Page 74 of Is Anyone Listening?
"That's good to hear." He cleared his throat. "I went to get coffee this morning, and the place was buzzing with gossip, all of it centered on you."
"Yes. The town found out about my podcast. Cole told his father, who told Ellen, and it spread from there."
"They weren't just talking about the podcast, Cassidy."
My stomach tightened at the suddenly hard note in his voice. "No, I guess they wouldn't be. Last night I had a confrontation with Ellen. She wanted to kick me out, and I couldn't let her do that, so I had to tell her something that she wasn't expecting."
"That you're her granddaughter."
"Yes."
"Was that a story to get her to let you stay or the truth?"
"It was the truth. My real name is Cassidy Clarke. Bennett is my mother's maiden name. I never knew anything about Ellen. My father refused to speak one word about his mother or his father or his past. And when I realized where Natalie had stayed right before she disappeared, I knew this was the story I had follow."
"I have to say I did not see that coming. You've had a hidden agenda all along."
"Not really. My main goal is to find out what's going on at the inn. But I do want to know more about my grandmother, too."
"You should have told me. I thought we'd built some trust between us."
"My personal story wasn't relevant."
"Not relevant?" he challenged. "Your grandmother could very well be trafficking or killing women. And you don't believe your relationship is relevant?"
"Think of it as a good thing. Maybe she'll open up to me now that she knows who I am."
"Well, she probably won't kill you, so I guess that's a positive," he said, a hard edge to his voice.
"I'm sorry, Tyler. I should have told you. I just didn't know what to say or whether I should bring it up. I wasn't even sure I was ever going to tell Ellen, because I don't particularly like her, and I definitely don't trust her. But I had to use the information so she wouldn't force me to leave."
"And is she talking to you?"
"We've had one brief conversation that didn't illuminate much of anything. But I'm hoping it's a start." I paused. "I ran into Becca. She said she talked to you about how Cole was seen chatting with Jessica the day she rented the boat."
"I just spoke to him. He said she just asked where she could rent a small boat. Since Holloway Charters doesn't rent small boats, he directed her to the Boat Deck, run by Stan Mitchell. He said he talked to Jessica for five minutes, and that was it."
"Did you believe him?"
"I don't know what to think about Cole. There's something about him that bothers me," Tyler said.
"Really? You think a twenty-three-year-old kid is responsible for what's happening?"
"Maybe not responsible, but a part of…possibly. I stopped by the building department, but the clerk told me I need to come back at three if I want to talk to someone about the plans for the inn. Apparently, only one guy can give me that information, and he's out until then."
"That's too bad. Where are you now? Should we meet up?"
"I'm driving to Cork Harbor. I want to see if I can find any buildings near that stretch of road that Jessica might have climbed up to, and see if they have any video footage."
"Did you want me to come with you?"
"I've got it. You could probably use a break today after everything you've been through. We'll talk later."
"Okay." As I put the phone down, I felt a little disappointed in Tyler's cool tone. But I couldn't blame him for feeling blindsided by the secret I'd held back. Now he seemed to believe I'd somehow joined Ellen's team, which wasn't the case, although I could see why he would think that.
As someone who was committed to family, Tyler probably believed that blood trumped everything. But while Ellen and I might be related, we didn't know each other. If Ellen was involved in Natalie's disappearance, I wasn't going to defend her or try to save her. In fact, it would just be corroboration for why my father had never wanted me to have anything to do with her.
A part of me wanted to pick up the phone and call my dad, but I knew I wouldn't get what I wanted out of that conversation. He'd be furious that I'd come to Stonecross, and he wouldn't tell me a thing. I would have to figure this out on my own.
