Page 49 of Artifice

“He’s smart. He’s stealthy. He’s trained. It almost sounds like he’s a government operative, doesn’t it?”

Tevin swallowed his bite before saying, “It does.Thatcould explain why his cover story online seems made up.”

“But we also need to consider the idea that maybe he’s not a government employee. Maybe he’s working for someone else.”

“You’d be wise to be cautious around him,” Tevin said. “And Principal Denarau? What was he doing in that warehouse?”

“Reviewing some kind of plans—maybe using the harbor, maybe using the tunnels beneath the school. Maybe they all meet up. I’m not sure. Are these tunnels under the east wing somehow connected with all this? There’s so much I still don’t understand about this situation.”

“There’s definitely something fishy going on.” Tevin grabbed a carton of moo goo gai pan, then his chopsticks. “I had an interesting day on the trails also. But I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be there for you when all this happened. I won’t let that happen again.”

“No, it’s good that you were out hiking. The situation could have been dicey, but it turned out okay.” She picked up her eggroll and continued eating. “So what didyoulearn?”

He gathered all the chicken and vegetables he could with his chopsticks. “I met up with a group of hikers that frequent this area. They said they see a lot of things happening in the harbor at night, mostly from one specific trail.”

Tevin now had her full attention.

“They hike after dark?”

“They’re stargazers.”

“Makes sense.” Olive paused. “What kind of things do they see happening?”

“The trail—one of the more strenuous ones—has an excellent overview of the harbor. They said every Thursday night there’s a lot of boat traffic near those cliffs around Lighthouse Harbor.”

Olive took the last bite and wiped her hands on a paper napkin. “Isn’t that interesting?”

“I’d say.”

“So what I’m hearing is that the two of us need to go on this hike on Thursday night.”

Tevin grinned. “I thought you might say that. And I think it’s a good idea . . . if you’re up for it.”

“I’m most definitely up for it.” Olive leaned back and released a long breath. “Now, in the meantime, you need to finish eating to keep your strength up for all these hikes you’re doing.”

“I’ll only be hiking a half-day tomorrow. There are other things I want to do—like going to the marina. And you’ve given me quite a bit of research to do.” He paused. “Part of me wants to stick around closer to you, just in case.”

“I should be fine.”

“You know what I don’t like about that statement? Theshouldpart of it.”

To be truthful, neither did she.

Tevin left her room an hour later, and Olive already felt better.

Tevin always had that effect on her.

Once he was gone, she hopped in the shower and then put on some pajamas.

Then she grabbed a couple of the hidden cameras she always carried with her. She strategically placed them in the room in case anyone else decided to visit while she wasn’t there.

If that happened, she wanted to know who it was and why.

Once she finished with the cameras, she realized she wanted more water—and maybe a piece of fruit. Mrs. Potts had set up a little snack bar downstairs and had said guests were free to grab treats from it from whenever they wanted.

Knowing it was close to midnight, Olive quietly slipped down the stairs. The house was quiet, indicating everybody else was most likely asleep.

She crept into the dining room, to the buffet where bottled water, fruit, and prepackaged granola mix were neatly arranged in straw baskets.