Page 23 of Obscurity (Pros and Cons Mysteries #5)
A fter Max left, Olive and Jason stood in awkward silence, staring at their pathetic campsite.
Around them, other festivalgoers were discovering similar disappointments, their voices carrying through the air in various stages of disbelief and anger.
“Well . . .” Jason finally said as he stared at their tent. “This is cozy.”
Cozy was an understatement. The tent was tiny with barely enough room for both of them. Sleeping at night would be more awkward than she’d imagined.
Not only that, but she was kind of hungry. She’d grabbed a hot dog earlier, but it wouldn’t hold her over for long.
Olive dropped her voice to barely above a whisper. “We need to talk, but not here.” She glanced around at the neighboring campsites, noting how sound would carry in the open area. “Too many ears.”
Jason nodded. “Later.”
They spent the next few minutes setting up their pitiful accommodations.
Finally, when she was confident they weren’t being watched too closely, she unzipped the tent and crawled inside. Jason followed, and for a moment they were alone in the dim interior of what was supposed to be their luxury suite.
“This is a disaster.” Olive kept her voice so low it was almost inaudible. “But that’s not the worst part.”
Jason settled beside her in the cramped space, close enough that she could feel his warmth. She ignored the fact that her heart began to pound faster.
“What did you find in Elias’s office?” Jason asked.
“Incident reports going back years. Missing person cases, search and rescue operations that turned up nothing.” She pulled out her phone and found the photos she’d taken earlier.
“There have been way more disappearances than just the three we knew about. And all the reports have notes in the margins—things like ‘too close to Grayfall’ and ‘ignored safety protocols.’”
He pressed his lips into a tight line before saying, “So someone has been covering up these incidents for a long time.”
“That’s what it looks like. Plus, remember the man on the trail?” Olive shivered despite the warm air inside the tent. “I think he knows something we don’t.”
Jason’s expression tightened. “What kind of something are you thinking he knows?”
“I don’t know yet. But between his warning, the missing person reports, and this joke of a festival—” She gestured around their pathetic accommodations. “I think we’re dealing with something a lot more dangerous than financial fraud.”
“You think they’re planning to?—”
Before Jason could finish his thought, voices erupted outside their tent. Loud, angry voices that suggested other festivalgoers had reached their breaking point with the accommodations.
Olive and Jason exchanged glances. This could be the distraction they needed to do more investigating, or it could be the moment everything fell apart completely.
“We should see what’s happening.” Olive already reached for the tent’s zipper.
Whatever was about to unfold, she had a feeling it would reveal more about what they were really dealing with in Grayfall.
When Olive and Jason emerged from their tent, she saw that a crowd had gathered in the center of the festival grounds.
The volume of complaints grew by the minute, and even from a distance, Olive could see that people were beyond frustrated.
They were furious.
“This is absolutely unacceptable!” Maya’s voice cut through the general murmur of discontent.
She stood near the front of the crowd, her phone held high as she documented the scene for her followers.
“I paid five thousand dollars for luxury glamping, and they gave me a tent that smells like mildew and a sleeping bag that’s probably older than I am! ”
A chorus of agreement rose from the crowd. People held up their phones to document the area and show off the deplorable accommodations. They compared notes about missing amenities and false advertising.
“Where’s the gourmet food we were promised?” called out an older man in a cowboy hat. “Catering ran out of everything except granola bars!”
“And what about the spa services?” added a woman who looked like she’d never been camping in her life. “The website specifically mentioned massage therapy and wellness treatments!”
Connor held his camera, recording the crowd’s anger and the stark reality of their surroundings.
Dr. Z stood at the edge of the crowd, a scowl on his face. He was probably mentally calculating the financial loss he was going to take on this.
That was when Brad Kellerman appeared again. He climbed onto the stage with his arms raised in a gesture that was probably meant to be calming but came across as condescending.
“Folks, folks!” His voice carried across the crowd. “I understand some of you have concerns about the accommodations?—”
“Concerns?” Maya stepped forward, still filming. “These aren’t concerns, these are straight-up lies! You advertised luxury wilderness experiences and delivered summer camp rejects!”
The crowd roared its agreement, and Brad’s smile became more strained. “I know it’s not what you expected. But remember, you’re paying for authenticity. Real wilderness experience. Connection with nature that you can’t get at some corporate resort?—”
“For five thousand dollars?” another man called out. “I could have gone to an actual luxury resort for less than this!”
“When does the music start?” someone from the back of the crowd called out. “At least tell me Midnight Echo is still performing tonight! Aren’t we supposed to have a meet and greet?”
Brad paused for a second too long—long enough for Olive to know what was coming.
“Well . . .” His smile faltered. “I do have a small update about tonight’s lineup.”
The crowd’s energy shifted from angry to dangerous.
“Midnight Echo has encountered some transportation issues getting their equipment to our remote location.” Brad’s voice pitched higher. “But we’ve arranged instead for some incredible local talent that really captures the authentic spirit of Appalachian music?—”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Maya’s voice cracked with disbelief. “Midnight Echo was the entire reason I came here!”
“Local talent?” An older man’s face turned red. “I didn’t pay thousands of dollars to hear some guy play hillbilly music with a banjo!”
The crowd grew more unhinged by the second. People shouted over each other, waved their phones, and demanded refunds that clearly weren’t going to happen.
Olive noticed how Max, Sorrel, and Tom had positioned themselves around the perimeter of the crowd. If she had to guess, they’d done so not to help manage the situation, but to prevent anyone from leaving. Six other men had joined them as new groups had arrived.
“Now, now.” Brad held up his hands. “I know change can be difficult, but I promise you that tonight’s performances are going to be unlike anything you’ve experienced?—”
“Because they’re going to suck!” someone yelled.
“This is already unlike anything I’ve ever experienced!” another voice yelled. “And not in a good way. We want our money back.”
“I want to speak to whoever’s really in charge here!”
Olive caught Jason’s eye and saw her own thoughts reflected there.
If the crowd kept escalating like this, she had a feeling they were about to find out exactly what Brad meant when he said tonight would be “unlike anything they’d experienced.”
The question was whether any of them would survive to tell about it.