Page 54 of Artifice (Pros and Cons Mysteries #4)

T he next few hours were organized chaos at best.

Families arrived to get their children. Those who didn’t have families were handled by social services. Local police were on the scene as well as FBI and whoever the men with Simon worked for.

Olive and Tevin had remained on the grounds of Lighthouse Harbor, staying close in case they were needed. People had lots of questions for them, and Olive had answered to the best of her abilities.

From what she’d gathered, Henry and Margaret had been arrested. Stephanie had been taken in for questioning, though Olive didn’t anticipate she’d be held.

Paramedics had gone to check out Mrs. Potts also. Olive assumed authorities had told her about her husband, and she couldn’t imagine how the woman might be taking that news.

As Olive took a sip of water from a bottle a police officer had given her, Principal Denarau stepped from the building and walked toward them.

She was curious what this conversation would hold.

“I want to thank you for what you did, for stopping Henry and Margaret and these terrible experiments.”

“You didn’t know about them?” Olive questioned, watching his face for any signs of deceit.

He shook his head. “No. I knew about the supplements, but Dr. Wells assured me everything was fine and that the supplements were safer than actual pharmaceuticals would be.”

“I’m sure he was convincing.”

Denarau frowned. “Unfortunately, he was.”

“But I have to tell you—I saw you in the warehouse a couple nights ago, looking at blueprints with Mr. Thorne. How do you explain that?”

His eyebrows flickered up in surprise. “That was you outside? I should have known. You followed me from the restaurant, I assume.”

She nodded.

“I thought something suspicious was going on there. I trusted Mr. Thorne and asked him to meet. I found that second set of blueprints inside.”

“Who were the men hanging around doing security then?”

“I hired my own team,” he told her. “I could feel the noose tightening, so to speak. I didn’t feel safe. I knew people were watching me, following my every move. So I was proactive.”

“How did you even get tipped off about the warehouse?” Tevin asked.

“I overheard Director Ingraham talking on the phone about it to someone. I wanted to see what was going on with my own eyes.”

Simon stepped out and called for Principal Denarau to join him inside.

Michael muttered another thank you before scurrying away.

Then it was just Olive and Tevin again.

She turned to Tevin. “I was really worried about you, you know. I never wanted you to be in that situation.”

“I know you didn’t. I didn’t mean to put myself in that situation. But I could feel danger closing in.”

She tilted her head. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Tevin.”

He returned the smile, then started to say something.

Before any of the words left his lips, Olive’s phone rang.

It was Rex.

“I guess we should give him an update,” Olive murmured.

“Maybe you should fix your hair first?” Tevin lifted a strand, dried with mud, from her cheek.

After climbing that cliff and being knocked out and placed in those tunnels, she could only imagine how she looked.

“I don’t think Rex cares,” she said. Then she answered the video call.

Rex practically flinched when he saw Olive’s face.

Maybe she should have fixed her hair first.

She gave him the update.

“Good work,” Rex said. “I knew you could handle this.”

That meant a lot coming from Rex. She was one of the junior agents at the agency, so she still had a lot to learn.

“I have an update for you also,” Rex started.

Olive shifted her phone into her other hand. “What’s that?”

“We have a new employee.”

“Oh?” She wasn’t sure why he was telling her this—and why he’d chosen this moment to do so.

A moment later, a new face appeared on the screen.

Olive barely contained her gasp. “Jason?”

“Surprise.” He grinned, but the expression quickly morphed into a frown. “Are you okay?”

She must really be a sight to behold. “I’m fine. But you . . . you’re working for Aegis now?”

“I wanted to tell you earlier, but contractually, I wasn’t allowed to.”

Rex came back on the screen. “We knew he would be the perfect fit for our agency. And since you trust him, we can also.”

But could she trust him? She hadn’t told anyone about her fears. She’d only asked Tevin to do some investigating.

What if Jason wasn’t trustworthy?

“I thought you’d want to hear the news right from us,” Rex said. “Jason will make an excellent addition to our team.”

“Yes, he will,” Olive finally said.

“We’ll talk more when you get back to Indiana.”

She forced a smile. “I look forward to it.”

She should feel excited. But she wasn’t convinced this was a good thing.

She needed answers now more than ever.

Olive had one more person to talk to before she wrapped up things here.

Simon.

Thankfully, he stepped outside and found her a few minutes later.

“You mind if we have a moment?” He turned to Tevin.

Tevin stared at him as if he wanted to say no, but he finally nodded and stepped away.

Simon and Olive began walking along the edge of the property together, their steps slow and purposeful.

“I have a few updates for you,” he started. “From what we’ve gathered so far, Henry Potts is the mastermind/scientist behind the mind-altering drug program. But he’s working for someone else.”

“Anton Karakov?” Olive questioned.

Surprise lit Simon’s eyes. “That’s our suspicion, but Karakov is a master at covering his tracks.”

“As every crime boss should be.”

“We’re still working on some evidence to nail him.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Anyway, as you know, Potts has been using troubled youth as his test subjects as he worked on perfecting the formula to make people completely compliant to commands.”

“Shameful,” Olive muttered.

“He’s been using the tunnels beneath the east wing for his illegal experiments and also using the warehouse for shipping large quantities of the drugs internationally.”

“The activity in the harbor at night?”

“It’s been their shipments,” Simon said. “They know on nights when the weather is especially bad that very few people will be out to see anything. That’s why they carefully planned their dates—usually on Thursdays.”

“Sounds risky.”

“Everything they were doing was risky.”

Olive couldn’t argue with that.

“What about the two other teens who went missing?” Olive asked. “Did you find them?”

“We did.” Lines formed near his eyes. “They were in rough shape, but we think they’ll be okay. They’re at the hospital now.”

“I’m glad they were found before it was too late.”

“Me too.”

“That first night I saw you at the restaurant,” Olive started. “Were you there to watch me?”

“No, that was just a coincidence. I was reviewing some information and trying out that amazing lobster mac and cheese.”

“Someone tried to get into my computer at the B&B. Was that you?” Her thoughts still turned.

“No, it wasn’t. It was probably Henry or one of his guys.”

Simon paused near the gazebo and turned toward her, his gaze inquiring. “Henry said something interesting, though. He said, ‘My boss wants to thank Olive for all the sacrifices her father made.’ Any idea what he means by that?”

Olive felt her face go pale. “He said that?”

Simon nodded. “What does it mean?”

She swallowed hard. “I . . . I’m not sure. My father is dead, and he has been for eight years.”

“So he had no connection to organized crime?”

Did he? Honesty, Olive had no idea.

“My father was a con man,” she finally answered. “I’m searching for all the other answers myself.”

Simon stared at her another moment as if judging her response. Finally, he nodded. “I see.”

Then he extended his hand. “Good work, Olive.”

After a brief hesitation, Olive slipped her fingers into his. “You too. Maybe our paths will cross again sometime.”

He grinned. “I hope so.”

After their handshake was done, Simon still gripped her fingers a moment.

The next couple of months would be interesting. That was for sure.

~~~

Thank you for reading Artifice . If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review.

Coming next: Obscurity .

Deep in the forests of Blackridge, shadows have secrets—and a hidden predator waits.

When the daughter of a tech billionaire vanishes while hiking near Pinecrest, private investigator Olive Sterling and her new colleague Jason respond to the desperate plea for help.

Seven hikers have already disappeared in these woods over the past three years, each one during the new moon, each one without a trace.

The only clue? A final text message from the missing woman: The trees are watching.

Olive and Jason discover an abandoned mining town slowly being reclaimed by the forest. But someone has transformed the ghost town's crumbling structures and the surrounding woods into an elaborate psychological maze designed to disorient, terrify, and ultimately trap its victims.

With the new moon approaching and time running out, Olive and Jason must navigate both the dark woods and the suspicious townspeople, each who seems to guard secrets about the abandoned settlement.

But the most dangerous secret might be the unresolved tension between Olive and Jason themselves, as their first case together forces them to confront their complicated past.

In the darkest nights of Blackridge Forest, what's more dangerous—the predator hunting them, or the truths they've been hiding from each other?

The thrilling fifth installment in USA Today bestselling author Christy Barritt's Pros and Cons series.