Voracious - Alice Henderson [22]
Madeline fell silent. Was this guy right? Had Noah deceived her? Certainly not about the creature—that had been real enough. But had he really given her a false name? Why would he do that?
Their meeting had been so brief it was hard to be certain. But she did believe that Noah had tried to protect her.
No, she thought. Why would he lie? It didn’t make sense.
“Look. I don’t know what to tell you. I think this guy wasn’t on the up-and-up,” the ranger went on.
A sudden thump resounded from down a corridor that lay beyond the small bookshelves. They both turned in that direction but saw nothing unusual. Another thump followed shortly afterward. It was dull and heavy, echoing down the corridor. Madeline started violently. She didn’t see anything there.
“Huh,” said the ranger, wrinkling his brow. “That doesn’t sound good. I better go check it out. Sounds like the generator is acting up again.”
Hurriedly he moved around the end of the counter and filed past her, heading in the direction of the noise. Madeline waited for a few moments, then looked down at the backcountry reservation book. Maybe the ranger had overlooked Noah’s name.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the ranger halfway down the corridor, still headed away from her. Quickly she spun the book around to face her.
The instant she touched it, she saw blood.
Instinctively she pulled her hand away. She had seen nothing else specific. Just a pool of blood on a brown cement floor. Forcing herself to touch the book again, Madeline flipped back and forth until she found the reservations that had been made for the past few days.
And almost immediately she saw Noah’s name. It was even at the top of the page. Noah Lanchester.
Madeline furrowed her brow. She didn’t see how the ranger could have missed it. It had immediately caught her attention. She looked back down the hallway. He wasn’t in sight. Returning her attention to the book, she saw that Noah had taken a three-day backcountry pass and was due back tomorrow. She looked at the initials of the ranger who had checked Noah in. MZ. As in Michael Zuwalski, the same initials of the ranger she had just been talking to. Wouldn’t he remember someone he had checked in just the day before? She scanned over the names and dates before and after Noah. Only one other party had gone out besides him that day, a couple who were only going to be gone overnight. Surely the ranger would have remembered him then. And she doubted there was more than one ranger at the station with the initials MZ.
Shuffling in the corridor alerted her to the ranger’s return. She rotated the book back around and stood there, trying to look innocent. He emerged from the corridor and walked back behind the counter.
“It was the generator, all right. That thing’s always acting up.” He gave her a smile, but she couldn’t bring herself to smile back. Was he intentionally lying, or was it an honest mistake? She didn’t see how he could forget so quickly. And what about the image of blood? It was so vague. The ranger could have just cut himself slicing bread for all she knew. But her gut pulled at her. Something was wrong. She didn’t trust this guy. The same sense that told her she’d be safe with Noah was now gnawing at her to get away.
But she had to find help. Perhaps another ranger was nearby.
She waited until he reached the desk again, and then asked, “Is it possible another ranger checked him in?” She hoped he would tell her when the other rangers were on duty, or where she could find them.
But instead he only answered, “No.”
Madeline waited a long time, hoping he’d say something further, but he only watched her, tight-lipped, as if waiting for her to say something.
“Well,” she said at last. “Thanks.” For nothing, she added mentally and turned from the counter. Shouldn’t he at least have offered to assist her, if nothing else? She had suffered a “nasty blow,” as he had put it.
“Good luck,” the ranger told her. “It’s wild and woolly