Page 83 of Obscurity

Several minutes later, as the adults chatted, the kids went to their tents to turn in for the evening.

“Ollie?” Jessie whispered from her sleeping bag. “Are we really going to be rich?”

“I don’t know,” Olive whispered back, listening to the low murmur of adult voices discussing investment amounts and partnership agreements. “I honestly don’t know.”

But she was beginning to suspect that the only treasure her father was really hunting was the contents of the Henderson family’s bank account.

CHAPTER 61

PRESENT DAY

Olive’s phone alarm vibrated silently against her wrist at 5:30 a.m., pulling her from the uneasy sleep she’d finally managed in the hour before dawn.

The festival grounds were completely quiet now. The terrible music had stopped hours ago, leaving only the sound of the river rushing past the campsite.

Jason was already awake beside her, his eyes open as he stared at the tent ceiling. She suspected his mind raced with what they might find today.

She prayed it would be Chloe and Becca alive.

“Ready?” Jason whispered, barely audible in the predawn darkness.

“As I’ll ever be.”

They’d planned carefully—dark clothing, soft-soled shoes, equipment distributed between them in case they got separated. Olive’s phone was fully charged with the backup battery pack, camera ready to document whatever they discovered.

They’d talked to Tevin. He was monitoring things from Grayfall. As soon as they found enough evidence, they would text him. He was going to station himself somewhere with cell reception.

When they gave him the go-ahead, he would tell Rex what was happening. Rex would then call the proper authorities and get backup to them.

Moving with practiced stealth, they slipped out of their tent and into the gray twilight that preceded sunrise.

The air was crisp and clean, still holding the lingering smell of last night’s campfires. Around them, hundreds of other tents sat silent, their occupants either sleeping off hangovers or simply exhausted by the festival’s many disappointments.

They slipped behind the buildings in town, using the trees for cover. Carefully, they crept by the house where Brad was staying. Past the mine entrance. Through more woods.

Finally, they reached the other campsite and paused behind a cluster of trees to survey the area.

This was where the rubber met the road.

Olive breathed a quick prayer for wisdom.

“There.” Jason pointed through the trees. “That’s where we should go.”

The auxiliary buildings.

From their concealed position, Olive saw lights in some of the windows and what appeared to be vehicles parked between the buildings.

Vehicles? The sight of them only confirmed there were other roads leading here.

Maybe that was even why the GPS had messed up on her on the way here.

“Look—it’s a line of people headed toward the mountain,” Jason murmured. “My guess is that the mine has another entrance.”

She watched as probably twenty men dressed in jeans and flannel shirts walked toward the mountain, their steps appearing heavy and burdened.

Her stomach clenched. “You’re probably right. It almost looks like forced labor.”

“We need to make it to those buildings without being seen.”