"True, but the way I present him in court, I doubt that'll happen. Jackson is a smart young man with the grades to prove it, and his performance on the football field proves he's used to dealing with pressure and thinking on his feet."
"Why would they use my tie?" Jackson asks.
"Someone's obviously trying to frame you," the lawyer says. "Using your tie. Leaving the body on your property. It was all a setup by whoever did this. They wanted to get rid of Kristen and have you take the fall."
"Who would do that?" Roman asks Jackson. "Do you have enemies I don't know about?"
"Just people at Twisted Pine but they're not really enemies. They're just angry at me for leaving. Braden's the only person I'd call an enemy."
"But how would he get your tie?"
"When he went to get Kristen," I say.
They all look at me to explain.
"The week she was killed I saw her at the house with Braden. I didn't see her car out front so I'm guessing he picked her up at her house. If he went inside, he could've got the tie."
"We need more than a guess," Mr. Langly says.
I pause to think. "What about Kristen's stepdad? He lived with her and could go through her room when she wasn't there. Maybe he took it."
"To kill his own daughter?" Mr. Langly says with a laugh. "You might be watching too many of those crime shows on television." He turns to Roman. "I'll call you tomorrow after I've had some time to think about this. I just wanted to tell you before you saw it on the news."
"We'll see you tomorrow," Roman says, opening the door.
I glance at Jackson, knowing he doesn't want me to say it but I have to if it could help.
"Wait!" I say, my heart pounding. "I need to say something."
"What is it?" Mr. Langly asks.
"Rumor, don't," Jackson says. "They won't believe you."
"It doesn't matter. I need to say it." I turn to the lawyer. "A few weeks ago after school I had to stay late and as I was leaving I heard a noise coming from a classroom. It was Kristen and Principal Edwards."
"And?" Mr. Langly says. "What were they doing?"
"They were um..having sex."
"Ms. Halliway, if this is some kind of joke, you should tell it to someone else. I need to be going."
"Why would I joke about that? I'm serious. I knew people wouldn't believe me so I took photos but my camera didn't have the memory to save them."
"Of course it didn't," Mr. Langly says, rolling his eyes.
"I'm not lying. I saw them. And he wasn't forcing her to do it. She wanted it. She was...telling him what to do." I don't want to give details but I will if that's what it takes to get them to believe me.
"Rumor, these are serious accusations," Roman says. "Have you told the police this?"
"No. I wasn't sure if I should."
"I'd advise against it," Mr. Langly says. "You'll portray yourself as being someone who lies. Someone who makes up stories to detract from her own troubles."
"But I didn't make it up. I saw it happening. I swear. I even confronted Kristen about it. I told her I knew, and at first she denied it but then she basically admitted it."
"She told you she was sleeping with her stepfather?"
"No, but she said something that implied the marks on her neck were some kind of sex thing she did with her stepdad."
