Page 2 of Artifice (Pros and Cons Mysteries #4)

PRESENT DAY

T he wind howled across the jagged Maine coastline, driving sheets of rain into Olive’s face as she clung to the cliff’s edge.

Thirty feet below, angry waves crashed against the rocks, retreating only to surge forward again with greater fury. Lightning split the sky, briefly illuminating her precarious position and the cave where that phone might be hiding.

Her knuckles were white against the dark stone. Thunder rattled through her chest, but she didn’t flinch. She’d been in enough risky situations to know that hesitation was more dangerous than the elements.

She tasted salt as rainwater streamed down her face and the sea sprayed its fury.

But she had to know for sure if Colin’s phone was there. The device contained everything—messages, contacts, and photos that could unravel the entire case.

Another flash revealed a narrow ledge below.

That should be the cave.

Calculating quickly, Olive shifted her weight, found a toehold, and descended a few feet. Her tennis shoes scraped against the rock as she tested each new grip.

A chunk of granite came loose in her hand, tumbling into the darkness.

Olive pressed herself into the cliff, her heart hammering against the stone. The rain plastered her dark hair to her face and neck, but she didn’t dare push it away.

Instead, she steadied her nerves and inched downward. Her muscles burned under the strain of moving precisely, even when every instinct screamed to hurry.

When she reached a small ledge, she crouched and braced herself as another gust threatened to tear her from her perch.

Lightning lit the sky again, illuminating the cave.

A red neoprene bag was inside—a red bag that might contain that phone.

If she could only reach it . . .

Olive balanced herself on the ledge near the cave.

She feared if she climbed fully inside, she’d never get out.

Instead, she stretched her arm toward the red bag.

Her fingertips grazed the smooth canvas.

But she couldn’t quite snag it. She would have to commit fully—to lean into the storm with nothing but the strength of one hand keeping her from joining the churning Atlantic below.

Drawing in a deep breath, Olive tightened her grip on a protruding rock with her left hand and extended her body outward.

The world narrowed to just her straining fingers and that glinting canvas bag. Everything else—the storm, the sea, the danger—faded to background noise.

Her shoulder protested as she reached farther than seemed possible.

Her fingertips touched the edge of the bag. She nudged it, nearly pushing it from the ledge. She held her breath, praying it didn’t fall into the roiling sea.

Finally, her fingers wrapped around the strap of the bag.

As she pulled it toward her, a massive wave crashed against the cliff base. Water sprayed so high she felt it mingle with the rain on her face.

But she had it. The phone.

The evidence she needed.

The reason she’d put herself in this situation.

She prayed it wasn’t broken. That Tevin could get the information they needed from it.

She secured her position on the cliff and opened the bag just to make sure.

Her heart skipped a beat. The phone was inside!

She shoved the device into her back pocket, allowing herself a moment of triumph.

But her troubles weren’t over.

Because now she needed to get back to safety.

As she glanced up, she saw a shadow standing at the top.

Without a doubt, she knew the person there wasn’t a friend but a foe.