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"Ethan Turner's father?"
The way Kenneth's voice had taken on a wary tone had Phoebe dragging her attention back to her dad.
"Yes," Phoebe replied as a sliver of panic began to crawl down her spine.
Was it her imagination, or had Jenna gotten closer?
"Alice Hart told me this morning that Jenna had asked for a favor in exchange for a letter of recommendation written by you to attach to her college transcripts. That favor was sneaking Jenna into the hospital's records room," Phoebe shared as she attempted to monitor both her father and sister. "Alice wasn't so sure that Jenna found what she was looking for, though."
"Phoebe, I never wrote a letter of recommendation for Alice Hart."
Kenneth seemed truly stunned at such an admission, yet there was something else in his expression that unsettled her.
"Chief Bennett said there were rumors about Francie Turner being involved with an older man. I think Jenna figured out who it was, and the same person who killed Francie…killed Jenna."
Phoebe paused before slowly taking a step back. She didn’t do so out of fear, but because her sister was now mere inches from their father. By this time, Phoebe was clutching the shove with both hands.
"I thought…"
Phoebe had to clear her throat several times to get her voice to work properly. She could barely hear anything over her own heartbeat.
"I thought maybe Principal Grayson was Ethan's father," Phoebe whispered, unable to tear her gaze away from her sister. "Please, Dad. Tell me that Arthur Grayson is Ethan's father."
"Phoebe, why are you…" Kenneth instinctively took a step back once he believed Phoebe was frightened of his presence. She wasn’t, but she couldn’t get her voice to work anymore. "Phoebe, I know you don't understand the choices that your mother and I have made over the years, but for you to believe that I could ever…"
“Dad, I don’t—”
Jenna abruptly turned to face Phoebe, causing her to take another step backward. Kenneth blinked back tears of betrayal as he began to pull on his gloves. He remained silent while he composed himself, giving Phoebe time to figure out what they had said or done to upset Jenna.
"Arthur Grayson didn't kill Francie or your sister." Kenneth's voice was heavy with regret, but it quickly hardened with hatred in a manner she never would have thought possible. He spun around and began to walk back toward the house. "I know who did, though. And he isn't going to get away with it."
Chapter Twenty-One
Chloe
The wind snaked its way around Chloe's body, trying to penetrate through her double layers, jacket, scarf, and gloves. Her breath fogged in front of her with each exhalation, and she was grateful that she didn't wear glasses. She made a mental note to always keep a pair of hand warmers in her purse.
Distraught murmurs of conversation reached Chloe, and it was obvious that neither was happy with the other. Phoebe and her father were huddled together, but it was obvious that she hadn't been able to prevent him from spotting Chloe. She lifted her hand in greeting, but he didn't wave back. His words even became slightly distorted when the naked branches overhead began to scrape against one another.
Chloe glanced up, and she couldn’t help but notice that the trees resembled tall giants. Their long branches resembled large arms, and it was as if they were holding hands. She continued to slowly guide the metal detector back and forth over the frozen ground. She was beginning to think that searching for the necklace Jenna stole from Simone was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Phoebe's voice rose again, this time piercing through the wind.
"...love how you're more concerned with Mom's wellbeing than mine, Dad. The entire family kept me in the dark, allowing me to believe that I was losing my mind!"
The raw hurt in Phoebe's voice made Chloe's heart ache. She was about to switch off the metal detector and go to her friend when a sudden noise cut through her thoughts. The device lit up like a Christmas tree, beeping frantically as she swept it over a particular area at the base of the large tree. Two roots were sticking out of the ground, both large enough to be seen through the dead leaves.
Chloe quickly bent down and brushed away the debris. She peered around the trunk, knowing that Phoebe still had the folded shovel in her possession.
"You didn't have a shovel, though," Chloe whispered as she refocused on the space between the tree trunks. How deep could Jenna have dug with her bare fingers? "Did you, Jenna?"
Chloe glanced down at her gloves, now caked with dirt, and gave a dismissive shrug. She could always order a new pair with the corporate credit card that was linked to their podcast's expense account. Phoebe couldn't get upset by such a purchase if it was directly related to their investigation. And technically, this case was supposed to have been recorded for their avid listeners and viewers who followed their paranormal adventures.
Brushing off her concerns over the gloves, Chloe leaned forward and began to vigorously scrape at the hard dirt packed in between the two large, twisted roots protruding from the base of the old oak tree. After a few minutes, an unexpected noise caused Chloe to abruptly stop. She leaned back on the heels of her boots and quickly scanned the surrounding woods, fully expecting to find Phoebe standing off to the side.
The woods were eerily still and quiet.
Chloe slowly turned back to the tree, her pulse quickening as she stared down at the deep hole she had clawed out between the roots. She could have sworn there was someone nearby. She scanned the area once more, searching each and every tree that could camouflage someone's presence. She rested a dirty glove on the tree so that she could peer around it once more to make sure that Phoebe could still be seen from Chloe’s vantage point.
