Page 77 of Obscurity
“I want to find out what those tents were there for,” Olive said. “I can’t help but feel like they might provide some answers. Then I want to see inside the mine. We need evidence of whatever is happening there.”
“Going into the mine is not just dangerous, it’s suicide,” Tevin rushed. “We don’t know the layout, the security measures, or what’s going on down there.”
“It’s a bad idea,” Jason agreed, though Olive saw the conflict in his gaze. “There has to be another way.”
“What other way?” Olive’s voice carried her frustration.
Tevin let out a sigh. “First, check out those tents. I’ll set up a distraction so you can get away.”
“A distraction?” Jason asked.
Tevin frowned but nodded. “I’ll get Maya to help. She’s really good at doing things to draw attention.”
Olive tilted her head, sensing there was more to his words. “What do you mean?”
“I caught her today. She was in the middle of hiding some speakers around town—speakers that would play ghostly sounds. She confessed to me that she’s set up a few things.”
“Like what?” Jason asked even though they all probably knew the answer.
“She planted that dead bird on her car, for starters. And she left that blood—which wasn’t really blood, of course, on the rocks on the hiking trail when no one was looking. And, of course, she made up the story about her tent being ransacked and the glowing red eyes. She’s doing it all for views. The more drama, the more people watch her videos and the more income she gets.”
Olive shook her head at the audacity—and desperation—of some people. “I should have known.”
“Are any of us really surprised?” Tevin raised his brow.
“No, we’re not.” Olive paused. “Are you sure you want to cause a distraction? It’s going to bring attention to you, and I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“I can handle this. Believe me. Just give me fifteen minutes. When I do that, you guys can go and check out those tents. The festival is over tomorrow so we don’t have much more time.”
Before Tevin walked away, she grabbed his arm. He looked back at her, his pupils growing larger.
“Be careful,” she murmured. “Please.”
He stared at her another moment before withdrawing his arm. “I will be. You too. I’m not leaving this assignment by myself. The three of us came in together, and the three of us are leaving together.”
Olive nodded as she heard the worry in his voice. “It’s a deal.”
CHAPTER 55
True to his word, Tevin’s distraction came exactly fifteen minutes later in the form of a heated argument with one of the catering staff about food safety violations.
His voice carried clearly across the festival grounds as he demanded to speak to management about the “health department violations” he’d allegedly witnessed. Maya piped in also, her phone raised and camera rolling as she caught all the drama. Tevin even threw in something about the Dark Watchers being involved, how they wanted to harm people at the festival.
Good job, Tevin.
As security personnel and curious festivalgoers gravitated toward the drama, Olive and Jason slipped away from the crowd and into the trees behind the old mercantile building.
The forest was thicker than it had appeared from a distance, with overlapping canopies that blocked most of the remaining daylight. They moved carefully through the underbrush, using game trails when possible to minimize noise and avoid leaving obvious tracks.
They carefully passed by Brad’s house and continued deeper into the forest.
She paused at one point, realizing there were narrow backroads cutting through the forest. She shouldn’t be surprised.
But, for some reason, organizers had wanted festivalgoers to hike to the site. Why was that?
She and Jason hiked in silence, their earlier conversation still unresolved. But this wasn’t the time to dive into that. That talk demanded their full attention.
“There,” Jason whispered after they’d been walking for about ten minutes.
