Page 61 of Artifice
Olive casually closed her purse, her heart rate accelerating.
Who had left this for her? And were the words true?
Olive had given up on pacing.
But she was going crazy being locked in here.
At least it wasn’t like the Quiet Room. At least here she had a comfortable chair, the place smelled good, and there was a light on.
But not having access to her phone left her feeling unnerved.
Was this really the school’s lockdown procedure? It seemed extreme.
Then again, she remembered what she’d seen. She could understand the students needing to get to their rooms for safety reasons.
But why would the whole school need to be locked down? And why for so long? That made no sense.
Not turning her head, she glanced at the steady red light in the corner.
The camera that watched her every move.
That made it even harder to do anything she might want to do.
She couldn’t set herself up to look suspicious.
No, she needed more answers first.
But just sitting here wouldn’t get her any of those answers.
What if there was more to this than met the eye? What if something had caused that psychotic break in Peter?
Had all this been done to get Olive out of the way?
If that was the case, it meant she was getting too close to the truth.
What if these people were trying to think of a way to eliminate Olive while still getting her money? Was there even a way they might be able to do that?
She wasn’t sure, but it was something she needed to seriously think about.
Finally, the lock turned.
She held her breath as she anticipated who might be on the other side of that doorway.
Director Ingraham? Simon?
Instead, Principal Denarau came into view.
Seeing him didn’t make Olive feel any better.
If anything, seeing him made her entire body tense.
Her right hand instinctively moved toward her hip but stopped short.
Olive had left her weapon at the B&B, knowing the school had metal detectors. She’d chosen to appear compliant rather than armed.
Now she was second-guessing that decision.
CHAPTER 31
