Kenhardt - Secrets 12

‘Not really,’ Miera said. ‘No one who would want to kill them.’ ‘But possibly someone who wasn’t in their good books?’ Joe asked. Again, more silence and blank stares. ‘What can you tell me about Beth Porter?’ Joe said. Rachel made a face. ‘Beth? Why do you want to know about her?’ ‘I hear she and Haddie didn’t get on so well.’ ‘Obviously,’ Gabriella said. ‘Everyone knows that.’ ‘Yes, can you tell me why that is?’ The girls shrugged. Sadie exhaled a breath of smoke from the second cigarette she had lit. ‘Beth is a bitch,’ she said simply. ‘She hangs out with those two. Audrey and Megan.’ ‘Haddie and Beth were best friends once upon a time,’ Miera explained. ‘But Beth is psychotic. She told her parents all these lies about Haddie. The school had to get involved. It was a mess.’ ‘And when was this?’ Joe asked. ‘Seventh grade.’ ‘And they still hold onto this grudge from all those years ago?’ ‘It’s not a grudge,’ Gabriella said. ‘Like Sadie said, Beth’s a bitch. Why would Haddie want to be friends with someone like that?’ Joe nodded, trying to understand the logic of teenage girls. ‘Did anything happen between the two of them recently?’ Sadie laughed audibly. ‘If you’re thinking that Beth Porter pushed them off the roof, then you really should take up a different profession.’ Joe stared at her, ‘Alright, so other than Beth, no enemies you’ve failed to mention?’ They all shook their heads. ‘What about teachers? Or faculty? Were the girls involved with anyone?’ ‘Like, dating a teacher?’ Miera asked. ‘Sure,’ Joe said. ‘No, I don’t think so,’ Rachel said. ‘Any teachers they hated or had a vendetta against?’ ‘Just Mr Jackson,’ Sadie said. ‘But everyone hates him.’ Joe glanced back down at his notepad, thought for moment. ‘What did your time spent with them usually consist of?’ Joe asked, hoping to prompt more discussion. ‘Whatever we felt like,’ Gabriella replied. ‘Go out, party, drink…’ Joe suggested. They all looked at each other. Sadie said, ‘We just did whatever, Okay?’ ‘Sometimes we went out,’ Miera said. The others looked at her. ‘We’d go to the mall . Go for long drives together. Anya was really into photography, so we’d like, go out to places and take photos. You ever hear of URBAN EXPLORING?’ ‘I’m familiar with it.’ ‘Yeah, we did that kind of stuff,’ she said. ‘Get into any trouble?’ Joe asked. ‘No,’ Gabriella replied. ‘What kind of girls do we think we are, Detective?’ ‘That’s what I’m here to find out.’ ‘Haddie was like, Queen of everything.’ Rachel said suddenly. The others looked at her. ‘What do you mean?’ Joe asked. ‘You know, like, the queen. The Ruler. If anyone was going to win King and Queen at their Matric Farewell, it was Haddie and Ollie.’ ‘So they were the IT- Couple, then.’ ‘Yeah, exactly,’ Rachel said, ‘Everyone wanted to be Haddie. OR be friends with her. Be known by her.’ ‘But we loved her,’ Gabriella said, shooting a look at Rachel. ‘It was just difficult sometimes, being friends with Haddie Taylor,’ Rachel said, and Joe finally felt like he was getting somewhere. ‘Don’t listen to her,’ Sadie said, rolling her eyes. ‘Difficult for Rachel, maybe. Haddie wasn’t like that with us. She was our equal. We were all friends here.’ ‘Yeah, but those three were …different,’ Rachel said. ‘Define different,’ Joe said. ‘Like, closer, I mean,’ Rachel replied. ‘A bond that none of us could compete with. They grew up together, knew each other like the back of their hand. We all met when we started high school,’ Rachel motioned to their group of four. ‘We all hung out and got along well, but those three were always.. Well, best friends,’ ‘Why would the girls have been up on the roof that day?’ Joe asked. ‘Was that out of the ordinary?’ ‘No,’ Gabriella said. ‘The three of them went up there to hangout sometimes. Talk, eat lunch.’ ‘None of you ever went up there?’ ‘No” Gabriella said. ‘It was their spot.’ Joe took in this information. If the girls were pushed, somebody must have known that they’d be up there. And if they weren’t pushed, then that just meant that the girls chose one of their favourite hangout spots to kill themselves. ‘What do you think happened to them?’ Joe asked, and for the first time, the girls were actually perplexed on how to respond. ‘I don’t know,’ Rachel said. ‘I honestly don’t .’ ‘Do you think they jumped?’ Joe asked. ‘Did they ever say anything that would make you think something was amiss? You girls were their closest friends. Did you notice any signs? Suicidal thoughts? Depression? Rebellion?’ ‘No,’ Gabriella shook her head. ‘They wouldn’t have jumped.’ ‘What makes you so sure?’ Joe asked. “Because,’ she said matter - of - fact. ‘When you live the kind of life that they did, you don’t just end it by jumping off a roof.’ The bell for third period sounded and the students packed up their things to head back to class. The general consensus thus far: the girls lived happy, normal lives. They were not depressed or suicidal, and they wouldn’t have jumped. Yet at the same time, no one could tell him if they had any enemies or whether someone would want to hurt them. Either Joe was missing something or these girls were keeping a lot of SECRETS. The cafeteria was now empty with the exception of three girls, Beth, Audrey and Megan. They waited in the hallway while Joe took turns speaking with them individually. First up was Audrey Mitchell. She sat across from Joe at one of the empty cafeteria tables, fiddling with her fingernails. The janitor was hovering in the background, sweeping beneath the tables. ‘Did you know the girls?’ Joe started, observing the girl in front of him. Petite. Circular face dusted with freckles. Light brown hair, Hazel Eyes. ‘Of course I knew them, ‘ Audrey said. ‘Everyone knew them.’ Her face was composed, solemn. ‘Tell me what they were like.’ Audrey took in a breath as she thought about this. ‘They were unique, I’ll put it that way.’ ‘Can you elaborate?’ ‘Sure. Haddie was everything. There was something about that girl that everyone just seemed to love and envy. I’m not sure why,’ she said, picking off a chip of her nail. ‘I mean, yeah, she was beautiful, but her personality wasn’t all that great.’ ‘Why do you say that?’ Audrey shrugged. ‘She just wasn’t the nicest person. I mean, I didn’t know her that well. I didn’t particularly want to. But my best friend used to be close with her. And well, she’s told me stories…’