Page 30 of Obscurity (Pros and Cons Mysteries #5)

O live showed them both the photo she’d taken on the trail.

None of them could deny the truth.

“The list of missing people is growing,” Olive murmured.

“That’s not all. The missing girl from Tennessee? Her name was Jessica Houser. Twenty-one years old. She did intern for Brad and this new exercise app he tried to launch.” Tevin paused. “When her internship ended, she never returned home.”

Jason leaned forward. “You sure? We did a background check on Brad.”

“His name was buried in the paperwork. But it was there.”

Another puzzle piece clicked into place in Olive’s mind. “Just as we suspected, this isn’t his first time running a fraudulent scheme—or failed business venture.”

“These people are good at covering their tracks. Different company names, different financial structures, carefully laundered paper trails. Someone with serious resources is backing this operation.”

Olive thought about the mansion they’d seen, about Brad’s obvious love of money. “Question is, what’s the real purpose of these businesses? Is Brad just a terrible entrepreneur? If so, why the pattern of disappearances?”

She tried to think like her dad. If he’d been involved with something like this, what would his motivation have been?

She wasn’t sure.

“That’s what we need to figure out. But there’s something else.” Tevin pulled out his phone. “Your signal problems aren’t natural. Someone’s using a signal blocking device. It creates the appearance of cell service while actually preventing any real communication.”

“Why would they do that?” Olive was beginning to suspect she knew the answer.

“Same reason you jam communications in any tactical situation.” Tevin’s cheek twitched. “To prevent your targets from calling for help.”

The implications settled over them like a cold blanket.

They weren’t just dealing with festival fraud. They were dealing with something that required military-grade operational security. There had to be more to this.

“There’s one more thing,” Tevin continued. “About Becca Morrison.”

“What about her?”

“She’s not just researching festivals for school. The missing girl from Tennessee—Jessica Houser—was her roommate and best friend.”

Olive’s stomach dropped as she processed Tevin’s words. “So Becca’s here to?—”

“To investigate what happened to her friend. And she has no idea how dangerous this situation really is.” Tevin’s expression was grave. “She’s walking into the same trap that may have gotten Jessica either abducted or killed, and she doesn’t even know it.”

Olive thought about the young journalism student, limping around on her injured ankle, asking innocent questions about the festival’s impact on rural communities. If Brad and his associates realize why she’s really here . . .

“We have to protect her,” Olive said.

“Agreed. But we also can’t blow our own cover.” Jason ran a hand through his hair. “This is getting more complicated by the hour.”

“And more dangerous,” Tevin added. “Whatever happened to Chloe, Jessica, and the others, it’s about to happen again. We just don’t know when or who the target is.”

Outside their tent, the festival grounds remained deceptively quiet. But Olive could feel the weight of hidden watchers and unknown threats pressing in from all sides.

They were running out of time to figure out what was really happening in Grayfall.

Chloe was missing, and every second counted.

She couldn’t sit on the sidelines any longer.

It was time to get her hands dirty.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, gunfire split the air outside.