"Maybe he had help. The police think someone else was involved."
"I guess it's possible." He brings me into his arms. "We've talked enough about this. You want to watch a movie?"
Normally we'd skip the movie and have sex but I don't feel like it right now and neither does he. We're both worried about that tie. It's just another piece of evidence pointing to Jackson. Making him look like the killer. We have to find the person who did this. We're running out of time. The more weeks that go by, the less of a chance we'll find out who really killed Kristen, and Jackson will be the one paying for their crime.
* * *
At nine the next morning,Roman knocks on Jackson's door, telling him to get up so they can talk before going to see the lawyer.
"Will I see you later?" I ask Jackson as we stand at the door.
"I hope so. It depends on how everything goes. What are you doing today?"
"Homework. And I might watch some of the funeral. They're putting it online for people who can't be there in person."
"You sure you to watch that?"
"I want to see Principal Edwards' performance. Acting all sad. Pretending to miss her."
"Maybe he does."
"He misses having sex with her. He doesn't miss HER."
"I don't think you should watch it. Just do something else."
"I won't watch for very long. I just want to see a few minutes." I reach up and kiss him. "Bye. Love you."
"Love you too."
When I get home, I look for Brock and find him in his office.
I stand in the doorway. "Can I talk to you?"
His head is down and he's writing something on a pad of paper. "Spent the night with Jackson again? After I told you not to?"
"Yes." I go in his office. "I'm not hear to talk about that. I wanted to explain the pills."
He looks up. "You're the one who left them?"
"Yeah. I found them in Braden's drawer. The one in the kitchen where he keeps his protein bars."
"Why did you give them tome? They're Braden's."
"You knew?"
"I've found them before. He said he needed them for school. To help him with his grades."
"And you believed him?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"He can't have those pills without a prescription. He bought them illegally."
"Kids do that all the time. I did it myself when I was his age. As long as it's nothing dangerous I don't see the harm."
"Those pills are addictive and they CAN be dangerous, which is why he should get them from a doctor. Jackson said athletes use those pills to perform better during a game. I think that's why Braden was using them. They weren't for school. And I looked them up and those blue ones are really strong. He shouldn't be taking that big of a dose."
Brock leans back in his chair, running his hand over his scruffy beard. "Rumor, I have enough to deal with right now. I'm not going to concern myself with Braden's use of amphetamines. His mother used them for years to control her weight and her health is fine."
