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"Look, I was friends with Ethan Turner. Still am, for that matter. Ethan and Jenna hooked up at one of the bonfires the football team hosted that fall," Derek revealed with a shrug. "Those tutoring sessions were just a way for the two of them to be together."
Phoebe shoved her panic aside when Derek once again glanced at his watch. She had so many other questions racing through her mind, but she wasn't sure which ones to ask before he left for his trip.
"Ethan Turner? The wide receiver who went bust in college? You're telling me that he and Jenna were involved?"
"Yes." Derek began to shrug his arms into the sleeves of his coat. "But if you think Ethan killed Jenna, you're wrong. He’s a good guy. Look, I've got to get to the airport."
"Jenna never mentioned this to me," Phoebe protested his information, shaking her head in denial. "Are you sure that—"
"I'm sure,” Derek stated matter-of-factly. “If you have any other questions about Jenna and their relationship, you'll need to ask Ethan. Like I said, he's a good friend of mine. Jenna's death really tore him up."
Derek finished buttoning his coat before reaching for his luggage. He pulled the handle out so that all he would have to do was wheel the case outside.
"Pheebs, we should go," Chloe urged softly, clearly recognizing that Phoebe was having trouble believing that she had been kept in the dark. Jenna had a secret life that Phoebe had known nothing about, and it was as if someone had punched her square in the chest. "Derek, have a safe flight. We appreciate you talking to us."
Chloe had come across as rather sincere, but Phoebe couldn't leave just yet.
"Derek, what did you mean by the tutoring sessions being a front for the two of them to see one another?" Phoebe asked, desperately needing more information. "Why would Jenna and Ethan need to hide their relationship?"
Derek walked out to the porch, holding the door open for them. Phoebe resisted joining him outside until Chloe gave her a little shove.
"Derek, please. I need to know. Why would Jenna and Ethan need to keep their relationship a secret?"
"You'll find Ethan on his boat down at the marina," Derek shared as he pulled his keys from his coat pocket. He locked his front door, but the click signified so much more. He was done talking, and nothing Phoebe said at this point would garner her more details. "I'm sorry, Phoebe. Anything else that you want to know about Jenna and Ethan, you'll have to ask him."
Derek lifted his suitcase and waited for the two of them to walk down the porch steps. Chloe grabbed the back of Phoebe's jacket and gently pushed her to take the first step.
"We appreciate the information, Derek," Chloe murmured as they passed him. Once Phoebe stood on the sidewalk next to the SUV watching him drive away, Chloe held up the camcorder. "I might have stopped filming him, but I kept recording the conversation. If Ethan tries to deny any involvement with Jenna, we'll have proof to the contrary."
Phoebe slowly exhaled upon Chloe’s announcement. The tension in her shoulders eased, because if Jenna and Ethan had not wanted anyone to know they were involved, what reason would he have to come forward now?
"You are a genius, Chloe."
"I know." Chloe flashed a smile as she walked around to the passenger side of the SUV with the camcorder in hand. "It's my healthy lifestyle. You should try it."
"And give up chocolate and beer?" Phoebe asked lightly, knowing full well that Chloe was trying to sugarcoat the fact that Jenna had deep dark secrets that she had kept from her family. "Not a chance."
As Phoebe reached for the handle of the driver's side door, movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention near the area where she had seen the male subject earlier. She paused, her hand hovering over the handle. She turned to study the sidewalk more closely. No one was there, but she could have sworn that someone - or something - had been lurking on the corner.
The hairs prickled on the back of Phoebe's neck. Had it just been a trick of the light or a fluttering leaf that had fooled her eyes into seeing motion where there was none?
She finally grabbed the handle and opened the door. She couldn't resist one last glance over her shoulder before climbing inside, half expecting to witness someone emerge from the darkness. Deep down, she believed that someone was out there, just out of sight. She only hoped that whoever it was stayed hidden in the shadows until she found the answers to her sister's death.
Chapter Nine
Chloe
Chloe sipped her frozen margarita as she stared at the complex web of names and connections sprawled across the whiteboard and the living room wall. She paused to rest two fingers on her temple to stem the brain freeze that had resulted from her drink.
It took a few moments, but she was finally able to concentrate on the data. She had optimistically carried the whiteboard up the steps herself days ago, but the amount of information had proven far too much to be contained to the small space. The intricate timeline and extensive cast of names had been pulled from Jenna's life and added to the living room wall.
Chaotic strings of yarn in various colors zigzagged wildly from the crammed whiteboard to the vacant wall space near the large window overlooking the main street through town. Overflowing Post-it notes of all sizes and colors were haphazardly plastered over every inch of both spaces. Numerous names of friends, acquaintances, relatives, random residents, and a dizzying array of places, events, dates, and speculative question marks were just tangled ideas.
It was their job to sift through it all and find the answers needed to solve Jenna's murder. Only staring at all the chaos gave Chloe a headache. She took another long sip of her margarita as she mentally prepared for the monumental task ahead—making sense of the incoherent mess spread out before them.
"At least Ethan's boat was at the marina," Chloe offered up, breaking the silence. She was lying on the couch, and she reached behind her to adjust the throw pillow. She was mindful of her drink, not wanting to spill a drop. "We'll stop by first thing in the morning. As far as I can tell from his social media, he's in between jobs."
Phoebe sat curled up in the armchair, staring intently at one of the Post-it notes near the bottom right corner of the whiteboard. She had removed her hair tie so that her blonde hair fell in messy waves around her face. She absently twisted a strand around her finger as she held a beer in her other hand. Chloe wasn't even sure that Phoebe had heard a word of what had been said in the past minute.
