Page 59 of Silos and Sabotage

Ghost?It took Gage a few seconds to figure out what he was talking about. “If you’re referring to that dare I never agreed to?—”

“You lost, bro. Fair and square.” Johnny tossed something through the air at him. It glinted brightly in the sunlight.

Gage caught it out of reflex. It was a lot heavier than he was expecting. He found himself staring at the largest belt buckle he’d ever seen in person. It was pretty cool, actually. Like holding a piece of history in his hands.

“Let’s see the evidence first.” He didn’t want to look too anxious to wear it.

“Glad you asked.” Johnny held out the game controller, which turned out to be the controls of a video drone. He toggled theonswitch, and the recording played across a screen the size of a cell phone.

Gage watched a pair of silver silos bounce and jitter into view. A sharp cracking sound make him jolt. “What was that?”

“Not sure. My guess is someone was shooting at my drone.” Johnny was no longer smiling.

“When?”

“Few minutes ago.”

That explained the thick layer of dust clinging to his clothing. The guy sure was full of surprises. He bent his head closer to the controls. “Check out what happens next.” The video footage went in and out of focus a few times. Then it honed in on the top of one of the silos, where a section of the domed roof was missing. A man-sized hole gaped open where corrugated metal should’ve been.

“Where’s your ghost?” Gage wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be looking for.

“Don’t blink,” Johnny commanded quietly.

As the drone hovered closer to the hole, a hand reached up to slap at it. A very human hand. There was another sharp cracking sound. Then the video feed cut off.

“Who was that?” Gage scowled in concern at Johnny.

“The guy who either shot down my drone or made it crash land inside the silo.”

“Yeah, well, you were trespassing,” Gage pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter.” Johnny shrugged. “They’ll never trace it back to me. I made sure it was clean. No fingerprints. Nothing.”

Gage pointed at the video screen. “Any idea who it was?”

“One of the ghosts you said you didn’t believe in, I reckon.”

“He looked real to me.” Gage hit the rewind button so he could watch it again. “Could be some kids playing inside it.” He pointed at the corner of the screen. “There might’ve been a ladder propped against one side of it. It was too blurry to tell for sure.”

“Impossible.” Johnny took a step back, eyeing him in mock protest. “According to the guys who work there, nobody goes near those two silos. The Bolanders keep saying they’re gonna bulldoze them down, but they never do.”

“Hold on. What’s that?” Right before the video flashed off again, Gage thought he caught a glimpse of something. Fingers, maybe? They were curled around the rim of the hole.

“That’s what I was hoping you could tell me.” Johnny gestured at the small video camera. “Keep it. Show it to your brother. Zoom in and get a fingerprint off the waving hand. Analyze the snot out of it. You’re welcome.”

For an answer, Gage put on the oversized belt buckle.

All Johnny did was chuckle.

While they waited for Ella to make her appearance, Gage sent a copy of the video to both Luke and Gil. If there was a man hiding out in one of the abandoned silos at the Bolanders, that man might be Billy Bob.

Chapter 11: Square One

Ella stepped out on the porch and discovered Johnny had arrived. He was halfway down the driveway, dusting off his shirt and jeans.

Gage was waiting beside his company SUV with the passenger door open for her. “Wow!” Appreciation glinted in his gaze. “You look great.”

“Thanks. So do you.” She paused to drink in his tall, dark good looks before locking up. He’d tucked a navy, button-down oxford shirt into jeans and added a belt with a wide silver and gold buckle. And not just any buckle. It was huge — the kind they handed out at rodeos for first-place championship wins.

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