Page 94 of You & Me: Part Two

“Yeah, it’s great to be back, sir. Things are fine for me and my brother. I…uh…I called to talk about Miss Jacobs.”

I think my heart might burst through my rib cage any second as I wait to hear what he has to say. I want to pull the information out of this kid’s head, but I know I need to let him go at his pace.

“Okay, what’s up?”

“Well, I heard that she’s been getting some threats and that maybe somebody might have broken into her house?”

“Who told you that, Jesse?”

“Well, the person who says they’ve been doing it. Is it true?”

“It is, Jesse.”

“Shit.”

“Jesse, please tell me who’s doing this to her,” I plead to him as calmly as I can.

“I was hoping it wasn’t true. Poor Miss Jacobs.”

“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 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 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.

I call Mick next.

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