Page 52 of Waylaid in Whittier

“All the more reason she should have some skin in the game,” Danielle said. “If we get picked up for trespassing, she needs to bailusout.”

“I see Brody.”

The night security supervisor wasn’t hard to miss. A head taller than most people, the former bouncer was an intimidating figure, which made him the perfect person to accompany them on their late-night intel mission.

“Sorry if I’m late. I had a minor issue to handle upstairs in the casino. The good news is no one needed to be jailed. It’s already full.”

“Great. And this is only day one of the new passengers being on board,” Millie groaned. “Hopefully, this isn’t a sign of things to come.”

“Eh.” Brody gave them a thumbs down. “The first night is typically busy for security. Everybody is jacked up, ready for a good time. A few of them are a little rambunctious. It’ll calm down.”

“Does Patterson know where we’re going?” Annette asked.

“I didn’t mention it to him,” Millie said.

“Me either,” Danielle said.

“I haven’t seen Patterson all day,” Sharky chimed in.

“I told him we had a small errand to run,” Brody said. “When he found out it involved Millie, he told me it was probably best if he didn’t know what we were up to.”

Danielle playfully punched her friend in the arm. “He knows Millie all too well.”

“I would love to stand here and let each of you take a jab at me, but we have more important things to do.” Millie and Danielle climbed into the front seat with Brody while Annette and Sharky hopped in the back.

Using her phone’s GPS, Danielle directed Brody away from the port, through downtown, and to the other end. Beyond the main drag, the buildings became fewer and farther in between.

Bam.Brody slammed on the brakes.

Millie’s head flew forward. “Whoa.”

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I thought I saw something run across the road.”

“Was it a bear?” Sharky peered into the darkness. “Seeing a bear at night in the wild would be pretty awesome.”

“Not to me,” Millie said. “I would be perfectly fine if I never ran across a bear up close.”

Brody picked up speed again, cruising along at a decent clip. A mile past town, the road turned to gravel.

“We’re almost there.” Danielle warned Brody he needed to slow down. “Start looking for a mailbox or some sort of marking with the number 147.”

“I see something up ahead on the left,” Sharky said.

“I see it too.” Brody took his foot off the gas and coasted toward the wooden stake with the neon numbers 147 painted on it. “This is the place.”

He cranked the wheel and turned into the driveway. It was surprisingly wide and Millie suspected it was because large pieces of equipment had been transported to the mine.

Rows of pine trees lined both sides of the property. The driveway curved right. The trees cleared and opened onto a strip of flat terrain. A long, low shack with a metal roof was on one side.

Millie glimpsed the top of the structure she’d seen on the satellite image. “I think the mine is over there.”

Brody tapped the gas, moving at a snail’s pace. Clusters of thick weeds clumped together and spread out.

Judging by the condition of the driveway, vehicles still accessed the site. Hopefully, they didn’t plan on showing up anytime soon.

The farther they went, the closer they got to the rambling metal structure.

Brody reached a tree stump and shifted into park. “This is as far as we go, ladies and gent. I’ve been keeping an eye out. I don’t see any sort of surveillance equipment.”

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