Page 21 of Possessed by the Mountain Man

“A return passage into the attraction. Now it gets people out faster if something goes wrong.”

We went back inside.

The next hour passed through work rather than conversation. Sybil corrected a cue position, changed a staffing note after watching two employees move a barrier, and walked me through each place the public route touched a staff corridor.

She knew every detail that mattered to the event. I watched the places where somebody could wait unseen.

Near a queue entrance, Clinton stood over a stack of newly delivered metal barriers while a farm worker cut plastic wrap from them.

Sybil looked at the shipment. “They made it.”

“Most of them,” Clinton said.

“What does most mean?”

“The south queue is covered. The last six sections come tomorrow.”

Her expression flattened. “You told me they’d all be here before opening.”

“They changed the truck allocation.”

“After the vendor got paid?”

Clinton’s attention flicked toward me before he answered.

“I said the shipment is covered,” he replied.

Sybil didn’t push in front of the workers. “Send me the revised delivery confirmation.”

“I will.”

We kept walking.

“You noticed that,” she said quietly.

I had noticed. Clinton’s answer had made sure of that. “Yes.”

“He’s been weird about money for weeks. Hollowfield has a lot of expenses this time of year.”

“Justin was asking him about it last night.”

She slowed beside me and turned enough that I had to match her pace. “You read the report.”

“I read what was available.”

“He was irritated. That doesn’t make him a killer.”

“I didn’t say it did.”

“You were thinking it.”

I let that sit for a few steps while we moved away from the delivery stack. “I’m thinking about everyone who had a reason to dislike the dead man.”

“That’s a long list in any workplace.”

The list was long enough that I couldn’t argue with her. “Probably.”

She glanced over at me. “You’re impossible to argue with when you agree with half of what I say.”