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“Jesse . . .”
“Sir . . . it’s my cousin . . . Kayla . . . Kayla Simmons.”
“Why would she want to do this to Miss Jacobs?”
“I can’t believe she would do this, but she told me all about it. After Miss Jacobs helped me, her boyfriend, Austin, wouldn’t stop talking about her. He had always talked about her, but after what she did for me apparently he kinda went off about how awesome she was. I think she’s jealous of her, sir.”
“Did she tell you anything else?”
“She just told me how she and Austin happened to be at the zoo when Miss Jacobs was there with her daughter. She thought it was funny to try and scare her with the picture. I guess Austin didn’t see them and had no idea she had gotten the picture when he went to get food. She said she left notes at first, but then when Miss Jacobs gave Austin her number, that was when it wasn’t funny anymore and she was pissed. She thinks that she and Austin are going to get married. If they break up, her chances at a happy life end and it will be all Miss Jacobs fault. I know Miss Jacobs only gave her number to Austin because she was worried about him. It’s not like that, Officer . . . I mean, Jonathan.”
“I know it’s not, Jesse. Thank you so much for calling. I know it has to be hard to call when Kayla is family.”
“Miss Jacobs is awesome and when Kayla told me what she did to her little girl’s room, I knew I had to tell somebody. I am so sorry. I didn’t know until last night. If I had known sooner I would have called, I swear.”
“Don’t worry about it, Jesse. You called and you have no idea how much we appreciate it. Do you mind sharing what you told me with other officers if we need you to?”
“Not at all, sir.”
“Are you at school today?”
“Yes.”
“Is Kayla at school today?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay, thank you, Jesse. Now get back to class and don’t say anything to anybody about any of this. Can you do that for me?”
“No problem. I haven’t told anybody. Austin is gonna freak out. He has no idea and he’s gonna feel so bad that any of this could have had to do with him. I’m so sorry for Miss Jacobs. Please tell her that for me?”
“I will, Jesse. Thanks for calling and I’ll be in touch.”
I’m not sure how I got here, but when I hang up I find myself pacing in the middle of The Gym parking lot. I’m still sweating and I’m filled with so much relief, anger and anxiety that I don’t even know what to do with myself. I know I need to start making calls, but my brain and my body are trying to calm itself and process the information I was just given.
I bend over with my hands on my knees and breathe. I give myself that two or three seconds and then run to my truck. I hop in and call Blackburn who should be sitting outside Emily’s classroom right now. I tell him what’s going on, and to just sit tight and not to let Emily know anything is up yet. I am ten minutes away and I need to be the person that tells her.
Next I call Mick.
“What’s up, Kelly?”
“Mick, we got her.”
“What do you mean her?”
“Kayla Simmons. She’s a student at the school and dates one of Emily’s SPED students. It’s all about jealousy, Mick. The kid she dates, Austin, has no idea. Her cousin is Jesse Miller. He called and told me.” I know I’m rambling. I hope I’m making sense.
“This is all over something as stupid as a student being jealous over a teacher? What the fuck is wrong with kids these days?”
“I don’t know, Mick, it’s complete bullshit but at least we have an answer. I already called Blackburn at the school and he’s notifying the principal. I’m on my way over there right now.”
“Thanks, Kelly. I’ll notify Detectives and we’ll get somebody over to the school ASAP. I’ll see you there.”
I drop my phone in my cup holder and thank God that Mick is cool about me and Emily. It sure is making all of this so much easier. I’m a sweaty mess, but I don’t even care right now. I just want to get to her and tell her that the nightmare is hopefully over. I know it will be hard for her to hear it’s a student, but hopefully there will be some relief as well and life can start to go back to normal.
My adrenaline hasn’t calmed during the drive to the school. I grab the towel in my gym bag and try to wipe off some of the sweat, but in reality I am taking this time to collect myself before I talk to her. I need to be her strength; somebody she can lean on. I can’t go in there all amped up. I need to be calm for her. I really just want to run through the front doors and into her classroom, but I know that I need to wait until her current class is over.
I make my way to her room and Blackburn is there. He quietly fills me in and tells me that Sgt. Callahan is on his way along with Detectives. Sgt. Callahan has been a friend of Emily’s dad since they started on the force, and I’m sure that he’s been keeping her dad up to date with what’s happening. I just hope her dad doesn’t show up. Emily isn’t ready to see him right now if all the ignored text messages are any indication. I’m afraid that if he showed up today it might be too much for her.
