ghouls and ghosts, and we have a smoke machine that pours thick fog through the trees. It works as a backdrop for the displays.”

Raven exchanged a look with Carter. This was exactly the same type of illusion that the Axman had used to lure his victims from the highway and into the forest. He turned his attention to Woodman. “Has anyone new joined the crew this year? Or has anyone quit suddenly?”

When none of them replied, Raven watched the uncomfortable movement of their feet and the way their eyes darted back and forth as if not wanting to say anything. “Okay, from your silence I assume someone’s been acting a bit strange lately?”

“Many people act strange in these circumstances, Deputy Raven.” Lacey observed him with guileless green eyes. “You must admit that working in this profession you need to be, let’s say, a little off center. None of us has a family life or a brick-and-mortar home. All the people who work here are our family, we are carnies.”

“So if someone here is capable of murder, you’d protect them?” Carter swiped a hand under his nose. “I see.”

Clearing his throat, Raven turned his attention back to Woodman. He had the distinct feeling that they were all protecting someone. Other hands had stopped working and were standing in small groups watching the interaction between them, as if waiting to take action. “Were you all here last night?”

“I believe so.” Woodman crossed his arms and stared at him with a defiant attitude.

“Did anyone leave the ranch between dusk and midnight?” Carter moved his toothpick across his lips

“We hit the sack early.” Woodman lifted his chin. “Our crew starts at sunup and works through until it’s dark. After dinner most of them have a few beers around the campfire and then head off to bed before ten. I honestly wouldn’t know if anyone slipped out of camp. I was asleep at that time.”

“Okay, what about vehicles? Did you notice any vehicles come and go that you didn’t recognize?” Carter leaned casually against the side of Raven’s truck. “You noticed us the moment we drove through the front gate.” He moved his gaze from one person to another. “Did any of you see any vehicle you didn’t recognize or notice anyone slipping out after dark?”

The teenager’s attention dropped to the floor, avoiding Carter’s gaze. This was a tight-knit, loyal crew, but something told him that they were hiding something or someone out of fear. Maybe someone committed murder every place they went. Something like that would put them into a situation where they wouldn’t know if one of them would be next. Hopeful that someone might speak to him in private, Raven took business cards out of his pocket and handed them around. He noticed how surprised the teenager was to receive one. “If you think of anything else, you can call me. My direct number is on that card. Anything you say to me is completely confidential and won’t get back to anyone else. If we need to speak to any of you in the near future, I will be dropping by and taking you back to the office.” He noticed the flash of concern cross each person’s face and smiled. “Thank you for your time.”