Page 48 of Artifice

She eyed him curiously. Who was this guy?

Instead, she asked, “What about you?”

“I need to return this boat before it’s reported missing.” He glanced at his watch. “There’s a board meeting on Thursday at ten. If you stay in town that long, I recommend you attend. Ask lots of questions about the renovation budget.”

“Why?”

“I think you’re smart enough to figure that out.” His gaze darkened. “Whatever you do, don’t go back to the warehouse. That place isn’t just dangerous—it’s the center of everything.”

Before Olive could ask anything more, Simon pushed away from the dock. The small boat almost immediately disappeared into the darkness.

Standing alone on the dock, her torn dress fluttering in the cold night air, Olive realized her hands were shaking. From cold, from adrenaline, from the growing certainty that Colin Andrewshadn’t simply run away—he’d discovered something he was never meant to see.

And now she had also.

CHAPTER 25

Olive made it back to the B&B. She’d already texted Tevin, and he was waiting in her room for her.

As soon as she walked in, he stood, clearly concerned about what had happened. “Are you okay?”

Olive looked down at herself. At the rip in her dress. At how her hair was now frizzy and tangled. She probably had smudges of dirt on her face, if she had to guess.

Not a good look for Liv Bettencourt.

“I’ll be fine.” She dropped into one of the chairs at the settee. Her feet hurt—they were scraped up from the walk, and she could use a shower.

But that could wait.

Tevin had brought Chinese food with him—it was kind of their thing they did together—as well as some bottled water.

Even though she wasn’t really hungry, she picked up an eggroll and took a bite, appreciating the distraction the crunch caused. Then, as the scent of garlic and toasted sesame oil rose around her, she took a long sip of water and began to fill him in on what had happened.

He dropped into the chair across from her, listening to her every word.

Tevin had always been a fantastic listener. Not only that, but he was a master at creating spreadsheets and was a whiz at computer operating systems. Best of all, he was close to his mother and called her every day.

“I’ll take care of the rental car for you. Don’t worry about that. I’ll make sure to hack into the system at the rental company and change your name so it won’t trace back to you.”

“Thank you.” It was good to have people like Tevin on her side. “I also need you to look into the property and see who owns that warehouse.”

“I can do that.”

“Oh, and when I was in that Quiet Room, I lost all phone service. Do you know how that was possible?”

“Maybe a signal jammer? That makes the most sense.”

“So does someone at Lighthouse Harbor have a signal jammer that they always keep on?”

“Or that they use on special occasions.” He shrugged.

Olive frowned. “I don’t like the sound of that. Plus, my battery seemed to drain really quickly. Do you know how that might have happened?”

“There’s no reason I can think of.”

Her frown deepened.

“So what do you think about all this?” He picked up an eggroll. “Who exactly is this Simon Long guy?”