Page 26 of Silent Trail

"Jade," Sheila said softly, leaning in closer, "I understand how important wrestling is to you. But we need to know the truth. If you cooperate and tell us everything, we'll do our best to help you."

Jade bit her lip, struggling to hold back her tears. "Wrestling is really the only thing I enjoy," she said, her voice cracking. "I suck at school, and things aren't great with my family at home, either. When I get in the ring—that's the only time I feel like I'm in control of something. If I lose that..."

"If you cooperate fully with us," Sheila said, "we won't press charges. I can't guarantee that nobody saw us leading you out of the school in handcuffs, but we'll do what we can on our end to prevent this from having any negative impact on your career."

For a moment, it seemed as if Jade might refuse, but then she let out a shuddering breath, dropping her gaze to the table. "Fine," she muttered, defeated. "What do you want to know?"

"Tell us about Kristen," Sheila said, sensing they were finally getting somewhere. "Did you ever confront her about the incident with Lila?"

Jade nodded. "I said some things, gave her a piece of my mind. I was just so angry for Lila's sake, and I wanted Kristen to know how it felt to be scared."

"That's all you did?" Finn asked. "You just talked to her?"

"That's all."

"And when did this conversation take place?"

"A few weeks ago. I don't remember when."

"Then why were you pacing in front of her room last night?"

Jade's eyes widened. "How did you know about that?"

"Just answer the question," Sheila said.

"I..." Jade swallowed hard. "I'd just seen Lila – she only just came back to school after resting at home for months – and the way she was limping around—it just pissed me off, made everything feel like it had just happened again."

"So you went to Kristen's room to confront her," Sheila said.

"Yes, but I didn't actually see her. I thought better of it and left. I swear."

"And where'd you go after that?" Finn asked, studying her carefully.

"Please, you have to believe me," Jade pleaded, her voice cracking under the weight of her desperation. "I went to a friend's room. We had a group project due, and we were up late working on it. There were four of us: me, Lila, and two other teammates, Becca and Sarah. You can ask them, they'll tell you I was there."

Sheila felt the tension in the room ease as Jade provided her alibi, and she found herself believing the girl's words. She glanced over at Finn, who seemed to be weighing the information as well.

"Look, I know I messed up by fighting you guys, and I swear I'm sorry for that, but I didn't kill Kristen," Jade insisted, her gaze darting between Sheila and Finn. "You have to believe me."

There was one question still left unanswered. "If that's really the case," Sheila said, "then why did you run when you saw us? Why did you fight so hard to keep us from questioning you?"

"Don't lie to us," Finn warned. "It will only make things more difficult for you."

Jade glanced from Sheila to Finn, then back again, her eyes shining with desperation. She looked trapped, as if her mind were racing for some solution to get her out of the predicament she was in.

Finally, she sighed and lowered her gaze to the floor. "I thought you were here about the EpiPens," she said softly.

Sheila and Finn exchanged a puzzled glance. "EpiPens?" Sheila asked.

Jade nodded. "I got injured a while back – pulled a hamstring – and even after recovering, I realized I'd lost a step. I couldn't bear to lose…so I faked a re-injury, and while I was at the infirmary, I swiped some Epi-Pens."

It all made sense to Sheila now. Jade had been high on adrenaline when they confronted her, which, combined with her desire to protect a secret that would have gotten her disqualified from the sport she loved so much, had led her to respond on instinct, running and then fighting back for all she was worth.

Sheila sat back in her chair, the metal legs scraping against the floor as she did so. Her mind raced, trying to process the information Jade had given them. If Jade wasn't responsible for Kristen's murder, who was?

Just as Sheila was about to speak, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw Natalie's name displayed on the screen. With a quick glance at Finn, who gave her a nod of understanding, she stood up.

"Wait," Jade said suddenly. "What's going to happen now? You're not going to share what I said, are you?"

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