Page 26 of Obscurity (Pros and Cons Mysteries #5)
A s Olive and Jason found each other near the stage, ready to discuss what Connor had revealed, a bright voice interrupted them. “Oh my goodness, you two are so cute!”
Maya appeared beside them, swaying slightly as she held her phone with one hand and a plastic cup with the other. Her once perfectly applied makeup was now smudged around her eyes, and her words carried the telltale slur of someone who’d been drinking to forget their problems.
“I’m sorry, what?” Olive asked, momentarily thrown off by the interruption and by the change in Maya’s demeanor.
“You guys! The way you’re looking at each other—it’s like, relationship goals, you know?” Maya giggled, the sound slightly too loud and too long. “I have to get this for my story. My followers are going to die for some authentic couple content.”
How much alcohol had Maya consumed? They’d only started serving it fifteen minutes ago. Could she already be inebriated?
Olive saw festival staff still moving between groups of disgruntled attendees, still offering plastic cups filled with what appeared to be beer and mixed drinks.
Free alcohol, apparently, to help people forget about the missing headliners, terrible accommodations, and general disaster the festival had become.
“I see they’re giving out free drinks.” Jason kept his voice neutral.
“Yeah!” Maya waved her cup enthusiastically, sloshing liquid over the rim. “Brad said it was their way of apologizing for the ‘logistical challenges.’ Super generous, right? I got the good stuff—moonshine!”
Olive and Jason exchanged a look. Getting a crowd of angry, disappointed people drunk seemed like the opposite of a good idea. Unless, of course, you wanted people to be less capable of clear thinking and coordinated action.
And this moonshine must be really strong.
“That’s . . . thoughtful of them.” Olive swallowed hard, everything inside her rebelling against what was happening here.
“Right? Anyway, can I please film you guys being adorable? I need some positive content after everything that’s happened today.” Maya held up her phone, already switching it to video mode. “Just act natural and cute together. My audience loves authentic relationship moments.”
Olive’s pulse spiked. Being filmed was the last thing she wanted right now, but refusing might look suspicious. And Maya was clearly intoxicated enough that arguing with her might create more of a scene.
“I guess that would be okay.” Olive forced a smile.
“Perfect!” She held her phone higher. “Just pretend I’m not here and be yourselves.”
Pretending not to be herself was what Olive did best.
Jason stepped closer, and Olive wrapped her arms around his waist.
The moment their bodies touched, warmth flooded through her system. Even through the stress of their investigation, even with all the unresolved tension between them, her body still responded to his nearness like they were teenagers again.
She wanted to melt into him, to forget about missing persons and fake festivals and all the reasons she’d been keeping him at arm’s length.
The familiar scent of his woodsy cologne, the solid warmth of his chest against her cheek, the way his arms came up to circle her shoulders—it all felt like coming home.
But she couldn’t let herself go there. Not now. Not when so much was at stake.
“You’re so beautiful,” Jason murmured.
The soft undertone of his words made Olive’s pulse flutter.
“Stop.” She giggled. “You’re just saying that for the camera.”
“I’m saying it because it’s true.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
Olive had to fight not to close her eyes at the tenderness of the gesture. She longed for moments like these—but not fake ones.
Real ones.
“This is perfect!” Maya gushed from behind her phone. “You guys are like, couple goals for real. Tell my followers how excited you are to be at Grayfall!”
The woman seemed to have forgotten about how upset she’d been earlier. The alcohol was working wonders with her attitude.
Jason’s arm tightened around Olive’s shoulders.
“We’re looking forward to seeing how this plays out.” His voice sounded bright and convincing. “The setting is incredible, the music has been . . . unique, and getting to experience it all with my wife makes it even better.”
“And we can’t forget how beautiful the mountains are.” Olive surprised herself by how steady her voice sounded. “And the festival has been full of surprises.”
That was certainly true, though not in the way Maya’s followers would expect.
“Aw, you’re making me cry.” Maya lowered her phone. “That’s exactly the kind of content I needed. You guys are the best. I can’t post any of this yet—I don’t have a signal. But I’m going to have enough content for a month!”
She stumbled slightly as she turned away, and Olive wondered how much alcohol the festival organizers had distributed. If Maya was this intoxicated after such a short period of time, what would the crowd be like by the end of the evening?
“Thanks for letting me film,” Maya called over her shoulder as she wandered toward another group of festivalgoers, presumably looking for more content.
Olive and Jason remained in their embrace for a moment longer, both of them reluctant to break the contact.
Finally, Jason’s arms loosened, and Olive stepped back, immediately missing his warmth.
“That was interesting.” She tried to sound casual.
“Getting everyone drunk is a classic crowd control technique.” Jason’s gaze darkened with disapproval. “Harder to organize, harder to think clearly, harder to make coordinated decisions about leaving.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.” Olive glanced at the festivalgoers who were already getting sloshed. “Whatever they’re planning, they want to make us as compliant as possible.”
“The question is what happens next?”
Olive thought about Connor’s abrupt departure with Brad, about Maya’s stolen hard drive, and about the watchers positioned around the crowd.
And this weekend had only just begun.