One of Madison Sawyer’s classmates gave the detectives screenshots. The texts don’t say what the girls were fighting about.
Jesse’s jaw is set. “Show me. Show me one place where I threatened her.”
That’s true enough. There’s no explicit threat to the seventeen-year-old girl who died at the ice cream store along with her younger sister and their manager. But You’ll be sorry along with Jesse’s research on the Blockbuster case could be enough for a jury to convict. Not to mention that Jesse lied to the detectives about why she’d gone to the ice cream shop.
“Why were you and Madison in a fight?”
Jesse’s mouth is a slit.
“Jesse, you told your lawyers you’d talk to me. So talk to me.”
Henry finally says something. “We can’t help you, if you won’t open up, Jessica.”
“Fine, I’ll defend myself.”
Ella lets out an exasperated breath. “You told me girls at school had been talking bad about you.” She remembers Jesse’s explanation when they were at Phyllis’s house: “She was talking shit about me.”
Jesse sits in silence. At last, she says, “She was telling everyone I was like a porn queen. That I slept with my teacher at my last school and let him take pictures…”
“Mr. Parke?” Ella asks.
Jesse’s surprised. Ella can see it on her face.
“How’d you—”
“I met with him. I didn’t know he had anything to do with your fight with Madison. I just wanted to understand your history a little better.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Jesse glances at Henry, then at the table.
Henry seems to read the room: Jesse doesn’t want to talk about it in front of him. He stands. “I’m going to get some coffee. Can I get anyone anything? Jesse, would you like some water or a Coke?”
Jesse shakes her head. She whispers “Thank you” in a barely audible tone.
After Henry is out of the room, Ella says, “I know it’s hard, but we can’t help you if you don’t fill us in. It took me fifteen minutes to find Mr. Parke. How long do you think it will take the prosecution to find him? Or a journalist who’s as skilled as you are?” Ella throws in the compliment, which tends to help draw people out.
Jesse’s face is pained now. “I thought we were friends. He said I was talented, like really talented, and he was helping me get a job at the local newspaper. And then he…” She trails off.
“And then he what, Jesse? It’s okay to talk about it.” Ella thinks about Chad Parke’s tale of a young girl obsessed, a woman scorned, setting him up, ruining his life.
“Mr. Parke asked me to come over to talk through some ideas he had on how I can dig deeper on my Blockbuster piece. He used to have pizza parties at his apartment for the whole newspaper staff, so I thought other kids would be there. But when I got there we were, like, alone.”
Ella feels acid rising in her throat. “And what happened?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know. We had pizza and soda, and it was all fine. I just thought he wanted to work with only me since he said I was the best reporter we had on the paper. And he was fascinated with the Blockbuster case. The next thing I know, it’s midnight and I’ve been out cold.”
Ella swallows. “He drugged you?”
“I honestly don’t know. He said I fell asleep and I didn’t think anything had happened to me, you know, down there.” She looks at her pelvis. “I thought it was weird, but then again, it was late and I was tired.”
Ella’s heart is breaking. Next to her at the table, Julia is stiff, tense, like she’s trying not to react.
“Then Mr. Parke’s fiancée sent some pictures—photos of me—to the school. She found them on his phone. Right away, the school and lawyers and counselors and everybody starts asking me questions like I did something wrong.”
“And Madison found out about it?”
“She was on Snapchat with some girl from my old school. There were all kinds of rumors about me and Mr. Parke when he was put on leave. Madison started telling people I transferred to Union High because I’d seduced a teacher and made a porn video with him. Her friends started calling me ‘porn queen.’ I just wanted it to stop. I was mad when I sent the texts, but I didn’t hurt Madison or her sister. I just wanted it to stop.” Jesse is crying now. The first real emotion Ella has seen from her.
Julia reaches across the table for Jesse’s hand, and Jesse doesn’t pull away.