Page 69 of Artifice

She stood by the lighthouse and stared out over the water as she waited. Every few seconds, a beam from the lantern room swept the area then out to sea again, just as it had done for decades.

The minutes ticked by.

Abe was now five minutes late.

Then ten.

Then fifteen.

Olive was almost ready to give up.

Then, just as a gust of wind swept over her, bringing with it the promise of rain, she heard a stick crack behind her.

That was when she realized she was no longer alone.

Olive twirled around, not sure who she’d see.

To her surprise, Abe stood there.

His face was pale in the dim light, eyes darting nervously around them. He wore a dark hoodie pulled up over his head, and his hands were shoved deep in his pockets.

“You came,” Olive murmured.

“I almost changed my mind,” he admitted. “The dorm monitor was pacing the hallway, almost as if he knew I wasthinking about coming out here tonight. But I managed to slip away when he wasn’t looking.”

She glanced in the distance to where the school was. “So no one knows you’re here?”

“Nah. We’re good.” He paused and eyed her a moment.

“I had the feeling there were things you wanted to say, things you couldn’t speak aloud while in that building. Is that true?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Why do you care?”

“I came here to see if I wanted to donate money. Now I think that maybe instead of giving money I need to report this place so it can be investigated. Something about Lighthouse Harbor gives me a bad feeling, like it has secrets people are dying to keep quiet.”

A flicker of surprise crossed his face. “You feel that too, huh?”

“I do.”

He observed her another moment before asking, “What do you wanna know?”

“What happened to your friend Colin?”

“They know you asked about him, you know.”

Her breath caught. “What do you mean?”

“They questioned all of us during lockdown. I didn’t want to tell them. But they have their ways of getting information.” He rubbed his wrists.

It was too dark to see out here, but Olive suspected there were bruises there.

Her gaze flittered back up to meet his. “They asked you what we talked about?”

Abe nodded.

“Did they ask anything else?” Olive asked.

“Not really.”