The identity of Darius' killer is finally revealed in this chapter, but unfortunately, not in the way anyone wanted. I was going to write the interviews with the coach and Mariah, but I couldn't think of enough to write, so I left it. I hope you guys enjoy and thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, on any chapter. I'm going to try to start replying to reviews, whether by privet messaging or on the next chapter like I'm doing on this one. Also, don't forget to read the chapter before this, which was posted a few days ago.
To loverofbones: I'm glad you like my story and review so much. I'll this say right now, one of your theories as to why Coach Jackman is acting the way he is is correct, but it won't be answered in this chapter.
Christine's Pov
It was Wednesday and I had decided to go back to school, even though Michael wasn't going back. So far, there was no clear suspect in Darius' murder. I had heard Mom talking about it to Dad yesterday, when they were sure I was in my bedroom. They were sure it was a metal bat, like a baseball bat, that caused the damage to Darius' skull and had confirmed that that's what killed him. Darius also had defensive wounds to both his Radius and Ulna on his right arm, telling me that he raised his arms up, with his right arm in front, to protect his head. He also had a boxer's fracture to his fourth Metacarpal on his right hand, suggesting he punched his attacker. Right now, the force profile for the attack suggested a girl or weak male, when you added the wood bat into it, but they still had no leads as to who did it. The only two girls that were originally suspects were Kate and Mariah and Kate was cleared after the video from her home was watched, as it shows Darius leaving the house at 8:15 am, but Kate never leaving and Darius never coming back. Mariah was the only girl left, but Sweets said while she showed clear signs of jealousy, he doubts she killed him. He said that if she were to direct her jealousy and rage anywhere, it would be placed on Kate and I, which hadn't pleased Dad at all. Dad had talked to Coach Jackman and seen that his behavior was abnormal – he'd been very blunt when questioned and not said much, as he was busy figuring out how to run training that day – they'd talked to him Tuesday – now that his quarterback was dead and Michael wasn't at school. Honestly, I couldn't care about that, because everything we'd learnt so far showed that Darius had been killed by someone in a fit of blind rage.
I headed downstairs, not really wanting to go to school today, but I had decided to because Kate's parents were making her go and she'd asked me to go with her. I couldn't deny her anything right now, so I agreed to go, knowing that she'd be harassed at school and I wanted to be there when she was. There was no if in this situation, as a lot of kids can be jerks.
As I came to the bottom stairs, I heard Mom talking on the phone to someone, before she suddenly grabbed her jacket off the back of the couch.
"Oh, Christine, I need to get to the lab. Hodgins has found something we missed, meaning Darius might not have been killed by what we'd thought." Mom said as she went out the front door, before I could say anything. I hoped whatever new particulates or something Hodgins had found would lead to Darius' killed.
I headed to the front door myself and walked out, locking the door behind me. I was riding to school today. I went and got my bike and then I headed off to school.
X
When I finally got to school, I noticed the looks I was getting as I chained up my bike almost immediately. I saw that Kate was already here, but still in her car, so I made my way over to her car and knocked on the window, which caused her to jump, but she then unwound her window.
"You know, I won't blame you if you hightail it out of here." I said and she let out a small laugh.
"I'm tempted, but Darius wouldn't want me to run from what's happening." She said as she got out of her car, winding up the window as she did. I took her bag from her as she pushed the button on her keys to lock the car. "Besides, I have you with me, so I think if I can manage."
"Well, just a warning, I can't promise I won't hit Mariah. She never changes, not even when she's a murder suspect." I said and she shook her head.
"I doubted she would." Kate said and I took her hand in mine. This was the first time I'd seen her since Darius' death. "You know, most parents comfort their children when they lose someone they care about, but my parents don't seem to care."
"Dad told me about what happened when you talked to him. I'm glad you told them off." I said, because I was. Her parents could be truly horrible. It was hard to even tell that they were her parents. "Come on, we should get to class."
X
By the time lunch came, I knew that Kate was getting unbelievably stressed by what everyone was saying. When she'd seen the memorial outside of Darius' locker she had nearly broken down crying, but I'd just hugged her tightly. We had both run into our friends through the day and they'd all hugged Kate, Ford asking me how Michael was going. I admitted that he was coping, but he didn't want to come to school because he knew he'd hit anyone who said something bad about Darius, which Ford had admitted he was finding very hard not to do.
I was now on my way to meet up with Kate, as we weren't in the same class. I was planning to meet her by her locker and was nearly there when I saw something that pissed me off. I was just down the hall from Kate's locker, where Kate was standing with none other than Mariah standing in front of her. I walked down the hall, ignoring what Mariah was saying, and stood in front of Kate, glaring at Mariah and her two idiot friends.
"Christine, who would have thought you'd show your…" Mariah started, but she wasn't going to get to finish.
"Oh, shut up! I don't give a damn what you have to say right now, as you're not smart enough to know jack shit and your opinion means next to nothing. The only thing you have going for you Mariah is a slightly pretty face, and everyone knows it." I replied and she looked offended, but I didn't give a shit. I took Kate's hand and pulled her away from them. "Do me a favor and don't tell me what she said, 'cause I'm trying not to go back there and hit the only thing she has going for her."
"Don't worry, I didn't plan to. Thank you though, for coming and getting in the way." Kate said and I looked at her, noticing the tears in the corner of her eyes.
"I was kinda hoping you would hit her." Ford admitted as he came up behind us.
"She's not worth getting in trouble for, though if she keeps it up I might change my mind on that. I'm well aware what she's been saying and what others have been saying, but I'm choosing to ignore them. They don't know anything, they're just making up crap." I said, because that's all it was. I didn't care what stupid or mean things they said about Darius, because I knew he was one of the best guys you could meet.
Michael's Pov
I sat in the lounge watching T.V, since I still wasn't going to school, and I was truly surprised when my phone started ringing and I saw it was Ford. He must be calling me at lunch.
"Hey, I didn't expect a call from you." I answered.
"Well, to be honest I thought I'd call you instead of kicking some of the guy's head's in." Ford said and I sighed.
"I can only image what they're saying, which is why I'm not there." I said. I didn't want to go back to school only to get suspended.
"Yeah well, Mariah's the worst of them and she's seriously beginning to get on Christine's nerves. If she keeps going, Chris might actually hit her, which I hope I'm around to see if that happens." He said and that made me sit up straight. Wait, what!
"Wait, Christine's at school?" I asked, because I was surprised. I thought she'd take more than one day off, especially since she probably knew exactly what happened to Darius.
"Yeah, she came back for Kate, whose parents forced her to come to school today." Ford said and I sighed. Honestly, I couldn't imagine what Kate was going through right now.
"Those people don't have hearts. Who sends their child to school when she loses the guy she loves?" I asked, even though I was asking myself mainly. I didn't expect Ford to give me an answer, as I was sure he didn't know either.
"I don't know Michael, but I do know that it's mainly Christine keeping her together right now." Ford said and I chuckled. I could believe that, and I also knew that Christine was probably glaring at anyone who said anything bad about Darius while Kate was around. "So, how are you going?"
"I'm alright Ford. I mean I miss him, but there's no point in pretending he'll come back." I said, since it was Wednesday and we'd learnt the truth on Monday. I felt sorrier for Darius' parents, siblings and Kate. "How are all you guys doing? I'm sorry I didn't call."
"Don't worry about it, you and Christine have it harder than us because you probably know what happened. Still, it came as a shock to all of us. We were all hoping for the best when Darius went missing, but instead we got the worst scenario." Ford said and even though I knew he couldn't see, I gave a sad smile. I'd been hoping for the best too, but neither Christine or I could believe that it was going to end up well. "Oh crap, I need to go Michael. Seems Layla decided she doesn't care if she gets suspended or not." Ford said and I could hear the noise in the background before he hung up.
Well, I guess that told me what was happening at school.
Christine's Pov
Well, what happened at lunch was not what I was expecting? I had noticed Ford talking to someone on the phone in the corner of the lunch room as I tried my best to ignore Mariah mouthing off behind Kate and I, and then suddenly Layla stood up and punched Mariah right in the face. I'll admit, I let out a shocked laugh when it happened.
"You know what, I'm really sick of you running your god damn mouth." Layla said as she stood over Mariah, while I looked at her in shock. "I don't give a damn if I get suspended for this, because it was about time someone shut you up. Stop mouthing off about my friends, especially my friend whose dead and his girlfriend who doesn't need to be listening to your shit. This isn't the time for you to talk shit or start stupid rumors, it's a time for those who knew him to mourn his death. Then again, I'm pretty sure you don't have a brain or a heart, so I guess you wouldn't have worked that one out yet." Layla shouted, while Mariah just sat sprawled on the floor, holding her cheek in shock. The whole cafeteria was silent right now, even the teachers that were here weren't talking.
"I… I…" Mariah started, but it was like she couldn't finish. This was the first time that I'd seen Mariah speechless. I'd always found it funny that she could share the same name as such a kind nurse who took care of kids, when she was such a bitch.
"You were being a selfish bitch, that's what you were doing." Layla said and to be honest, I really hoped she didn't get in trouble for this, because Mariah had deserved this.
"Miss Rhodes and Miss James, come with me please." A male teacher I didn't know the name of said and Mariah got off the floor and went with Layla and the teacher.
"Is it bad that I'm happy Layla did that?" Stacey asked and I shook my head.
"No, as I'm pretty sure she just did what we all wanted to do." I said, since I had wanted to hit Mariah earlier. I just hoped that Layla didn't get into too much trouble.
X
School had finished a while ago and pretty much all the teachers were gone, even the principle was gone, but I was still here because I was with Coach Haven right now. I had missed training yesterday, which she understood why, but now that I was back she had wanted to go over a few things with me since I was the team captain. We'd just finished up actually and to be honest, it was weird being at school when no one was around.
"I need to drop this off in Coach Jackman's office, but I also have to go pick up my son from practice." Coach Haven said, more to herself, and I walked over to her.
"I can drop it off. The schools still unlocked, so it won't be a problem." I said and she smiled at me.
"I appreciate it Christine. My son's still young, so I'd much rather get there before he finishes." She said and I smiled as I took the folder from her.
"It's no problem Coach. I'll see you tomorrow." I said as I made my way to the school building. We'd been talking on the soccer field, so I wasn't that far from where Coach Jackman's office was. I'd been there with Michael before, so it was no problem.
I made my way through the empty school and came to Coach Jackman's office, which was empty when it came to people. Huh, I was sure he was staying late, but I guess not. "Oh well, I'll just leave it on his desk." I said to myself.
I went into the room and placed the folder onto the very messy desk, and then I went to leave, but something caught my eye. In the corner of the room, hidden behind a pile of mess, was the signed baseball bat that Coach Jackman originally had in a glass case above his desk. I walked over to where it was out of curiosity mainly, reached in and grabbed it from its hiding place, wondering where the glass case had gone. "Why would he hide this when it means so much to him?" I asked myself, but the question was answered when I saw something that made me drop that bat in shock and realization, making me wonder why it hadn't been another thought that led me to grab the bat.
A sliver of the bat was missing, and in its place, was someone's flesh and blood. I worked it out straight away, I knew why the bat was like that. The force profile was wrong, the thing that killed Darius was a wood baseball bat and the person who killed him was Coach Jackman. I placed my hand against my mouth and started backing away from the bat, knowing I had to call my dad and get him here, now. Before I could do that though, I felt someone one come behind me and as I started to turn to see who it was, I was hit in the head by something hard as my phone started to ring.
Booth's Pov
I stood in front of the Angelatron, waiting for Hodgins to explain exactly what he had found.
"Hey Mom." Michael said as he came into the room.
"Michael, what are you doing here?" Angela asked and he shrugged.
"Well, I figured I'd come ask if you needed any help since I have nothing better to do." Michael said. I had to feel sorry for the kid.
"You could have gone and seen Christine. I know she'd love to see you." Bones said and Michael sighed.
"Well she's said she was going to be late when I called her after school finished. Apparently, she had to talk to Coach Haven about something, but she said she'd call me when she was on her way home, which should be soon." Michael said and I was surprised by his words. Why was Christine already back at school?
"Christine's back at school?" I asked and Michael nodded.
"Yeah, she went back because Kate was made to go back by her parents." Michael said and I shook my head. While I was glad Christine was being there for her friend, Kate's parents really got on my nerves.
"Hey, I found out what it was." Hodgins said as he came into the room and I held up my hand.
"Hodgins, whatever you're about to say, give it to me straight. I don't want to hear any scientific mumbo jumbo right now." I said, because I just wanted to know what he knew so I could catch the person who killed a teenage boy.
"Right, well I already told you that the wood I found it commonly used to make baseball bats, so we weren't so far off. The other elements I found were mold and ink, which leaves me to believe the bat was old and probably signed." Hodgins explained and I guess that narrowed down my field, but not enough. "That's not all. I finally work out what the trace elements we found on Darius' skull was." I saw Michael flinch at that. "It's a common industrial floor cleaner that they use in work places and get this, schools."
"So, we knew Darius we killed at the high school, but we still don't know by who." Angela said and then I saw the look on Michael's face as he looked at me.
"It's Coach Jackman, he's the killer. I've seen the bat your talking about." Michael said and I nodded. Now all I had to do was go to that school and find that bat.
Something suddenly occurred to me. "Wait, you said Christine was still at school, right?" I said and Michael nodded, then he paled. "Call her now, I want her away from that school now."
Michael took out his phone and clicked on Christine's number, before putting it to his ear. I watched as he tried to call her and heard when her message started. I watched as he tried again and suddenly looked at me.
"Her phone's been shut off." Michael said and that's all it took me to take off running. Why was it this family had such bad luck when it comes to these things?
Another cliffhanger! I promise I'll write the next chapter as fast as I can so you can all learn why Coach Jackman did it and what will happen to Christine. I will say that no, she isn't going to die.
