Page 25 of Artifice (Pros and Cons Mysteries #4)

O live 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?”

“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. That could 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 did you learn?”

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? The should part 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.

Just as Olive grabbed an apple, a voice in the distance caught her ear.

She froze.

Even though she couldn’t make out the words, the conversation sounded heated.

After checking to make sure no one else was around, she crept closer to the door labeled “Private.”

Yes, the voice was definitely coming from inside Mrs. Potts’ residence.

Olive pressed her ear to the door, hoping to hear more.

It sounded as if Mrs. Potts was talking to someone on the phone.

“I know,” she murmured. “I’m doing everything you told me.”

There was a pause.

“You just need to give me more time.”

Another pause.

“I promise I’ll do what you said. Just don’t hurt my Henry!”

Olive took a step back as she heard a creak, indicating that Mrs. Potts was walking toward the door.

During her whole stay here, she’d yet to see Mrs. Potts’ husband. Olive had assumed it was because maybe he was antisocial.

But what if there was more to it?

In fact, Director Ingraham had set Olive up at this bed-and-breakfast. Had she done that so she could control the situation? Was she—or someone she hired—holding Henry hostage?

Olive had no idea, but it was a theory worth considering.

She hurried back up the stairs before she was caught. She didn’t want Mrs. Potts to know she’d overheard that conversation. Not yet.

But whatever was going on here, she didn’t like it.