A/N: Jenna x Reader
Someone asked for a part 6 so, yeah : )
HERE WE GO!
________________________________________________________________________________
Jenna's POV:
Production Log Nine –
All right, well, me and Megan are clearly never going to be civil toward one another and I'm glad as I don't like what she writes since it's definitely inaccurate. Not entirely inaccurate but a lot of what she writes is very one-sided, especially the paper that she writes for.
It is such a one-sided newspaper industry, and I genuinely can't think of anywhere worse to work, it seems like such a shitty job especially the building as it looks like a prison. I saw pictures of the building where Megan works and for how "extravagant" her life is, it is an awful building. The air-con doesn't even look like it works, it looks like it's gonna break apart any moment.
The only good thing that I learned from this was that Nicole got a threatening note.
Why?
Who would want to threaten her?
I really need to create a POI list, yet I don't really know who to add. I mean there is no one suspicious yet but it would be beneficial to the case and productions log.
I need to find out what that note said and who it could possibly be from.
Person of Interest List:
- Mystery person who told Nessa that Lana hates her (Brady? Ezra?)
- Brady Carlisle
- Ezra Carson
- Karolina Brady
- Megan Brooks
- Nessa Malcolm
- Elio O'Conner's
- John Vincent
- Eva Rivera
- Mr Rivera
***
I have been trying to figure out what Brady Carlisle is doing right now yet I can't find anything out about him. I mean, I've found photos that he was tagged in but every time I go onto his account, his privacy settings are on, so I can't see anything. Nothing of his personal life, no hints, nothing. I can't even find the name of his new business that is over in the next town on Brookster's Avenue so I'm figuring that I'm going to have to go there.
I sigh, collecting myself for the drive as it is an hour drive just to get to the next town over since our town is settled in between so many large fields, hiding behind bumpy green mountains that are starting to show a lot of puddles on them but even me doing all that, it seems... off. Wrong. But I have to follow every lead that I can, I need to. So, I make my way downstairs and grab my keys before hesitating.
Kate.
What do I do about Kate? I mean, she should know what I'm doing right? If we really are partners, she should know and want to be involved...
Right?
I pull out my phone and see that I have 7 messages from Conner, 2 missed calls from Conner. 4 missed calls from Ceana and 3 messages from Faith. Then there are 24 unread messages on our group chat. I begin to look at Conner's messages from my home screen and read them all.
"Jen im sorry for what i said, i swear"
"do you forgive me? "
"pls? "
"answer please, i wanna know youre okay"
'"can you pls answer? "
'"we're all worried, Jen answer us"
"Jenna? "
Just then, Faith's name covers the entire screen, our picture covering my screen as I see a green answer button and a red decline button. I glance between the two before deciding to answer, I know that they'll just come over here and bother me instead, I can't get them involved in this case, it could lead to something more dangerous than the woods.
"Yes?" I say, waiting for a response on the other end of the line. Hearing a sigh of relief on the other end of the call, my eyes furrow downward as I begin to panic.
Did someone steal her phone?
"There you are, why haven't you been answering us?" Conner's angry voice fills the call. My shoulder's deflate, all anxiety slipping away.
"Busy, bye now." I reply, moving the phone away from my ear.
"Wait—!"
"—Busy, Conner!" I cut him off, raising my voice, slightly shouting into the phone then pressing the hang up button, I then go into my contacts and scroll to K, finding Kate. I press on her contacts, then call, then see that there is a drop-in section of Video-Call or Audio-Call. I press audio-call and move the phone to my right ear, turning my head in the direction of the living room. "Hey, I'm going out to study! I'll be back later." I inform my parents, putting my house key in the door and unlocking the door. Feeling my gut turn unfamiliarly, the harmless lie sinking into her mouth and ears repeating her words back to her.
"Stay safe, honey!" My dad shouts to me.
"See you, bye." I shout to him, opening the door and taking my key out the hole.
"Bye." My dad replies, I step outside and shut the door over to lock it. Hearing the rings as I patiently wait for Kate to answer the call. I chew on my bottom lip, waiting for her to reply as I walk over to my car, I get in and shut the door, putting my seatbelt on. I put my phone on speaker and as I go to set it down, the auto machine begins to speak.
I groan in annoyance and leave her a short and... sweet... voicemail.
"Kate, I swear to fucking god. Answer your goddamn phone, I know you're mad at Conner but my god, can we drop this for 5 minutes so we can follow a lead? Now answer your phone! Call me back! And start being professional with me!" I shout into the phone, huffing. "Sorry, just... not sleeping— wait, that's not an excuse, I mean, I don't mean for it to sound like one. Anyway, bye— and call me back!" I state, trying to sound firm and stop myself from shouting into the phone again. I end the voicemail and connect a cable to my phone, playing my music as I begin to reverse out my driveway.
I hear my phone beginning to ring, and I look, excitedly, to see that it's "Faith", again. I groan and let my shoulders sink, focusing on the road. I press the button on the side and let my music continue to play, quieter but still kinda loud. Gosh, can Kate answer already— you know what? Fuck it. I'm going to get Kate myself and drag her into my car if I have too. She's my partner, I need her to be here, and she wants to be a part of this— she even included herself in this whole thing so it's not exactly my fault.
I begin to drive to her house, tapping on the wheel as I hum to the song that's playing. I come up to a turn and I glance left and right, trying to see if it's okay for me to turn right. I see a car approaching and it's their right of way, so, I wait. I lean back a little and when I check again, I put my indicator on and begin to drive, turning right. I drive down a little, changing gear when I need to. Glancing in my mirror, focusing on the road as well as trying to get to my destination as fast as I can.
She better be in, and she better co-operate and help me. It's going to suck doing it alone, I feel like Kate could be good at this type of stuff if she just didn't hold back. I mean, I get why she wants to hold back I just wish... I don't know, I just wish that she didn't. She'd be a good detective, a great one. It's as if as soon as I show her or tell her something, she tells me what she thinks and it's the same way I've interpreted it. It's like we're on the same wavelength or something and she just gets what I'm trying to say. It's what I need, and I need her to be here.
I arrive just outside her house, and I park beside the curb, quickly getting out after taking the key out of the ignition. The door swing opens, and I shut it over, locking my door and not looking back. I stride toward the door, opening the gate and it slamming shut at my push. Before this, it was scary to even approach the gate but now, it isn't scary at all. There's a feeling of comfort that comes with being able to do that instead of that overload of anxiety that I first got. I knock on the door, it sounding like I'm banging on the door, but I didn't intend for it to come that way. I impatiently wait, hoping that the door opens.
"Please, please, please, please, Kate." I breath out, glancing up at the sky, praying to whoever's up there to be on my side. I'm about to knock again, this time more heavy. The door swings inward and I see Kate staring at me, sighing. I move my hand down to my side, awkwardly, all anger or desperation dissolving and turning into awkwardness, she watches my hand move while she rests her right forearm on the door frame and leans forward, her hand hanging downward. She's changed into grey joggers and a coffee coloured t-shirt where the sleeves are just above her elbows.
"What?" She asks, bitterly.
"Thank god." I say, looking up at the sky before looking down at her and sending her my best smile. She dips her head lower and looks at the sky, confused. I reach for her hand that is dangling and take it, tugging her toward me. Her body now very close against mines.
"Woah—? Oh... o—okay." She mutters, lowly. Her eyes scanning my face as she picks up on my urgency. "What's going on?" She asks, her face unsettling.
"Check your fucking voice messages." I answer in reply, feeling myself fill with anger, so I slap the back of her head.
"Ow!" She hisses, holding her head in pain.
"Oh—Oh!" I let out, panicked. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it that hard." I express to her, cupping her face as she looks at me overdramatically offended.
"Did you just... after what just... wow, Jenna..." She lets out, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, her beginning to shake her head and going to step back.
"Nononono." I plead, stopping her and she turns her head to me, looking into my eyes yet still her eyes are slightly cold. I can tell she still isn't fully wanting to tag along. "I need you right now—Look, I'll explain it on the way but please? Just... Just come on, we're running out of time." I express to her, adding more urgency than is maybe necessary. She sighs and shakes her head.
"The things I do for you, Holmes, should be criminal." Kate expresses to me, lowering her voice to make it sound as if it was a secret for me and her to know. I feel my cheeks redden as I notice her step back and grab her vans, putting them on. "What else do I need?"
"Earphones." I answer, she grabs her earphones and moves the wires around her neck, she grabs her keys, shuts the door and then locks it behind her. I usher her into my car, practically trapping her in my car. I begin to drive to the next town over, letting her listen to the interviews that I have so far. She listens, I notice the questions pooling around in her eyes as she waits and continues to listen to everything. When she is finished, however, I notice her take her earphones out and look at me, confused. "So?" I ask her, her taking one earphone out.
"It doesn't make sense." I hear her say, shaking her head.
"What?" I ask, surprised.
"Megan, her mentioning a threatening note. It's not been mentioned in any article of hers or any other article that I've seen before. So, why has she brought new information into this?" Kate questions, looking over at me and turning her body toward me.
"I... I don't know, actually." I reply, realising that it wasn't mentioned. I genuinely thought I missed it in some article that I must've skimmed. Kate's eyes trailing away before clearing her throat and adjusting in her seat, facing ahead. She puts the earphone back in and continues to listen to interview only to take it out a few seconds later. She huffs and thinks for a few seconds, a few seconds longer than I think she actually needs.
"So, we're going to see... Brady...?"
"Yeah." I answer,
"Mm." Kate questions, quietly. She blinks once and then... a thought appears in her eyes, beginning to pool around them, adding more and more questions that have answers. "Wait," She lets out, quietly. I glance at her, continuing to drive, looking into her eyes that are searching for something. Searching for a certain answer before letting out a soft gasp. "wait, what if Megan lied?" Kate asks me, her eyes meeting mines and widening with panic.
"What?"
"Megan, she barely knows you and she knows how to create a story." Kate explains to me, before scoffing and rubbing her temple. "It all makes sense, now. What if she mentioned to you the threatening note so that you would want to go to Brady since you had mentioned him causing you to think it was him, so, she tried to send you to him while she continues to try be one step ahead?" Kate suggests to me, and I feel my heart immediately drop, pounding in my stomach. This is why I need Kate, I knew something was missing or wrong. "I mean, did you ask Megan if she personally knew Nicole?"
"...No." I answer, sheepishly.
"Maybe she did, and maybe they didn't get along so when they were at school, they might've... you know, had some drama with one another." Kate informs me and I groan, hitting my hand against my steering wheel. It all made sense, it was genius. It could fit and it would've been a neat trick. "Do you know if you can call anyone who knew both Nicole and Megan?" She asks, taking my phone and turning it to me. I glance over and my phone unlocks, "I'm gonna call Lana."
"Want me to talk to her?"
"No, I got it." Kate answers, quietly. Letting out a soft exhale and forcing her eyes shut for a second before clearing her throat. "Hi, Lana. Yes, I was just wondering if I could ask you a question? I'm Kate Vincent, I'm helping Aliyah Bishop with her finding out the truth of Nicole Braun." Kate informs her, her words slightly shaky and her leg was bouncing, her bottom lip being chewed on. "Y—Yes, that's me. I was also wondering if I could record this? We're really needing the answer of these few questions." She answers whatever question Lana asked her, I notice her let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you." Kate begins to record the call and moves the phone back to her ear, "Do you know of Megan Brooks? " Kate asks her, already recording. "Mm..." She lets out, nodding her head. Her eyes glancing left and right, as if she is searching for a certain answer from Lana. "Right, yeah. That must've been so frustrating, I really do apologise for you having to deal with that while mourning a very close friend." Kate sympathises yet when I look at her, I expect a frown but she's smiling however there was hint of a smile in her tone. "I was wondering if you knew if Nicole and Megan had any run-ins with one another that could indicate any dislike toward one another? " Kate asks her and I feel impressed with how well she is handling this, the wording of her questions are good and the way how she was smiling yet sounding sad and sincere, it was... brilliant to watch. "Thank you so much, Lana. You are really helping us find information out and we are one step closer to knowing what my brother really did. You are truly so kind." Kate thanks her, this time very sincere and I swear she has a few tears waiting for permission to slide down her cheek. "Bye now." She lets out quietly after a few seconds, the call dropping, and she stops recording.
"OK? What happened? Is there a connection there?" I ask her, glancing over at her. Waiting to know if I should turn around back into town or if I should continue to go catch up on a lead.
"There's a connection but... not a great one." Kate answers, leaning into the chair and sighing. Seeming disappointed.
"What, how?"
"It's fine, let's just keep going and see Brady."
"What?"
"Let's just talk to him, OK? But afterwards, I'm gonna need you to drop me off somewhere, don't ask questions just... just drop me off, OK?" She asks, her normal soft voice now hard and firm. I glance at her before focusing on the road, I debate in my mind what could've happened on that call, and I barely nod my head. Raising my head up an inch then down. "OK?"
"OK." I answer, quietly. "Is it gonna be beneficial?" I question, longing out my words to hang onto them a little longer, she nods her head and adjusts, bringing her right leg up, her knee up to her chest and her head turning to look out the window. Her neck cracks and she grunts softly.
***
We arrive into the next town over, Starlight Hill, and begin to drive toward Brookster's Avenue. The car is silent, awkward air filling the car to the point where it's starting to get suffocating, but I'd prefer this over her not being here at all. If she wasn't here, I wouldn't have seen that possible connection to Nicole and Megan's personal relationship.
"Are..." I sigh, clearing my throat as my voice quivered. Kate's head turns in my direction but when I look at her, her eyes are out the window. "Are you mad at me? A—And my friends?" I hesitantly ask her, 5 minutes away from Brookster's Avenue.
"I... No. No, not at you. Or all your friends just... just Conner since he was the only one who was vocal about his opinion that isn't true." Kate answers, sounding scared. "Are... Is that okay with you?"
"What?"
"Do you think I'm overreacting?" She asks me, adjusting in her seat as her eyes finally meet mines.
"No. No, I understand why. I'm... I'm mad at him too." I express to her, speaking softly to her. Not wanting to sound angry or mad at her. She rests her hand on my shoulder, and I move my hand over hers.
"Thanks for not being mad at me." She mutters, quietly, rubbing my shoulder. I lean into her hand, feeling my shoulders deflate as I calm down, my gut sinking slightly but not in a bad feeling, a good feeling. "Just..." She huffs, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "It's stupid."
"No, hey, it's not stupid." I attempt to assure her, but I see her sit up, eyes wide as she stares a man down that we drive past. "What, do you know him?"
"Yeah..." She answers, sheepishly. "Here— Here! Here, we are." She points out, pointing over toward a shut-down building. We both get out and shut the door, locking the car and heading over toward the door. Kate knocks, her hitting the door heavily, the knock turning into a pound. "Come on, come on, come on, come on..." Kate mutters quietly, groaning softly and forcing her eyes shut. The door opens and there stands a man, confused, tall, brown haired and dark brown eyes, he tucks his right hand into his pocket, and he opens the door.
"Can I help you both with anything?" The man offers, glancing between us. I go to speak yet Kate steps in front of me and nods her head,
"Yeah. We wanna have a little chat with you if that's okay?" Kate asks him, politely, I see in his eyes that he is immediately surprised by her politeness. He scans her for something, something telling yet he finds nothing, so he moves out of the way.
"Sure. Come in." He offers, his voice nasally and slightly rough. He looks like he's had a bad couple of nights trying to sleep but probably couldn't. "Can I make you anything? Tea, Coffee?" He offers, glancing between both of us. Kate shakes her head, her mouth tugging into a frown.
"No, thank you." Kate denies, he looks over at me and his lips tug into a smile.
"And you?" He asks, his voice more lower and raspier on purpose. I nod my head lightly, returning the smile that he was offering me.
"I'll take coffee, black." I answer, walking over toward Kate and sitting down beside her. Kate moves her chair closer to me and the man walks toward the coffee maker, making me some coffee.
"So, what can I do to help you both?"
"Just to make sure, are you Brady Carlisle?" I question, hoping desperately that it is. He nods his head, glancing back at us.
"Yeah. Yeah, how'd you know?' He asks me, adjusting slightly uncomfortably in his stance, he grabs two mugs and standing beside the coffee maker.
"We're digging into Nicole Braun's missing case, we're wondering if we can ask you some questions. Is that all right?" Kate asks him, curiously. "Don't worry, no police, it's just for a simple school project."
"Oh," He lets out, quietly. His shoulders falling and he looks down at the ground. He itches his slight stubble and inhales sharply, as if someone had stabbed his chest and he was wanting to have one last breath. "uh, y—you two must be pretty deep into her life."
"Yeah. We are." I answer in reply, noticing him begin to pour the coffee into both mugs then he brings it over toward me. He hands me a cup of coffee and he slides it over toward me, sitting across from me. "So, is it okay if we interview you?" I ask him, he nods his head lightly and I glance at Kate then back at him. "Will you be okay if... if I record this interview?" I question, hoping that he isn't overwhelmed with the amount of questions that I'm asking him.
"Y—Yes." He agrees, slowly nodding his head. He swallows the lump in his throat, I can see the nervousness in his eyes, and I instantly feel slightly guilty for asking him about Nicole.
He must be remember everything that she did as if it was yesterday, I mean if I've learned one thing about digging into Nicole's life is that she has not been a great person to the people around her. She really took that hole "Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer" quote to a whole new level. I dig my hand into my pocket, and I glance at Kate before looking down at my screen, I unlock it and go onto the voice recording app. I begin to record on my phone, setting it in the middle of the table.
TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW WITH BRADY CARLISLE
Jenna: So, I just want to start with the basics, if that's okay with you?
Brady: Yeah, sure.
Jenna: When did you and Nicole first talk to one another?
Brady: O—Online or...?
Jenna: Did you meet online first? (He nods) Then yes, online. Just tell me your story if you feel comfortable.
Brady: All... Well, uh, all right. I... I got a Dm from this random account and I was a little confused. I looked to see who it was, and it was a girl named Nicole Braun, I clicked on her account, see how many friends she had, checked the post dates to see if it wasn't fake or not, you know?
Jenna: Yeah, you want to be safe.
Brady: Exactly. So, once I ticked everything off in my mind and I thought that she was kinda cute, I message her back. She quickly replies and we begin talking, she tells me where she's from, her age, what she's doing in school. She said she was in college.
Jenna: But she wasn't...
Brady: I know, I didn't find that out until after I sent her money.
Kate: And – sorry to interfere – but why did you send her money? What was the context?
Brady: Oh, uh, she told me she was hanging out with friends a little earlier then she texted me from the bathroom of the bar and said how she got more drinks that she could afford and was panicking. I thought that I'd do her a favour, so, I asked how much she had spent, she said it was around 250, so, I transferred her the money.
Jenna: And what happened afterwards?
Brady: She called me. Thanking me. Before laughing, I was confused and thought that it was just her being drunk and she was in some sort've giggling mood. So, I asked her what was funny, laughing as well. She started to call me all these names, called me a creep and told me the truth about her real age.
Jenna: I'm sorry that happened to you.
Kate: That's really tough... You must've felt really cheated, huh?
Brady: Very. I actually teared up a little once the call was over but that was until I had to snap back into reality, I had to realise that I couldn't talk to her, I had to stop my crush on the idolised version of Nicole that she had told me about as it wasn't really her. She said she was a year younger than me at the time, I would've been around 21, maybe recently turned 22 – just for some context, I didn't go straight to college, I had a year off and did travelling.
Jenna: Ah, okay. Thank you.
Brady: No problem.
Jenna: So, after Nicole confessed to you what she did. What happened afterwards?
Brady: Nothing. She blocked me after sending me a video with her and her three friends laughing at me and calling me names, saying how it would be funny to see me go to jail. How they wouldn't believe me if I told them the truth at how I didn't know that she wasn't 21.
Kate: 3? Did you say?
Brady: Yeah. A girl that's name begins with a K and another girl, can't remember her name right now and this guy. I think his name was Ezra.
Jenna: Like, Ezra Carson? Do you know him?
Brady: I think it was Ezra Carson, yes. He was there. I remember because he was saying how he'll beat me up if I ever blabbered what they did to me.
Kate: Do you think that he would've went through with his threats?
Brady: I think he would've, yes.
Kate: Do you think that Nicole lying caused some unknown trust issues that is affecting you right now?
Brady: I... That... That actually makes a lot of sense, since then, I've barely trusted anyone with anything.
Kate: That must be isolating. So, I... anyway, I was wondering if I could ask what you did when you found out that Nicole had disappeared?
Brady: I wasn't interviewed or anything, I think her friends had forgotten about me at that point, but I did feel really guilty. I even drove over to Nirvana Falls to see if I could help at any search parties.
Jenna: And did you ever bump into Nicole's friends?
Brady: I didn't exactly bump into them, but I did see one of them, blonde, kinda nice eyes. I think her name begins with an L.
Jenna: Is her name Lana?
Brady: Yeah...! Yeah, that sounds familiar, actually. Anyway, I saw her, I think, and she looked scared to see me there. Like she was worried I'd confront her for what she did and how they cheated me out of money, especially with all the horrible things they called me. Of course, I didn't do anything. I hate confrontation, still to this day so, I never approached her or went near her. I just kept my distance in hopes that it'd assure her that even if she did screw me over, I wouldn't do anything to ruin her.
Kate: That's really sweet of you, Brady.
Brady: Thanks...
Kate: No problem.
Jenna: So, was there anything that Nicole told you that made you worried about her?
Brady: Only that she desperately wanted to leave Nirvana Falls and get far away from the town, something about someone slightly haunting her and it was beginning to freak her out.
Kate: OK, I think that's all we have, right?
Jenna: Just one more question, do you know Nessa Malcolm?
Brady: Heard of her, but never talked to her.
Jenna: Ah, okay. Never mind then. That will be all.
Brady: I hope I was helpful, sorry if I wasn't.
Jenna: No, it was. It was helpful, thank you.
Brady: No... No problem.
"OK, so, we know why Nicole at least took the money then." Kate huffs out after shutting the passenger car-door, she runs a hand through her hair and tilts her head up, sighing. I look over at her, seeing something in her eyes.
"What?"
"For leaving." She answers, casually.
"No, it was—"
"—Don't tell me you believed that." Kate states, her face falling and her shoulders falling in defeat. "I think Nicole got lucky that the excuse worked. She said she wanted to leave town, yes? Do anything?"
"Yeah."
"Then she'd want to make something up to get more money to help her towards leaving." Kate explains to me, I feel my shoulders fall and my eyebrows sink, no longer furrowing in confusion.
"It's... It's a bit of a stretch."
"This whole thing could be classified as a stretch, but it'd make sense, right?" Kate asks, looking for assurance. When I glance at her, I notice something in her eyes, something deeper in them. As if she's hiding from me.
"Right." I answer in reply, speaking softly. Her face falling in relief and her shoulders sinking as she looks away from me, I need to talk to Ezra again as well, I need to ask him why Lana had told me that he and Nicole were talking. Could that be the one conversation that he had? No, because Ezra threatened Brady when he was hanging out with Nicole. So, surely this has been a "friendship" at one point. So much for having one conversation with her, Ezra. "Can you tell me what was said in the call, now?" I ask her, hoping that she can as I'm really dying to know what was said.
"I'll tell you later, just can you take me to Govern's Lane?" Kate asks me, glancing over at me. I look at her confused. Who do I know lives on Govern's Lane? No one. Absolutely no one springs to my mind.
What is this girl plotting?
"What're you plotting?" I ask her, looking over at her.
"Something good, I think. Maybe. Maybe not. I don't really know." She answers, shrugging. "But if I get it right, I think things will make much more sense." She continues onto express to me, the corner of her lips tugging upward. I drive to Govern's Lane, and she tells me to stop practically as soon as I turn onto the lane, I pull over and she gets out of the car, quickly. Looking back over at me, glancing at me and sending me a small smile. "I got this, okay? Trust me, will you?"
"I trust you." I assure her, I notice her breath hitch and she nods her head, a look of determination falling on her. She shuts the door and begins to make her way to door number 19, knocking on it.
I don't see who opens the door, but they must've been very confused as I could tell that Kate was cutting them off immediately.
I drive past yet I don't see the person's face, only their back and them shutting the door once Kate is inside. I make my way home, needing to go and relax, maybe have a drink of water and take a break.
Plus, I'm starting to get cramps, so I think my period is coming.
***
I arrive home and I immediately head toward the bathroom to check if I have started my period, I shut the door behind me, hearing Aliyah trying to talk to me through the door but I'm not listening. I move down my joggers, and I peak inside to see that there is a little bit of blood. I groan, covering my face and letting my hands drag down, whimpering as I feel my cramps starting to kick in.
I grab a pad and begin to open it, putting it on my pants and making sure that it'll cover and be okay.
"...So, now! Now, I have to do even more work since the dress has become an absolute failure— are you listening to me?" Aliyah interrupts herself to ask me, I stare at myself in the mirror and hum loudly. "Jenna?"
"Yes! Yes, I'm listening. That sucks about your dress." I express to her, hearing her gasp in reply.
"Right! It feels so wrong, honestly, I feel like all the gods in the universe has turned against me. I hate it, it feels so wrong!" Aliyah complains while I pull my joggers up and open the bottom cupboard, there being in a bin in there. I roll up the wrapper and the sticky cover and put it in the bin. I pretend to flush the toilet and shut the cupboard door, then begin to wash my hands for a few seconds, wiping them in soap all while my sister is ranting and raving to me about her stupid dress. "Anyway, how's your project going?"
"Good. We've got a lot of leads to follow, and I think I'm getting somewhere." I answer, vaguely in return. Hearing her scoff, it's like I can see her rolling her eyes through the door.
"Of course you are doing well, you always do well." Aliyah replies while I dry my hands, I scrunch my nose in confusion as Aliyah has always gotten A's easily before, why is she jealous of me if I'm getting the same amount of grades as her?
"We both work hard, we're fine." I assure her, unlocking and opening the door to see her stumble into the bathroom.
"A little warning would've been nice." Aliyah expresses to me, laughing softly as she looks at me, waiting for me to join in with her laughing. I laugh softly with her, leaving and going to get some ibuprofen to stop the cramps. "What's wrong with you?"
"I started my period." I confess to her, taking the ibuprofen and quickly getting myself a drink of water and quickly taking a sip, I set the cup down and groan, tasting the ibuprofen and it tastes horrible.
"Oft," She lets out, chuckling softly. "now that's just rude."
"I know, I feel so offended." I express to her, sarcastically. Picking up the glass and pouring it into the sink, I begin to clean it and set it on the rack. I look over at Aliyah to see her texting someone on her phone, I lean over to see who it is exactly, but she covers her phone, looking at me angrily.
'Don't.' She states, angrily.
'All right, calm down.' I tell her, walking past her and heading up toward my room. Aliyah staying downstairs and going into the living room to watch TV, I go into my room and look over at my murder board to see that I need to add a lot more information, so, I start getting more photos, printing off my production logs a couple of times so I can hang them up on my murder board to help with connections.
I make a connection between Nicole and Megan, a looser connection between Nicole and Lana, the connection being through Nessa who I need to try get into contact with as well as the rest of Eva's friends since they were best friends with John. I make another connection, creating one from Nicole to John to Ezra, then connecting Ezra to both Karolina and Lana then skipping over John to make a direct connection with Nicole.
"All right..." I let out, quietly. Staring at the murder board to try and see what the other connecting point is, the main connecting point being Nicole.
This is everyone that has known her. What more can I do than interview?
I mean, I know that Brady Carlisle is okay, so, I can knock him to the bottom with Mr Rivera and he's not the person who told Nessa that Lana was talking shit behind her back as Brady didn't know Nessa. I also need to try and interview Karolina.
I have so much to do!
Production Log Ten –
Okay, so, I know that Brady and Nessa don't know one another so I can knock Brady from being the person who told Nessa something made up. I actually felt really sorry for Brady as he seemed like such a nice guy, he seemed sweet and caring, especially if he willingly gave her money without a second of doubt.
He seemed so upset at the video of Nicole and her friends making fun of him, I mean, then again, wouldn't everyone be upset?
We're talking about the most popular girl in school and if we're following what Lana said, then, maybe something upset her which made her cause an uproar between her and Brady.
That could be a possibility but what could've went wrong for Nicole to cause drama?
Was it possibly her family?
I haven't really looked into them that much and it seems like her dad was emotionally abusive towards Nicole and her sister. I'm going to have to start digging into the Braun family, aren't I?
Oh! And the fucking threatening note! There has to be something there as well, I mean, I still don't know what Lana said to Kate but everything she's told me has been helpful so her being a person of interest on my list doesn't make sense to me, but I need to keep her there to show my thought process, I'm gonna move her down at the bottom with Mr Rivera and Brady.
Could Megan possibly be the person that told Nessa about Lana?
Person of Interest List:
- Megan Brooks
- Mystery person who told Nessa that Lana hates her (Megan? Ezra?)
- Eza Carson
- Karolina Brady
- Nessa Malcolm
- Elio O'Conner's
- John Vincent
- Brady Carlisle
- Lana Carpenter
- Eva Rivera
- Mr Rivera
Shoot, then I also need to figure out how Nicole was getting money, I mean surely she had to have gotten it from somewhere and from the sound of Nicole's dad, I doubt that it was her dad giving her the money. We know that Brady gave her 250, but surely she had to have had more money, I mean Lana hinted at her doing it more than once, meaning that she's talked to multiple people and convinced them to give her money. I'm gonna have to try and find Nicole's phone and see if I can find her contacts and see who she was talking too.
I also need to know if she had a job— no, she couldn't have. Surely she couldn't have, otherwise someone would've mentioned it by now. I'll ask the next person I interview to see if she did but if not, then, I'm going to have to track down her phone and see what was said between who to figure out how she got money.
Also, why would she tell her two best friends that she was getting money and let them know how she was getting money from people but why didn't she tell them the other source of income?
Is it because it's illegal—?
Oh my god, could Nicole Braun be mixed up in some illegal stuff, so she tried to cover it up, yet someone found out about it which led to her death?
And also, why is Ezra Carson popping up all of a sudden?
His name has suddenly been popping all the time in this case, I mean he was hanging out with Lana, Karolina, and Nicole. He was there when Nicole had taken the money from Brady, they were all insulting him, Ezra even went to the extent of threatening him. He also lied in his interview saying that he had only talked to Nicole once when that's clearly a lie as before he had saved Karolina from overdosing, he had talked to Nicole, he had went out with Nicole the night she stole money and he also had the time where John had introduced her to the group, Ezra being a part of the group even though he claims he wasn't a big part of it.
I'm going to have to interview him again and I'm not going to do it over the phone, I'm gonna have to go to his house. I know where he lives as his family is quite rich so every time I go on a walk with Becca, I always end up walking past his house.
I have to talk to him.
I feel something hit the back of my head, I jump, flinch, and scream.
________________________________________________________________________________