Darkest Journey (Krewe of Hunters #20)(34)

She was followed by Grant and Jimmy, headed for the cooler first to grab a couple of bottled waters, then they joined them at the table.

“Know what we need out here?” Jimmy asked.

“What?” Grant asked.

“A bathtub!” Barry said, walking in to join them.

“I was thinking a shower,” Jimmy said.

“Same deal,” Luke announced, coming over. “I’m grungy from tramping around this damn field.”

“Yeah, and you don’t even have to do the whole makeup thing,” Jimmy told him.

“Nope. That’s one reason why I’m in sound and not an actor,” Luke said, grinning.

Charlie suddenly felt thirsty and went over to the ice chest herself, though at that moment, a large bottle of whiskey might have been preferable to water. She didn’t know what to do. They were all so normal, so nice, people she’d known and worked with forever. None of them could have been waiting down by the church to throw a knife at her.

Could they?

Had she made up the whole thing? Had the wind picked up and blown a twig past her, but she was so spooked by the murders that she’d imagined it was a knife?

“Hey, girl, where’re your shoes?” Jennie asked, reaching past her for a water of her own.

“By my chair. I took them off when I came in. It’s not easy walking around here in stilettos.”

They were all acting so normal, so natural. No one was winded.

And yet...they hadn’t been there when she’d come in. The only people she knew for certain had not been anywhere near the church were Brad, Mike and Ethan.

“Thank heavens we’re nearing the end of the day,” Jennie said. “Lord, it’s been a long one. I’m starving.”

“Hey, all.” Chance Morgan walked into the tent and introduced himself, though most of them knew him already, at least casually. “Got some great shots out there today.” He paused in front of Charlie. “I took some of you earlier when you were up on the bluff, standing by an old grave marker. There’s one that’s spectacular.”

Charlie smiled at him, but the truth was, she wasn’t sure she liked the idea of being photographed without her knowledge. Chance Morgan was a good photographer, though, and she knew that Brad wanted him on set so he could use his still shots for publicity when the time came.

“Nice,” she said.

“I’ll show you,” he said, and hunkered down by her chair. “Gotta love the digital age,” he said, turning the camera so she could see the LCD screen. “Here, look.”

He had gotten a great shot of her. She was standing very straight, her hair flowing behind her. Decaying gravestones surrounded her, with the church and the river in the background.

“I love it,” she said.

“If you’d like it for your portfolio, it’s yours,” he said. “I got some great ones with your friend, too. You know, the FBI agent.”

“Oh?” Charlie said.

“Took ’em at the same time,” he said.

She arched a brow. Ethan hadn’t been on the bluff with her. But maybe Chase had gotten a shot of whoever had been out there and thrown that knife.

Assuming she wasn’t imagining the whole thing, of course.

He frowned as he started clicking through his shots. “That’s odd—they’re gone. I thought they were right here, but all I have is shots of you. Well, I’ll download everything later and get it all figured out.”

She was too shocked to tell him that she hadn’t been with Ethan.

He had seen the ghost.

She set a hand on his arm, and he looked up at her. “I’d love to see all those shots, Chance. Would you email me the whole batch?”

“Sure. I just wish I could find the others....”

He started searching through his camera again, and she watched over his shoulder.

She didn’t see Ethan, of course, because he hadn’t been there. And, not surprisingly, ghosts didn’t show up in pictures.

Most worryingly, she didn’t see anyone else. Except...

There was someone, she thought, over in the trees near the church. And maybe, just maybe, once he downloaded the images and she could see them on screen...

Charlie rose. “Thank you so much. I’d love to have the pictures for my portfolio. It’s so generous of you to offer them.”

She realized she was being too effusive. But she was nervous, keyed up, and couldn’t seem to stop babbling.

In fact, she was tempted to tell Chance Morgan that he’d seen a ghost.

*

Charlie was behaving strangely, to say the least.

She was walking around shoeless, although that was understandable. It was ridiculous for her to run around the area in spiked heels. And Ethan had to admit that she was incredibly attractive in the skinny suit and mile-high heels.

But she looked as if she was about to scream, except she didn’t. She almost visibly pulled herself together, then smiled and waved at him as if everything was fine.

He’d been watching her from a distance all day. He hadn’t seen anyone suspicious anywhere near her. In fact, other than a tour group heading into the church, he hadn’t seen anyone at all who wasn’t part of the film.

On the other hand, trees and brush and the jagged landscape had periodically obscured his vision. He made a mental note to tell Charlie not to go wandering off in the future.