Chapter 681: Sabotaging Mom

Patrick Thorne sullenly walked over to Jim Thorne and gave him a hard, "accidental" shove. Jim staggered and nearly fell face-first into the mud. Fortunately, he was agile and managed to steady himself, though his clothes got splattered with muddy water.

"Patrick!"

Jim Thorne yelled in a fury. What was the big idea, shoving him? Patrick Thorne just gave him a sinister look, and Jim flinched. He reluctantly surrendered the most promising patch of mud to his older brother.

Ellie Ashton’s train of thought hit a snag. ’Just because she was found face down doesn’t mean she was pushed.’

"Did this Phoenix Golding have any enemies in the village? The kind who would want her dead?" Ellie Ashton asked.

"Yes, my mom."

Jim Thorne answered loudly, adding with a proud look, "My mom wanted to chop that vixen to death. Who told her to go seducing my dad? And she ate our family’s meat! My mom cursed her to fall into a manure pit every day. God must have been listening."

Tang Xiaonan’s mouth twitched. ’This third brother of mine is going to be the death of our mom. Luckily, the villagers all trust Phoebe Huxley. Otherwise, she’d be in for another round of trouble. It wouldn’t lead to a prison sentence, but it would be a huge headache.’

"Your mom’s bark is worse than her bite. She could never bring herself to actually hurt someone. It definitely wasn’t her. Could it really have been an accident?" Ellie Ashton’s suspicion waned.

’Phoebe Huxley was out of the question. If Phoenix didn’t have any enemies, then it really might have been an accident.’

Patrick Thorne’s expression softened. He was very pleased by Ellie Ashton’s words, as they showed she didn’t look down on his mother. He glanced at his younger brother beside him, and a wicked idea came to him. He snatched a loach and stuffed it down Jim Thorne’s shirt. The cold, slippery creature wriggled around inside his clothes, causing Jim to shriek and squirm about—a truly comical sight.

"Hahahaha..."

Tang Xiaonan, Ellie Ashton, and Amanda Chapman all roared with laughter. Patrick Thorne raised his eyebrows smugly, then went over to help fish the loach out. Jim Thorne glared at him, furious, but when he saw his little sister laughing so happily, he started smiling too. ’As long as she’s happy,’ he thought. ’It’s just one stupid loach.’

"Now that Phoenix Golding is dead, does that mean Jacqueline Spann will be living all by herself?" Gentry Chapman, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked.

Amanda Chapman shot him a glare and snapped, "It’s none of your business who she lives with!"

’Her brother had been acting so strange these past two days. He was so zoned out he couldn’t hear when people spoke to him, and he seemed to be in a complete daze. Amanda Chapman really wanted to give her foolish brother a slap. Why did he have to be such a disappointment!’

Gentry Chapman didn’t dare ask any more questions. His expression was dazed. Ever since Phoenix Golding died, he had been on edge. He was afraid, but he didn’t even know what he was afraid of.

"Cousin, what are you thinking about?" Tang Xiaonan asked with concern.

’Gentry Chapman had been acting so abnormally lately. He clearly had something heavy on his mind. Tang Xiaonan figured he was just missing his father.’

Gentry Chapman shook his head. "It’s nothing. I... I’m going to go catch some loaches."

He hastily jumped into the muddy field, sending a spray of muddy water flying—most of it right onto Amanda Chapman’s face. She swore at him a few more times in anger, but she was also worried. If her brother kept acting so withdrawn and sullen, their grandmother wouldn’t like him, and they wouldn’t be able to stay here any longer. Amanda Chapman was filled with the classic frustration of seeing potential go to waste.

Tang Xiaonan didn’t dwell on it. Her suspicion still rested on Jacqueline Spann. ’Besides, Jacqueline had a motive. Phoenix Golding was planning to sell her off to a simpleton, so of course Jacqueline would resist. It’s highly probable that she’d decide to do her mother harm.’

’But surely Phoenix Golding wasn’t stupid enough to tell Jacqueline about it beforehand, right?’

"Oh, right. Phoenix Golding had a husband, didn’t she? How has he been acting?" Ellie Ashton had a new line of thought. If it wasn’t a revenge killing, the only thing left was a crime of passion.

’Murder for money was unlikely. No one had much wealth these days, especially not in a rural village. That really only left two possibilities: a revenge killing or a crime of passion.’