Murder by the Mountain (A Word Travels Mobile Bookshop Cozy Mystery Book 5) by Penny Brooke

Author:Penny Brooke [Brooke, Penny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-03T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

Silence followed Sloane’s shocking question, and I felt a flash of suspicion. How had Sloane gotten her hands on that information? I glanced over at Eva and saw the teacher’s cheeks were red.

“I got mad,” Eva admitted when she saw me watching her. “She always went around telling people how she and Lexi were so close. Do you know that she almost got Tommy fired because she told everyone who would listen that Tommy was obsessed with Lexi?”

Jasper jumped onto one of the students’ desks and sat regally as he watched Eva. She seemed confused by his presence but let it go when I asked a question.

“I did know that,” I said slowly, “but what did you tell Sloane?”

On the podcast, Nicole was trying to deny everything, but Sloane wouldn’t let it go. I got irritated by the sound and pressed the mute button. I knew that there was no way Nicole would admit to anything on the podcast; she was much too aware of the repercussions of doing something like that. Instead, I focused all my attention on Eva, who was avoiding my gaze.

“She was relentless,” Eva said bitterly, “and I just wanted her off my case. I knew she’d leave me alone if she thought she had a different lead.”

“What did you tell Sloane?” I repeated calmly.

Eva looked at me, as if wondering about her next course of action. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she slumped in her chair.

“Fine,” she said with a sigh, “I told her the truth. Nicole couldn’t stand Lexi. Before Lexi showed up, Nicole was the pretty, popular teacher. And then Lexi dethroned her. You have to understand that Nicole never quite graduated from high school, if you know what I mean.”

She must have seen from my expression that I didn’t know what she meant, because she quickly explained herself.

“Nicole was super popular in high school and loved that environment. She once said that her high school years were the best of her life. And so, she’s been chasing that feeling ever since. That’s why she gossips so much and places such emphasis on her popularity. If she thinks that someone doesn’t like her, she makes that person her enemy.”

“And that’s what she did with Lexi?” I guessed.

“Yeah. In her mind, Tommy is the hot jock, and only the most popular girl gets to be with him. You know how it goes. Anyway, so when Lexi showed up and Tommy showed an interest in her, that’s when things went south. Nicole began spreading rumors about Lexi, and you can probably already guess that Lexi wanted to lay low.”

I nodded. Poor Lexi had just escaped an abusive relationship; the last thing that she would have wanted was to be the center of attention.

“Lexi had this thing about having her picture taken,” Eva continued. “It was weird, but she never allowed anyone to take pictures of her. Then, one day, she came to work looking all freaked out. I tried to talk to her, but she ignored me and went straight to Nicole.

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