Page 69 of Obscurity (Pros and Cons Mysteries #5)

O live lowered the binoculars, her mind reeling with implications she wasn’t ready to fully process. Henderson’s presence here wasn’t a coincidence—it couldn’t be. His interest in her father’s treasure hunting expeditions suddenly took on a completely different meaning.

Had that camping trip been a planning session disguised as a family adventure?

And if so, what did that mean about her family’s murder? About the house in Oasis that was now owned by a shell company? About all the questions she’d been afraid to ask Jason about his father’s business connections?

“We need to get these people to a hospital.” Jason’s voice cut through her racing thoughts. “And we need to make sure our evidence gets to the right people.”

Olive nodded, forcing herself to focus on the immediate needs of the people they’d rescued. But as she put the SUV into Drive and they began the descent toward civilization, she couldn’t shake the image of Henderson’s smile—or the terrible certainty that this was far from over.

Her gut told her that the man who’d escaped in that helicopter knew exactly who she was. And now he knew she’d survived long enough to connect him to this operation.

Which meant that everyone she cared about—including Jason—was now in danger from an enemy who’d been planning his moves for over a decade.

The Grayfall Festival grounds looked like the aftermath of a natural disaster.

Federal agents moved methodically through the campsite, documenting evidence and taking statements, while confused festivalgoers packed their belongings with the bewildered efficiency of people who still couldn’t quite process what had happened to their weekend getaway.

In the distance, the members of Obscurity were setting up their equipment on the makeshift stage—apparently no one had thought to tell them that their headlining performance was now completely irrelevant.

The surreal sound of a proper sound check drifted across the ruins of what had been an elaborate criminal conspiracy.

Olive sat on a fallen log near the old mercantile building, her laptop open as she coordinated with Rex via satellite phone. Tevin sat beside her, uploading encrypted files to Aegis servers, while Jason stood guard with the casual alertness of someone who’d learned not to trust apparent safety.

“Forensic teams are processing the mine,” Rex’s voice crackled through the speaker. “Initial estimates suggest this operation extracted more than fifty million dollars’ worth of lithium and rare earth elements. We’re tracking shell companies across six states now.”

“What about the helicopter?” Olive asked, though she already suspected the answer.

“Gone. But we’ll find them eventually—operations this size leave paper trails.”

Olive hoped that was the truth. But a measure of doubt still lingered inside her.