Killer

Chapter 15: Never Underestimate the Idea of Identifying a Killer

I watched two teenagers standing in line at a coffee stand in the cafeteria on a rainy Friday morning. I was waiting for Jace to come to the table with two coffee cups for us since he was addicted to his Joe. I told him we should get breakfast to discuss and come up with a plan on how we were going to solve the murder tape. He came back in a timely manner, leaning toward me as he placed a coffee cup in front of me.

"How are you feeling?" His voice was low and intimate.

"Good," I replied, giving him a shy smile.

I could feel the warmth of his body next to mine as he slid into a spare chair next to me, slowly touching my hand. I noticed some students staring at us, assuming we were a couple when, in reality, I didn't believe we were even. Jace and I skipped school yesterday. We spent the whole day cuddling and watching a few movies to distract my mind from the cold case. He was really sweet to me, as he occasionally kissed me and made me dinner last night.

Today he looked very attractive and cool. His high cheekbones and lean, athletic physique. He wore a gray flannel that made his eyes look green. It amazed me how he was insanely hot and didn't even know it. He was my next-door neighbor, after all.

I had my honey-blonde hair in luscious curls as it poured down my back. The lashes around my regular blue eyes were caked with dark mascara. I had on a large white sweater that showed off my freckled shoulders and a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans.

Jace took a slow sip of his coffee and asked. "So, what are we doing? What's the plan?"

"I am not sure," I told him. What was our plan exactly?

I paused on my next few words to see that Principal Hyde and Mr. Burke were talking to each other a few feet away. My eyes locked on them, specifically on Mr. Burke. He had a wrecked expression on his face this morning; his brown hair was not in its usual style, more in a tangled, wild mess. His skin looked kind of pale, and I wondered to myself if there was something about him I should know.

"I think my biology teacher is a suspect." I leaned in and softly whispered to Jace.

"Why do you say that?" He asked, looking in the same direction I was staring at.

I stared very hard at Mr. Burke. All I could see was a sneaky man with ill intentions creating an act for his students. I gave out brief details to Jace. "He's new to Tanglewood. None of my classmates know anything about him. Plus, he's way too nice." I looked back at Jace. "Aren't killers friendly? All to hide who they truly are."

"Uh, yeah, those are great observations on why he could be a suspect," Jace said, taking another sip of his hot coffee.

"He looks very tired." I realized that beneath the friendly and caring exterior was a dull, spotted dark bag underneath his eyes. He was talking too closely with Mr. Hyde, and I wondered what they were having a conversation about. "Probably too busy stalking and burying a dead girl's body."

Before Jace could add his input, the first bell of the day rang. I guessed it was time for me to go to biology and watch Mr. Burke's every move closely.

"Shit, that's the bell," Jace said, standing up. "Those are all great ideas. Keep anything open that is worth solving as I do the same."

"Okay." I ended with that.

I walked quickly to my first-period biology class. I saw Mila Barnes in her long lavender-colored casual dress, looking pretty as usual as she waved at me. "Hey, girl."

I opened my book. "Hey."

My breath caught in my chest when I saw a brown hand pull a stool out. Tre rounded our table and smiled at us. I treated biology as a social spot since Tre and Mila traded gossip and trending topics with me that I knew nothing about. It was almost funny, engaging, and a stress reliever for me.