Chapter 682: Panic-Stricken Gentry Chapman

"She’s divorced," Patrick Thorne said. "The husband’s not in the village. It’s just her and her daughter."

Ellie Ashton’s interest was piqued. "Was there a third party involved? Who’s the other man?"

"You can rule out a crime of passion. The so-called ’other man’ is so sick he can barely get up—it’s Clayton Xavier’s father, and he can’t even get out of bed." Patrick Thorne saw right through Ellie Ashton’s line of thought and thought she had a wild imagination.

Storm Xavier and Vernon Spann are both wimps who wouldn’t even kill a chicken. How could they possibly kill a person?

Besides, Vernon Spann isn’t in the village, and Storm Xavier is practically on his deathbed. It’s absolutely impossible. Then there’s that damn fatso from the town’s school district. He was fired, and I heard his family moved back to their ancestral home to farm. They’re a long way from Millstone Peak, so there’s no way he’d come all this way to hurt someone.

Ellie Ashton was stunned, her eyes wide as saucers. To think someone as wonderful as Clayton Xavier had such a disgraceful father. Fate truly was blind.

"So how old is her daughter?" Ellie Ashton asked casually.

"Ten years old, and she’s wickedly clever. Rotten to the core," Amanda Chapman jumped in, her face a mask of revulsion.

Ellie Ashton’s interest flared again, and she felt a flash of insight. She had already inquired about Jacqueline Spann, which only strengthened her suspicions. She murmured, "It sounds like Jacqueline Spann is a prime suspect, then!"

Amanda Chapman jumped in fright. She, along with Patrick Thorne and the others, thought Ellie Ashton was talking crazy.

"No way. That’s her own mother. No matter how bad things were between them, she wouldn’t hurt her, would she?"

"Anything’s possible. Look at history. Emperor Taizong killed his own brothers to get the throne. Then there was Graham Young, who killed his own father, and Empress Wu, who poisoned her own son. I’m telling you, when the stakes are high enough, nothing is off the table."

Ellie Ashton cited several historical examples to support her argument, leaving Patrick Thorne and the others skeptical. They still found it hard to believe Jacqueline Spann could be the culprit.

"Phoenix Golding wasn’t an empress," Jim Thorne countered. "What was in it for Jacqueline to kill her?"

"Didn’t you guys say Phoenix Golding was planning to sell Jacqueline to a simpleton as a child bride? Do you think Jacqueline would just accept that? She would definitely fight back. The best way to do that would be to get rid of Phoenix Golding. Then the marriage would be off the table."

Ellie Ashton laid out her analysis calmly. As an outsider, she had a more objective view. If Phoenix Golding was indeed murdered, then the killer was almost certainly Jacqueline Spann.

The only problem was, she had no way to prove Phoenix Golding had been murdered. There just wasn’t enough evidence.

The little girl felt like applauding. ’My future sister-in-law is incredible,’ she thought. ’It’s a waste for her to be a journalist; she should be a police officer!’

"But Jacqueline didn’t know about that," Patrick Thorne pointed out. "Phoenix would have definitely kept it a secret from her. Your theory doesn’t hold water."

The words were barely out of Patrick Thorne’s mouth when Gentry Chapman, who was standing beside him, staggered and nearly fell. His face went pale, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his lips began to tremble.

Jim Thorne, who was closest to him, noticed something was off. He wiped a hand across Gentry’s forehead. "What’s with you? You’re sweating buckets while standing in cold water. You’re not getting sick, are you?"

"I’m fine... fine..."

Gentry Chapman mumbled to himself, looking completely out of it. This aroused Patrick Thorne’s suspicion, and he demanded, "What do you know?"

’Ever since they started talking about Phoenix Golding’s death, my cousin has been acting like this. He’s been jumpy and strange. Could he know something?’

Gentry Chapman flinched, his body trembling even more violently, but he didn’t dare to speak. Furious, Amanda Chapman stomped down into the paddy field and kicked him a few times. "Spit it out!"