Page 62 of Obscurity (Pros and Cons Mysteries #5)

O live and Jason began working their way around the perimeter of the clearing, moving slowly and carefully to avoid making noise that might carry to the active work areas.

The forest provided good cover, but it also meant they couldn’t see what was happening in the buildings until they were close enough to risk being spotted themselves.

As they reached the position Olive had identified, the sound of engines starting up came from the vehicle parking area. Through the trees, they saw trucks beginning to move, headlights cutting through the dawn twilight as a convoy prepared to depart.

Jason recognized the opportunity the vehicle noise provided and said, “Now.”

They broke from the woods and darted toward the nearest building, using the sound of engines and the distraction of the departing convoy to mask their approach. Within seconds, they were pressed against the back wall of what appeared to be an office building.

Olive’s heart pounded from the adrenaline of crossing open ground.

Now came the hard part—finding a way inside without being caught.

The question was whether what they found would be worth the enormous risk they were taking to find it.

Olive and Jason darted toward a door at the back of the building.

Jason tried the knob.

It was locked, just as they’d assumed.

He took some picks from his pocket and began to work the mechanism. Finally, it popped.

This was it—their chance to go inside.

They gave each other a look before nodding. Neither was sure what they’d find on the other side of this door.

But they had to know what these buildings were being used for. It was their only hope of finding Chloe and Becca.

Jason opened the door.

Olive held her breath, anxious about what they might find.

A hallway greeted them.

Cautiously, they stepped inside and crept toward the space in the distance. Around them, everything was quiet—no voices or movement. Like the place was empty.

She hoped that was the case.

At the end of the hallway, an office area greeted them—one that was surprisingly vacant.

The space had been completely modernized with computer workstations, secure filing systems, and multiple monitors displaying real-time data feeds from throughout the extraction operation.

“Let’s get busy,” Jason said. “We need to find any evidence we can to take this operation down.”

“Yes, we do.”

Olive worked quickly, photographing everything she could while Jason kept watch at the entrance.

The first computer she accessed was logged into a system showing production schedules, shipping manifests, and extraction quotas that represented millions of dollars.

More pieces fell into place as Olive discovered a folder marked “Festival Integration Protocols.” The documents inside confirmed what they suspected: They were using this music festival as a cover for illegal mining operations.

The heavy equipment brought in for “stage construction” was actually extraction machinery. The helicopters that supposedly transported musicians were carrying mining equipment.

But now they knew the truth.

The question was whether they could survive long enough to expose it.