Chapter Twelve

R elying on the ocean waves to cover the inevitable crunch of sand beneath their feet, Olivia and Brock crept as quietly as they could. Skilled at keeping in the shadows, they crept along the side of the Breakers building and peered around the corner just in time to see Josh head toward a fenced-in area covered with green tarp. Probably where they kept the trash and a perfect place to talk.

Brock nodded to the fence as he and Olivia silently moved closer to it. Hushed voices met their ears as Josh disappeared inside. The smell of garbage wafted in the air, and Olivia did her best to ignore it, wondering if Josh had noticed it as well. If he didn’t, did that mean he came here all the time?

She found a small hole and peered through it for a brief second before carefully avoiding it. The last thing she needed was for Josh to see movement through it and abort whatever he had come here to do. She and Brock moved to the back of the fenced-in area so that if Josh left, they had a chance to move away before he could make his way to the back. They wouldn’t be caught, so they listened with rapt attention. Judging by the voice that answered Josh back, Josh’s meeting was with a younger teen.

“Are you sure about this?”

Josh’s confident voice also had a smooth charm to it. The kind of charm that all girls should stay away from and all men should take caution against. “Of course I am, man. I’ve been doing this for a long time. It doesn’t hurt anybody.”

What? Olivia and Brock shared a look between them, the earlier hint at an argument fully gone. This was important; it was what they had come down here for! But what had he been doing for a long time? Whatever it was, it may not be hurting him, but it was sure as heck hurting the other kids involved.

The teen sighed. His foot scraped in the sand and he was probably looking down at it, as his voice muffled. “I don’t know, man. I’ve never done anything like this before. It seems a little far-fetched.”

Josh’s voice moved closer, slightly muffled, maybe due to him putting an arm up to clap the kid on the shoulder. “Look, man. Do you want to feel all-powerful? The best, most wonderful feeling in the world? Then meet me behind the school, Monday night, 8:00.”

Another look was shared between Olivia and Brock. They were going to be there! This was almost too perfect.

“You won’t regret it. I’m going to take you places you’ve never been before. It’ll be out of this world.”

Oh, he was definitely into some kind of cult. And he was dragging others with him. Olivia tightened a fist at her side, stilling her breathing to hear better .

“All right, man,” came the kid’s mumbled reply. This poor kid had no idea what he was getting into. What would his acquiescence mean for him in the long run?

“That’s what I’m talking about, man.” Olivia heard a cuffing sound as if Josh had clapped a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “You’re going to love it. Meet me at the school, and we’ll go from there.”

Brock nodded toward the hotel, taking this as a cue to leave. He and Olivia tiptoed away from the scene until they were far enough away to fall into a regular pace. Olivia’s mind was racing. “‘Out of this world?’” she repeated. “Now, that can’t be a coincidence, right?”

“I’ll say. It’s a commonly used phrase, but something to think twice about coming from a kid who also uses terms like ‘may your stars align.’ Especially since the kid he was talking with sounded uncomfortable with whatever he was asking him to do.” Brock glanced up at the sky, studying the stars a bit before going on. “Are there any celestial occurrences on Monday night?”

Olivia racked her brain, thinking back on what she had learned in her research. “I think there’s another meteor shower. I can’t be sure, but I think the one from when Ellie came up missing is still going on. I’ll have to confirm it, though.”

“If we can prove that there’s some kind of cult going on,” Brock’s voice took on a serious tone. “Then we’re on our way to finding out what happened to those teens.”

This couldn’t have happened at a more perfect time. Olivia couldn’t wait until the weekend was over so she could get inside that school. “We’re going to be at the school on Monday night. We’ll have to be out of Susanna’s game by 8:00. We can’t miss this.” Something big was going down. It surprised her that it looked like they were closer to solving the case in less than a week, especially considering it had been going on for two years and the locals had gotten nowhere.

“So, what do we do in the meantime?” Brock knew as well as she did that they still had a job to do, so they couldn’t exactly sit around until Monday night. An idea came to her, along with a smile. “Why don’t we see if we can find somewhere around here that might be a remote location?”

Brock pondered this for a moment. “It’s certainly worth a shot.”