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W hen they reached a spot about a mile shy of the cave, Sadie halted and everyone behind her stopped walking, too.

Diana peered around, getting her bearings. Then she called, “The abandoned barn Rory photographed is about a third of a mile off the trail, up on the rise. Evan and Aaron, you two break off and search the area leading to the barn and the barn itself. The rest of you spread out and search along the trail.”

Evan nodded, pleased to be tasked with the first high probability area. Aaron bopped along beside him, full of energy.

“Are you from Union Hill, originally?” Evan asked as they picked over the rocks and tree branches to make their way up the hill.

Aaron was careful to shine the light low, which Evan appreciated. He wasn’t really an outdoorsman. He was more of a sit in the library with a book and a brandy man.

“Yes sir, born and bred.”

“Do you ever think about moving away?” Evan was always curious to hear the answer when he spoke to young people who had stayed in the area.

“No, never. Why would I? The trails are here, clean air, there’s good fishing in the summertime. It’s beautiful. And with all the investment and buildings that Julie’s bringing in, everything I want is here. And what I can’t get here, I can just go down to Pittsburgh for.”

Evan got it. As Rory had said, there were winners and losers in the revitalization. And apparently this young man felt at least that he was a winner.

“Do you like your work?”

Aaron’s expression tightened. “It’s a job. Like my dad always said, it’s not supposed to be fun. That’s why they call it work. I just kind of wish I didn’t work for such a big corporation.”

Evan cocked his head.

OAC had a reputation for being one of the best employers in the country, right up there with REI and Patagonia in the outdoor adventure space. Sure, they were big companies, but they were certified B corporations. All three offered good benefits, progressive policies, and generous pay.

“Really?” he asked.

“I mean, it’s fine.” The young man huffed out a breath and shook his head. “It’s just, Sadie’s my manager.”

“Ah, the young woman who organized the search party.”

“Right. She’s also my girlfriend.”

That wasn’t really a corporate issue. Or was it? “And there’s no prohibition about the two of you dating?”

“No, but because Sadie’s in management, she had to disclose it to human resources. And instead of cutting me slack, like you would when you’re someone you’re dating, she feels like she’s under a microscope, so she’s got me under a microscope. If I come in a couple minutes late, she writes me up. If my drawer’s short, she files a report. She never just lets anything slide.”

Evan considered this. “Well, she may be trying to do everything on the straight and narrow because you’re dating, or it could just be her personality. Some people are cut out be cogs in a wheel.”

“Cogs in a wheel,” he repeated. “Yeah. Sadie’s a cog.”

“Others, like you perhaps, and certainly like me, are more free-spirited. We see the flaws in the system. We can navigate it, and we can live within it, but it constrains us.”

“But you’re the history center director. You are the system.”

He smiled. “Ah. Am I? Perhaps. I choose programming at the center that I think will raise questions about the powers that be. I also teach a history course at the college about American protest movements. Much of it focuses on workers’ rights. I think you’d find it interesting.”

“Yeah?”

“You could audit it.”

Aaron made a face.

Evan went on, “Or not. You could read. There are also podcasts and YouTube channels devoted to the subject. I’d be happy to give you a list.” He checked his phone discreetly, noting the time. Still early. He pocketed it and continued scanning the ground. Casually, he said, “You know, what Rory’s doing is a form of protest.”

“The exhibit? I guess. I mean, she’s showing the darker side of capitalism and revitalization and stuff.”

“Yes, that, but also her disappearance.”

“What do you mean?”

Evan paused. “She said she going to shine a light on the displaced. She left her home. She set out on the trail. That was to bring attention to the issue and to her work.”

“Right? And?”

“Well, what better way to bring even more attention to it than to go off the grid, to vanish? It would keep people talking.”

Even in the shadows of the light, Evan could see that this did not land well with Aaron. The vein in his neck tightened, popped out, and his jaw ticked.

“Are you saying she disappeared on purpose? This is a stunt? Did she plant that blood for us to find?” He was spiraling.

Evan wanted Aaron to question the situation, not melt down. “Son, let’s sit for a moment.” He guided him to a fallen log. “Take some slow breaths. You seem very distressed.”

Aaron gripped his knees and took several gulping breaths before he looked up, tears shining in his eyes. “I really care about Rory. If you know something, please tell me.”

Evan studied the young man for a very long time. “Are you and Rory … involved?”

“Not anymore. We dated for a while when she first moved to Union Hill. Sadie and I were taking a break. But Rory decided she didn’t want anything serious. She wanted to focus on her work.”

“Ahh.” Evan wondered how that idea had sat with Aaron.

As if he’d read Evan’s mind, Aaron said, “I understand. Now, I mean. I was pretty hurt at first. But seeing her photography, I get it. It’s powerful. Like that picture of Mr. Kovalic on his porch, the one hanging in your history center. I hope she goes back and documents the demolition of his house the way she did for Mrs. Hudson.”

Evan cleared his throat, then gave Aaron a bracing clap on the back. “Well, let’s go find her, shall we? So she can.”

He stood and hurried up the hill toward the barn, away from the eastern ridgeline, where the Kovalic house? the last remaining structure on Company Way, stood lonely and desolate in the distance. After a moment, Aaron trudged behind him.