Page 29 of Obscurity (Pros and Cons Mysteries #5)

J ason reached for the tent zipper, then stopped.

His hand hovered over the pull tab as he listened intently to the sounds from inside—soft rustling that could be someone going through their belongings.

Olive’s pulse hammered in her throat as she imagined all the possibilities. One of Brad’s security team searching for evidence. A local who’d decided festivalgoers made easy targets. Or worse—whoever had been responsible for the other disappearances, come to add two more names to their list.

Jason held up three fingers, then two.

On one, he acted.

But instead of unzipping the tent and rushing in, Jason called out, “I know you’re in there. Come out now.”

The rustling inside stopped abruptly.

For a heart-stopping moment, complete silence stretched.

Olive heard her own breathing, unnaturally loud, even over the rushing river in the background.

Every shadow seemed to shift and move in her peripheral vision.

Then a familiar voice came from inside, muffled by the tent fabric. “It’s me. Don’t freak out.”

Olive’s knees nearly buckled with relief, but Jason remained tense beside her.

They’d learned not to trust voices in the dark. Too many people in this place weren’t who they seemed to be.

They exchanged glances, having a silent conversation about whether this could be a trap. Jason’s expression was grim but determined as he carefully unzipped the tent entrance, moving slowly enough to react if whoever was inside proved hostile.

Inside, barely visible in the darkness, sat a familiar silhouette.

As Olive’s eyes adjusted, she saw Tevin’s distinctive profile. He sat cross-legged on Olive’s sleeping bag, looking as if he’d been waiting for them for some time. But his posture was alert, ready to move quickly if necessary.

“Tevin . . .” Olive sighed, relief and irritation warring in her voice as the adrenaline slowly drained from her system. “You scared the snot out of me. You could have given us some warning.”

“Sorry. Didn’t want to risk calling out and attracting attention.” Tevin’s voice was barely above a whisper as he shifted to make room for them in the cramped space. “I’ve been monitoring radio chatter, and there are patrols making rounds every hour.”

“We noticed,” Jason muttered as he sat on his mattress, still facing Tevin.

Olive sat beside Tevin, the three of them forming a small circle.

“Where have you two been?” Tevin asked, pushing his glasses up higher on his nose. “I’ve been waiting here for over an hour, and I was starting to think something happened to you.”

“Reconnaissance.” Jason’s voice still carried the edge of someone prepared for a fight.

They told him about the mine, about Brad’s house, and everything else they’d learned.

“Now it’s your turn. What’s so urgent that you broke into our tent in the middle of the night?” Jason asked when they finished.

Tevin’s expression grew even more serious in the dim light of the small battery powered lantern between them. “We’ve got bigger problems than I thought. Much bigger.”

Olive swallowed hard.

She didn’t like the sound of that.

Olive held her breath as she waited for Tevin to continue.

“First, Chloe did stay at the lodge,” Tevin said. “I was able to look at their books. She was there for two nights, but I didn’t see anything else helpful. The entire festival staff initially stayed at the lodge.”

“Go on,” Jason said.

“I overheard what Becca was telling you about the missing girl in Tennessee.”

“What about it?” Olive asked.

“I was curious, so I hiked just outside of town. That newer house you mentioned? The one where Brad is staying? Turns out there’s reception there. I managed to get through to Rex.”

Olive’s pulse quickened. “And?”

“Two things. First of all, he said he tried to call you before you reached the lodge, but reception was bad.”

“Did he say what he wanted?”

“He found out about another disappearance in this area.”

She sat up straighter. “Who?”

“A man named Hector Velasquez. He’s from Mexico City and moved to this area for some job opportunity.”

“Did he say what kind of job?” Jason asked.

Tevin shook his head. “No, just that it would be fast money that he wanted to send back to his family. One of his cousins is actually a lawyer in St. Louis. He heard about what happened and told the police. Otherwise, this guy would have probably just disappeared and never been heard about again.”

“Do you have a picture?” Olive asked.

Tevin nodded and scrolled on his phone. A moment later, he showed them a picture of a Hispanic man, probably in his late twenties, who stood smiling with dusty mountains in the background.

But it was what was on his wrist that caught her attention.

It was a bracelet . . . one that looked an awful lot like the one she’d seen by the blood on the trail today.