Dressed in jeans and jackets against the chill, Matt and Julie stood hand in hand between the two long rectangular buildings of Fort Clatsop. They were completely alone. The park didn’t open for hours, but the movie crew had arranged to do some filming before visitors arrived.

Julie sipped her coffee. “They spent a whole winter here in these little buildings.”

“Lots of salmon,” Matt observed.

“No Netflix and no pizza delivery,” Julie laughed.

“And no girls!”

Julie playfully slapped his arm, eyes sparkling. “Come on, let’s walk down to the water.”

They followed the indicated path through the towering pines. Profound silence surrounded them; a thin mist slipped around the trunks of the trees and brushed the ferns. It was as though they had gone back to the time of Lewis and Clark. Julie pictured Meriwether Lewis’ huge Newfoundland, Seaman, ranging ahead of them, eager for a swim. She glanced at Matt, not sure whether her attraction to him was genuine or only that he made her feel safe. When he’d kissed her, she’d been surprised, yet had decidedly responded to the chemistry. The situation they found themselves in wasn’t made for sensible thinking. For now, she was glad to be with him; grateful for his warmth and sense of humor. If more was to come, that would be for tomorrow to decide.

They left the path and came out onto a decking walk through reeds and marshy ground, their casual shoes making no sound to disturb the pristine feeling of the morning. The sky was pearly gray with a faint hint of pink in the east between the trees.

Julie stopped suddenly and squeezed Matt’s hand. “Look,” she whispered. “Someone’s sleeping in that canoe.”

And there, in one of the massive hand-hewn dugouts along the walkway, a tall figure in a gray hooded sweatshirt snuggled under a distinctive Hudson’s Bay blanket with one bare foot peeking out. They couldn’t see the face, only the cold-looking toes.

“Hey,” Matt said. “You better move along. If they catch you ” He stopped. There was a dark gooey stain under the hood. He dropped to the decking and carefully pulled back the fabric.

“No!” Julie gasped with horror. “Matt, it’s Jacob Stein. Is he …”

“Very. Shot through the head. Don’t look!”

Julie clutched her coffee, understandably feeling a rush of déjà vu as Matt called 911.

The police arrived quickly, and once again, Julie felt like a bug on a pin as they took her to an office in the Visitor Center to question her. When the park opened, they reluctantly released her. Still feeling stunned by their harsh treatment, she stopped at the edge of the parking lot to let the coroner go by with the body of the dead movie director.

Matt appeared beside her and put his arm over her shoulders. In the comfort of his support, Julie started to break down. She needed a Kleenex from her purse, but before she got it, the policeman who’d been questioning her came running after them. In his meaty fist fluttered a bright pink scarf.

“Hey, Miss-sweet-and-innocent-little-school-teacher. What do you know about this?” he demanded.

Julie froze. Was it the scarf she’d seen before? Her purse dropped from nerveless fingers. “I don’t … Nothing. But it looks like “

There was a clattering on the pavement and she looked down as an ugly German Luger slithered from her big leather bag along with her wallet, phone and other ordinary purse-junk.

The policeman stared at it, then at her. He pulled a pencil from his pocket and lifted the gun on it so it was in front of her face.

“No,” Julie whispered. “No, no, no …”

“Where did you find the scarf?” Matt asked the officer.

“Right under the body,” the officer sneered. “Folded up all pretty like grandma put it there herself except for the dried blood I bet came from the first victim.”

“Then maybe you should look for the person who did that murder. The one Julie told you about.”

“I want to know what she thinks,” the officer growled, gesturing at Julie with the gun suspended on his pencil.

Panic swept Julie. Everyone was staring at her, and she saw accusation in their eyes. There wasn’t one single thing that made sense and a voice in her ears pounded: run, run, run! She bolted across the parking lot.

Behind her, the policeman roared for her to stop and a shout went up from the people watching. This only fueled her hysteria and she ran harder.

Branches plucked at her jacket, she gasped and sobbed, terrified, and her heart hammered: run, run, run! Matt caught up with her just as she tripped and pitched into a tangle of brush. He gently lifted her back to her feet and folded her into his arms. “Shhh,” he breathed. “I’m right here.”

“But the gun,” she jabbered. “How did it get … Who could have? And the scarf. Is it the woman no one thinks exists?” She tried to jerk away from him.

He grabbed her firmly by her upper arms and made her look him in the eye. “Julie. Stop it. I’m here, you’re safe. Come on. I won’t let you down.”

For a moment she looked into his kind eyes, then sagged against him. “Help me. I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m going crazy.”

You’re not crazy,” he whispered. “Come on, let’s go back and deal with this.”

There was a crashing in the brush.

Julie stepped back and squared her shoulders. “You’re right. I’m innocent.” She sounded firm, but tears stood in her eyes.

“I’m completely with you. Trust me?”

She nodded and they turned to the pursuing officers.

“Cuff her!” the gasping officer ordered.

“You don’t need to do that,” Matt said. “She’s not going to run again.”

“Now just why should I believe you?”

“You know why,” Matt snapped and gave him a hard look. And taking Julie by the arm, he led her back toward the parking lot.