Lone Ranger | Jake Fitzgerald

4| Forbidden Friend

Sarah didn't like the idea of not being able to hang out with Noah. After they spoke last night about her feelings for him, she felt even closer to him than she did before. That feeling was going to be ripped away because her father believes that he's a killer.

Instead of spending the morning with her two best friends, she had to avoid them and stay across the room from them at all times. While Noah and Audrey were on one side of the gate layered in messages for Nina and her death, Sarah stood on the opposite one reading the faux-written words on sticky notes in Nina's honour.

"Did you know her?" A girl wearing thick-black framed glasses and holding her phone ahead of her asked Sarah, standing beside Sarah and looking at the wall filled with paper. Sarah turned to the girl, her brown eyes looking directly at the older woman.

"Sorry, who are you?" Sarah asked, quite rudely. It was accidental, though. She didn't mean for it to sound like a retort rather than a question.

"Piper Shaw. I'm the host of the podcast Autopsy of a Crime. I'm just investigating the murder of Nina Patterson, and I wanted to know if you knew her?" Piper explained herself, her cellphone still in front of her recording Sarah and all the background noise around.

"Oh, I've heard of you." Sarah smiled but it soon turned upside down. "Yes, I did know her. I wish I didn't though."

"Why is that? I heard she was a kind soul." Piper furrowed her eyebrows. Sarah wanted to laugh out loud, but she held it in. Piper had to be delusional if she believed Nina was nice.

"Did you hear that from the devil herself?" Sarah chuckled. "No one thought Nina was kind. She was the polar opposite. She didn't have a kind bone in her body."

"You two didn't get along?" Piper responded.

"I don't get along well with wicked bitches." Sarah smiled but then turned away towards the photos on the fence. "But in the end, she was someones daughter, and someones friend and she was killed gruesomely. No one deserves to get murdered that way, or even get nearly decapitated. That's just disgusting."

"So she Nina murdered?" Piper added.

"Well someone must be insane to believe this was a suicide, or an accident. Someone planned to kill her, and had been for a while. They got away and the cops have nothing on their trail towards this person, so the killer must be insanely brilliant or stupid enough to have gotten away." Sarah completed her argument. "That's all I have to say on the topic."

Piper smiled. "Thanks. Not many people elaborated. They just used this as an opportunity to apologize to Nina, which is kind of odd. Would it be alright if I quote you on some of what you said?"

Sarah hesitated but nodded. "Mhm," she hummed.

"Perfect. Thanks for your help!" Piper rushed off to another side of the fence for more details.

Sarah noticed Piper heading off to Audrey and Noah's direction. She ducked her head and looked at the wall of notes to the late Nina. If there was a moment that Sarah wanted to hang out with her friends the most, it would be now. Sarah really needed her friends right now. The more she tried to get away from them, the more sad she felt. The more upset she got at her father. She loved her dad and she didn't want him hating her for disobeying his orders. And so, she obeyed him. Sarah glanced at the words to Nina and read them mentally.

Dear Nina, you'll be missed. You were a great person and the world will never be the same. Your friend, Nick.

Oh Nina. You were gone too soon. We love you. Forever and always! Katie.

Nina, you deserved much better. I'll never forget that ass of yours. Jake.

Sarah widened her eyes, a sigh escaping her lips as she read that last one. Jake had written to Nina, and about her body. For some reason, Sarah felt kind of mad at Jake. He seemed a lot less girl-crazy yesterday, but in the end he was who he was, a player. Which was why Sarah never let herself feed the gasoline to his fire. She continued to read some of the other notes, until she found one that stood out.