Page 25 of The Editor’s Choice

“I mean, no, I don’t think so. Jade found texts between Emily and her ex-boyfriend, Dawson, but I don’t think that would cause her to murder her best friend. She seems too level headed for that,” I say honestly. It had never even crossed my mind as a possibility or something to check into.

“People have murdered for less,” she says, shrugging. “I got the coroner’s preliminary report back today. I also got the video back from my buddy. I want you to check it out and see what you think.” I nod as she’s pulling up the footage on her laptop.

There’s nothing going on in it for the first seven minutes, but then someone walks into the frame. Nothing stands out as they walk across the parking lot and onto the trail that leads to the popular overlook. The footage makes it hard to tell, but it does appear to be a woman, judging by the height and body shape, but she has on a hoodie with the hood up, making it impossible to pick out any further features.

Several minutes tick by with nothing happening. A few cars come and go from the parking lot. People getting out and looking around, heading to the overlook and quickly returning to their vehicles to leave.

After 18 uneventful minutes tick by, the woman from the start of the video comes back into the frame. At first, everything seems normal, but then it hits me. She walked out of the trail leading to the overlook where Emily was found, not the trail she was seen on earlier.

Her actions seem frazzled now, head moving quickly from side to side as she scans the area for other people before taking off at decent jog, heading out of the park and out of the video.

“Who the fuck was that?” I question, gesturing for her to rewind the footage. “Can you zoom in or anything? Was he able to get a clear shot of the face or anything distinguishing?” I feel the goosebumps rising across my skin, covering me from head to foot as I wait for what feels like an eternity.

“Yeah. Hold on,” she says, exiting off the video and pulling up some fairly grainy photos. They’ve been enhanced enough to make out some decent features. As she clicks through the pictures, ice fills my veins. She flips through them slowly, taking in my reaction and the moment it hits me.

My stomach churns, threatening to spill the contents from my date with her earlier tonight. I feel the color drain from my face as I stare at the images, shocked to my core.

It’s only when Sara clicks the last photo that the reality of the situation hits me full force.

“Is that…” I start, unable to form the words around the lump in my throat. With every picture, I’m more certain. It’s Jade on the screen. “Oh god. There’s no way. That can’t be right.” I stare at the screen, mind racing.

“I wasn’t completely sure, Roman. This is the best he was able to do without distorting the images a ton,” she says, placing her hand on my arm in an awkward attempt at comfort. “That’s why I wanted to show you these pictures and rehash what you knew about her, if she was even capable of doing this. I also have the coroner’s report.” She pauses, waiting for my brain to catch up. It takes several seconds before I’m able to form a coherent thought.

“Fuck,” I start, pausing as my brain struggles to catch up. “Yeah. Yeah, let’s look at it. What does it say?” I feel like the world is spinning faster or something, like a whirlpool threatening to suck me under.

She pulls up the report easily before turning the screen toward me. She’s already read it by now. Judging by her actions, I’m assuming the worst at this point.

Decedent: St. John, Emily, Rose

Race: WhiteSex: FemaleAge: 24

*Requested by Haven County Police Department

Eyes: HazelHair: Brown

Weight: 147.2lbsHeight: 5’4”

Marks and wounds: scrapes and cuts to both hands, bruise on right cheekbone – black eye, scrapes on both knees and lower legs, abrasions to back of head, bruises with clear finger shapes on neck. Most scrapes are superficial in natural, indicative of defensive wounds.

Probable cause of death: Asphyxiation with blunt force trauma to the head

Manner of death: homicide

My mind goes blank, nearing total shut down. “This is the coroner’s report? For Emily? And that was Jade. Walking out of the park. Where Emily died. Oh, my god.”

Fucking hell. There’s no way Dawson killed Emily. At the bar, he mentioned ending up with my throat cut, just like Emily. Nothing he said that night lines up with what the coroner’s report states.

“Hold on. There’s more,” Sara says sheepishly. “I was able to track their phone locations from that night. They were both pinging off the same tower while Jade was at the park, meaning Emily was still there. She never left from the time we saw her there with Dawson. He left alone.”

Chapter Fourteen

Roman

After my meeting with Sara last night, I full on crashed. She left around ten, and I hardly remember anything that happened after that.

I know I showered, shaved my face, and tried to get some work done, but my head just wasn’t in it. I couldn’t concentrate, given everything that transpired during the night.

Opening my phone, I see several texts and a couple missed calls from Jade.