Codename: Jumping Spider [Published]

Four

Jenn spent her whole afternoon aimlessly wandering around in town, eavesdropping and listening to town gossip. Unfortunately, she did not get a lot out of that small-town gossip. All she managed to gather was how the victims’ families kept pushing the police to work harder to solve the cases, but the police had neither made a response nor disclosed any information about the ongoing investigations.

However, much to her relief, no one had recognised her so far, not that she knew every one of the town folks.

As the evening shadows began to fall, she decided that she’d reached her quota of walking for today. She leisurely bought a cup of coffee from a coffee house nearby and strolled towards the park. The pleasant aroma of the coffee mixed with the faint smell of sweet floral fragrance as she neared her destination, bringing a relaxed smile to her lips. Eiry’s Garden had always been her favourite spot in town to think.

As she settled down on a bench at the far end of the park, that’s when she noticed them watching her from the corner of her eye. They were hanging around the huge fountain which stood magnificently in the middle of the park. The two younger guys from the group were a year younger than she was, namely Ray and Tom, and the girl, Isabella, was two years younger than they were. The three of them were trying to observe her as subtly as they could, but they were failing miserably. As for the man who was now openly gawking at her with shock written all over his face, he was five years older than she was. His name was Nick.

How could she be so sure about who they were? Well, it was obvious. She knew them. And she was pretty sure that they remembered her. Or at least Nick did, judging from his comical expression of surprise. Well, he had never been one to be able to communicate or express his emotions without coming across as awkward or shy. It seemed he had not changed much.

As if just realising that he was staring at her the entire time, Nick quickly recomposed his face into his usual serene mask, but he didn’t stop staring. As for the other three, they were whispering to each other. They were talking about her, she thought. Honestly, she could read them like an open book, and she knew that they thought she looked oddly familiar.

Jenn angled her body slightly towards them so that she could read their lips better. At the same time, she took out a notebook from her pocket which she’d brought with her for situations like this. She scribbled a few lines on her notebook and peered up every once in a while, trying to be as natural as possible while she studied them from under her lashes.

Isabella was whispering to Tom, “Do you think that’s who I think she is?”

Tom responded by nodding his head once. “But she looks really different,” he observed. “Maybe it’s not her.”

“A long lost twin of hers?” Isabella guessed, arching a brow. This earned her funny looks from both Ray and Tom.

“I thought that only happens in movies,” Tom said mutedly, looking rather amused now.

Then Ray interjected by saying, “Jenn or not, she seems new in town. Might as well give her a warm welcome.” Excitement coloured his expression.

Before Isabella could ask for Nick’s opinion, Ray – always the most outgoing one – was already walking towards Jenn. As Ray approached her with a friendly smile, Jenn observed the mild change in his looks. It seemed he had grown a few inches taller since the last time she saw him. She also noticed his muscular physique. Well, someone has been working out. Ray opened his mouth, and she braced herself for his first question.