Page 34 of In Her Shadow

“You have to be explicit,” his lawyer prompted.

Garth’s hands trembled on the tabletop, his defeat etched deep in the lines of his face.Jenna watched him closely, trying to discern the man beneath the stench of desperation and fear.

“Lily showed up at my door, waving papers, saying she had proof of the kickbacks.”Garth’s voice cracked as he spoke, the image of Lily Cummings, vibrant and relentless, clashing violently with the reality of her bound and silenced.“I didn’t know what to do.I just wanted to scare her into keeping quiet.”

Jake’s spoke with a tone of righteous fury.“So you thought tying her up and threatening her life was the way to go?”His voice was granite, unforgiving, echoing off the walls of the tiny room.

Jenna’s heart pounded against her ribs.Jake’s anger was a mirror to hers own, but it was crucial to keep a cool head.They needed Fields to unravel the web of corruption that had taken root in their town.

“Mr.Fields,” Jenna pressed, her tone unwavering, “we’ve established your role in the situation with Ms.Cummings.Let’s not dwell on the methods you chose for silence.That’s already on the table.”She locked eyes with him, willing him to understand the gravity of the moment.“What we need now is to dig deeper.Who else is involved?How far does this go?”

The prisoner looked as though he were staring down the barrel of a gun.He glanced at his lawyer, who nodded for him to continue.Sweat beaded on Fields’ forehead as he struggled to find the courage to speak.

“Mr.Fields, Ms.Cummings told us about the threat you made,” Jenna said, her tone steady despite the tempest of emotions brewing within her.The room felt like it was closing in, the claustrophobic space mirroring the tightening noose around Fields’ rapidly unraveling story.“You said she was getting too close, that she’d end up like ‘the others’ if she didn’t back off.What did you mean by that?”

The air seemed to be still, charged with anticipation.Fields looked up at her, his eyes wide, the color having fled his cheeks.He looked like a man who had seen a ghost—or perhaps, more aptly, like one haunted by the specter of his own guilt.His voice, when it finally broke the silence, was so faint Jenna had to lean in to catch the tremulous words.

“No, no, you don’t understand.It was just an empty threat.I was trying to scare her off, that’s all.”His plea was desperate, imploring them to believe the unconvincing facade of innocence he tried to construct.“I had nothing to do with what happened to Clyde and Roger, I swear it!”

Jenna exchanged a glance with Jake, noting the hard glint in his eyes that mirrored her own determination.They were circling the truth, and both knew it was only a matter of time before it came pouring out.

“Then who did?”Jake demanded, his voice slicing through the tension.“You clearly know something, Mr.Fields.Now’s the time to come clean.”

Fields’ gaze darted between them, the fight visibly draining from him as his shoulders slumped.Jenna could see the walls he had built crumbling around him, leaving behind only the raw, naked fear of a man with nowhere left to run.She sensed the shift in him, an imperceptible surrender to the inevitable current that was pulling them all toward a revelation.

“Talk to us, Garth,” Jenna urged softly, coaxing the truth from him as one might encourage a wounded animal from its hiding place.“We can help you, but only if you’re honest with us.”

Fields swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing in a throat constricted by dread.Jenna held her breath, waiting, knowing that the next words out of his mouth could be the key they needed to unlock the darkness that had settled over Genesius County.

Fields’ eyes flickered with emotions—fear most of all.

“Who is behind all this, Mr.Fields?”Jenna’s voice was soft, deceptively gentle, but her eyes were steel traps waiting to snap shut.

Fields looked as though he were staring down the barrel of a gun.

Jenna’s emerald eyes locked onto Garth Fields, her intuition sharpening to a fine point as she sensed the precarious edge they were all teetering on.The interview room in the Genesius County Jail seemed to close in around them, the air thick with tension and unspoken fears.She could almost feel the walls listening, hungry for the secrets that might spill from this man’s lips.

Fields glanced desperately towards his lawyer, his puffed-up bravado deflated into the hunched form of a scared, cornered creature.Greer again gave a grim nod—a silent permission to proceed with the truth, however dangerous it might be.

“The man who’s been paying me...”Fields’ voice was rough, gravelly, betraying the strain of inner turmoil.“He’s the one you should be looking at.He’s dangerous, more than you know.”His rheumy eyes met Jenna’s, seeking some kind of absolution or perhaps merely understanding.

“Mr.Fields,” Jenna’s voice was steady, calm but edged with authority, “we can protect you, but we need a name.Who’s behind all this?”

The room held its breath.Fields’ mouth opened and closed, he swallowed hard.Fear creased his face, deepening the lines that hardship had etched into his skin.He glanced again at his lawyer, then back to Jenna, as if trying to find an escape hatch in her gaze.

Time seemed suspended, the afternoon sun filtering through the barred window streaking across the worn table between them.Then, as if the words were being torn from the depths of his soul, Fields whispered a name that pierced the stillness like a bullet.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“Ethan Holbrook,” Garth Fields said flatly.

For a long moment, the other three people gathered around the table in the stark interrogation room made no audible response.Jenna wasn’t shocked that the suspect had named the charismatic newcomer with his eco-friendly facade.But even though this was the break that they needed, it meant that they had to prepare for a major confrontation.

“I need you to explain exactly what you mean,” she said firmly to Garth.“How is Ethan Holbrook involved in all this?”

Garth’s mouth opened, then closed, a struggle visible behind his eyes.He glanced at his lawyer once more.Finally, he inhaled deeply then let out a breath, the sound ragged and defeated.“Holbrook...he’s got this grand plan,” he told them.“He wants to own all the ranch land in the county.”He snorted at his own words, his tone darkening with sarcasm.“Says he’s going to ‘revolutionize’ the industry.”

“And your role in this?”Jake asked calmly, his pen poised over his notepad.

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