CHAPTER 3
"Why do you seem sad by having that?" Jones asked, noticing my demeanor had changed.
"It was always a insecurity and quality I hated and still hate having. I practically failed math throughout High School and College especially and just barely passed because of it." I replied, staring at the floor. "It wasn't until High School that I was diagnosed with it by my doctor."
"You weren't…bullied…for it, were you?" Jones asked, feeling protective over me.
"No." I shook my head. "But it didn't help my already dangerously low self esteem. Every math class I had after 7th grade made me feel stupid as Hell and that I was never going to get anywhere in life because of my issues in anything Math related."
"Well, you did get somewhere in life." Jones smiled. "May I remind you you're an inspector at age 27?"
"True." I smiled back.
"Hey, you had that teacher when you went there. Was he horrible to you?"
"Not personally as far as I can remember. But I always felt judged by him and any other math teacher I had." I replied, thinking about it.
"At least that was the only subject you struggled with." Jones said.
"Other than English. But that was mostly due to my god awful handwriting. Which is why I like using the tablet so much." I grinned, holding it up.
"Yeah." He grinned back. "Anyway, so she had Dyscalculia and it probably damaged her self esteem as well." Jones said sadly. "I can imagine her sister may have used that against her at some point."
"Wouldn't be surprised." I said, truthfully. "I also wouldn't be surprised if Brone judged her silently as well."
"That too." Jones nodded.
About a half a hour later, making it around 12:40 P.M., we decided to see what Alex could tell us about the camera and the phone.
"Hey, guys." Alex said as we walked into the room.
"Hey, get anything off of that camera?" I asked.
"Yep." He nodded and pulled it up on the screen in front of him. "You can see one of your suspects in the hallway right around when it had happened. Hell, maybe right after even. Thing is," He fast-forwarded it. "He didn't go back to his room until that period was over."
"Right after the bell too." I said, watching the students exit the rooms. "You would think he would've gone back a little while earlier."
"That's what I thought too." Alex agreed.
"What about that phone?" Jones asked.
"I checked it out after you got it unlocked, Lexi." Alex started. "Seems she had been texting some guy named, 'Jake Singer.'"
"Got any information?" Jones questioned.
"Of course." Alex nodded. "I'll send it to your tablet. Though I assume he's probably home since the students were sent home a while ago."
"Thanks, Alex." I smiled and turned to Jones. "Come on."
Jones nodded and followed me out the door. Once we were in a car again, I turned the tablet on and checked the information that Alex had sent.
"Here's his address…" I said, telling Jones where the guy lived.
About 10-15 minutes later, we pulled up to a decent looking house in a nice neighborhood.
"This is?" Jones questioned.
"It should be." I confirmed as we got out of the car.
Walking up to the door, I rung the doorbell. A few minutes later, a young teenage guy with black hair and brown eyes answered the door. It was pretty obvious he had been crying for a while now.
"Hi, I'm Inspector Lexi and this is my partner Inspector Jones. Are you Jake Singer?" I asked, giving a comforting smile.
"I am." He nodded.
"Can we come in? We need to talk to you about what happened earlier." Jones said.
"Sure." Jake nodded again and stepped aside so we could enter.
"Where are your parents?" Jones questioned.
"Work." Jake replied, shutting the door.
"They checked in, right? I'm sure they heard what happened." Jones asked, worriedly.
"They did." Jake said and sniffled. "I'm sorry, can we make this quick?"
"Sure." I nodded. "How did you know Hannah Berrie?"
"We've been best friends for a while now." Jake said, focusing on the floor.
"How did you treat her?" Jones asked, raising a eyebrow. "And are you friends with her sister?"
"I was the only one that really understood her. And no, Lucy is a bitch if I'm being honest." Jake replied, looking back to us.
"So you know about her learning disorder and having a hard time making friends?" I asked.
"Yeah." Jake nodded. "I tried to include her in things the best that I could. I thought we were finally starting to grow closer. Maybe even more than just friends or best friends. But I'm not sure if she shared those same feelings."
"Sorry that you lost her." I replied.
"Are you working on finding her killer?" Jake asked. "She had to of been killed! But I'm not sure by who…other than her sister, I know she didn't have many enemies."
"Thanks for that information." I said, typing it down.
"Do you know whether or not she did good in Brone's class?" Jones asked.
"Not good." Jake said, regretfully. "I think she was going to his class during her study hall for extra help but I'm not sure how that dick may have treated her. He always seemed so judgmental of everyone."
"Yeah…I think I remember him being a bit of a jerk when I had him about 10 years ago." I replied, thinking back to senior year.
"You had him!?" Jake asked, shocked. "I pity you. Trust me, he probably hasn't changed at all."
"Really?" I questioned. "Well, if you think of anything that could be useful information, be sure to call the police department."
"I will." Jake nodded and showed us out.
"Have a good day." Jones smiled.
"Thanks." Jake smiled back. "Same with you two." Then shut the door once we were back outside.
"Doesn't seem all that suspicious…but his feelings could've made him do something stupid." Jones said and I nodded.