"Elijah?"
"Technically, it's Caspian." The private investigator laid out the facts: "Caspian's timing was almost too perfect, nearly overlapping with Isaac's disappearance."
Piper's expression froze: "You mean, Caspian is Isaac?"
How could that be?
After that car crash, Isaac was declared missing, presumed gone for good.
The Lynette family scoured all of Craneville and found no trace of him. How could he possibly now be Caspian?
And if he really were Isaac, why would he be working for Elijah?
"We can't be sure yet."
"What about Brittany? Any progress?"
"Ms. Lynette's records have been wiped clean, but rumor has it she's been resting at home, staying away from the public eye." The investigator seemed to recall something else: "She was reportedly seen at the hospital a while back."
"Look into it."
"Will do."
After hanging up, Piper was steeped in confusion.
But before she could ponder any further, the much-anticipated inter-school chess tournament was about to begin.
Though it was just an inter-school event, the chess club members were all fired up, determined to make a strong showing.
The preparation for the tournament was nothing short of spectacular, capturing the attention of the entire town on the day of the event.
Brittany was among the invited guests.
Piper led her team into the venue, coming face to face with the Welandia team.
Before the first match could start, Welandia's representative player made some bold claims in front of the media that nearly set the chess club off.
Their player, a renowned young chess prodigy from Craneville, faced off in a fierce battle.
Brittany watched with keen interest.
Eltham, glancing at her profile, was smitten: "Bri, you seem really into chess. Why didn't you join the chess club?"
"I'm no pro, just somewhat knowledgeable."
Brittany felt there was still a significant gap between her and the professional players.
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