Chapter 684: Rumors

After a moment of thought, Adrian Hawthorne said, "Actually, harming Phoenix Golding would have been simple. Just hide the chamber pot beforehand. When Phoenix couldn’t find it in the middle of the night, she would have had to go outside. All Jacqueline would have to do is push her while her back was turned."

"That’s just speculation. We can’t do anything to her without proof." Patrick Thorne frowned deeply. ’Jacqueline is so young, yet she already dares to harm people. If we let her stay here on Millstone Peak, there’s no telling how much trouble she’ll cause.’

He was more worried that Jacqueline would go after his little sister. ’That little bitch definitely has it in for my sister.’

"Didn’t Phoenix Golding arrange a marriage for her before she died? Even though Phoenix is dead, the engagement should still stand. They should come for her in a few days." Adrian Hawthorne’s eyes grew cold. Like Patrick, he worried Jacqueline would harm the Thornes’ little sister. He had seen Jacqueline looking at her with such jealous malice on several occasions; she was definitely up to no good.

"That’s right! They’ll take her away to be some fool’s wife, and she’ll be stuck in the mountains for the rest of her life." Jim Thorne cheered up and went back to happily catching loaches.

"You’re oversimplifying things," Patrick Thorne said, not nearly as optimistic. "If Jacqueline was willing to marry some fool, why would she have killed Phoenix Golding? Now that Phoenix is dead, the engagement is naturally void."

Adrian Hawthorne smiled. "It’s not her decision to make whether the engagement is void or not. Come up here, I need to tell you something."

A glint appeared in Patrick Thorne’s eyes. He climbed up, barefoot, and the two walked to the other side. They whispered together for a few minutes, after which Patrick nodded. "I’ll handle it. I’ll make sure Linden’s mother believes it."

"Don’t say it to her face," Adrian Hawthorne advised.

"Don’t worry."

Patrick Thorne was confident. ’It didn’t matter anymore whether Jacqueline was the killer or not. What mattered was getting that little bitch married off into the mountains. You can’t be soft when dealing with a viper like her; you have to use an equally venomous trick.’

That afternoon, Patrick Thorne took Ellie Ashton back to town on his bike, not returning home until evening. He immediately went out again, only coming back for dinner over an hour later. By the next day, a rumor was spreading like wildfire through the village: Jacqueline Spann had pushed Phoenix Golding into the cesspit. The story was told with such vivid detail that it sounded completely true.

As absurd as the story was, the more people repeated it, the more people believed it. Soon, everyone in the village, young and old, was talking about it.

"Jacqueline is such a sensible girl. She wouldn’t do something that cruel, would she?"

"Even a sensible girl has her limits, especially with Phoenix Golding abusing her. I heard Phoenix was going to send Jacqueline off to the mountains to be a child bride for some fool. That’s why she snapped."

"Phoenix Golding was a piece of work herself, being that cruel to her own daughter. But Jacqueline is even more vicious. That was her own mother, yet she pushed her into a cesspit. How can she sleep in that house? Isn’t she afraid Phoenix’s ghost will come for her at night?"

"If she even dares to commit murder, what’s left for her to be afraid of? I never would have guessed she was that kind of person. Tsk... she’s Phoenix Golding’s spawn, all right. Just as wicked-hearted."

"A rat’s pup is born knowing how to dig burrows. What good could come from a bitch like Phoenix Golding? I need to tell my kids to stay far away from Jacqueline. My child is a bit of a blockhead and wouldn’t stand a chance against her."

"I’m telling my kids the same thing. What rotten luck. Why did our village have to be cursed with a family like that? Causing trouble even in death."

...

A few women sat by the road, sunning themselves and chatting as they stitched shoe soles. They were discussing Phoenix Golding’s death, and their voices were not quiet. Linden’s mother happened to be passing by, carrying a wooden basin of clothes on her way to the river. She stopped and listened for a moment, and her expression changed instantly. Forgetting all about her laundry, she turned and hurried toward Jacqueline Spann’s house.