School, Sex and Secrets (School, Sex and Secrets #1)

by Sheila Michelle

“What the fuck?!” Brad said.

  “WELL, THERE THE FUCK YOU ALL GO! SEE! I TOLD YOU ALL I DIDN’T DO IT! LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE OWES ME AN APOLOGY!” Marc shouted, and then looked at Marie.

  We all looked at Marie.

  “I’m sorry, Marc,” Marie said with her head lowered.

  “And I’m sorry for disrespecting you by calling you those names,” Marc replied in a much more calmer tone.

  Marie nodded with her head still lowered.

  “Well, if all the males at Rosemont are eliminated, what the hell?! This is very confusing to me!” Ava said.

  “This is gonna be more harder to solve than I thought. It’s obvious that we’ve all been officially eliminated. I’m glad I had a DNA Day at school that day; I knew that one day it would come in handy. But unfortunately, it hasn’t officially come in handy like the way I’ve wanted it to because we still don’t know who the fuck did this!” Brad said.

  “Marc, do you remember who was over your house after Natalie’s death?” I asked.

  “I can honestly say, Vanessa, that I can’t remember anyone out of the ordinary. Friends brought other friends over, but they all go to our school and they’re in all grade levels. Someone planted that phone in my drawer because everyone knew that Natalie was my ex so I was the perfect person to try and frame for her murder,” Marc said.

  “What the hell?! Who the fuck could it have been, then?” Ken said as he looked confused.

  Brad shook his head. “That’s the billion-dollar question, especially when all of the males have been eliminated.”

  “Well, she didn’t kill herself. We’re all gonna find out who did this if it’s the last thing that I do!” Marie pledged.

  We all nodded in agreement, as well as being very confused as to who could’ve done this. It was like we were starting over because with all the males, whether they were students, teachers, or staff at our school being eliminated from Natalie’s murder through DNA, there was no one left to blame for it. But like Marie said, she didn’t kill herself, so this left a very big mystery as to who could’ve killed her. I wished so much that Natalie could tell us who did this to her because whoever it was, he had pretty much gotten away with it, that’s if he wasn’t a student, teacher, or staff member at our school.

  CHAPTER 32

  It was the following Monday afternoon after school, and less than a week that we were out of school due to Natalie’s murder . . . and we still weren’t any closer to finding out who really killed her. Since Marc was officially eliminated through DNA, as well as every male that attended our school or worked there, this was gonna be very hard to solve. Marc told us that he forgave us for thinking that he was the one who killed Natalie, and admitted that if any of his friends were her ex instead of him, he would’ve initially accused them of killing her, too.

  Brad and I held each other as we sat at my house in the family room with Ava and Marc, as we all talked about who could’ve killed Natalie.

  “Damn, I’m at a loss about who the hell killed Natalie,” Brad said.

  “Me too. I just don’t know what to think or do anymore. I mean, there is no one at school to suspect anymore because everyone has been eliminated,” Ava said as she shook her head.

  “Maybe it was someone who was just there that day, you know, for whatever reason. There are a lot of people who come through there for various reasons, and we have to admit that the security at school is pretty lax,” Marc said.

  Brad nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it is. I’m thinking about making some major changes when it comes to security because of what happened to Natalie because I don’t want this shit to happen again. But if I start putting security guards and metal detectors in the school, then people are gonna start freaking out about the possibility of this happening again and will always be reminded of it since there’s never been security guards or metal detectors at school before.”

  “Well, I think it’s a great idea, and I think everyone will feel safer, even if they have to get checked out by a guard every time they’re in the halls when classes are in session. You don’t know who could be inside school roaming around that doesn’t attend there or work there. It’s a scary thought to think that someone could just walk into our school and kill someone, but now it’s looking like that’s possible,” Ava said.

  We all nodded in agreement.

  “I just can’t think about that being a possibility that some stranger that could’ve been stalking Natalie followed her to school and saw her alone in the hall, and then took her into one of those rooms on the basement-level floor and killed her — but with everyone at school eliminated, it’s very possible. And if our worst suspicions are confirmed then this is really fucked up because a stranger killing a stranger are some of the hardest crimes to solve,” I said.

  Brad, Ava, and Marc nodded in agreement.

  “But if it was some stranger, maybe he has a criminal record and if he does, then his DNA may already be on file,” Marc said.

  “But if it is, I would think that it would’ve been tested by now since all the males at school have been eliminated. I just think if it was some random stranger who was at school or followed her to school last week then they don’t have a criminal record because I think we would’ve found out something by now,” I said.

  “So true,” Brad said.

  Ava and Marc nodded in agreement.

  Brad looked down at me as he could see it in my eyes that I was very upset about us not knowing who did this to Natalie. “Vanessa, we’re gonna find out who did this to her, okay?”

  I stared at him as I tried to stop the tears that were swelling up in my eyes. “I know we are. It’s just still so hard to believe that she was killed and we just don’t know who did it and why.”

  “But we will know, Vanessa,” Marc assured me.

  I nodded with a smile as I wiped tears from my eyes. “I know, Marc.”

  Marc looked at his watch. “Well, I gotta go since I told my dad that I’d help him out with his old car this week. See y’all later,” he said.

  Brad and I nodded with a smile.

  Ava got up as well. “Well, I’m gonna go on home, too, since I’ve been so behind in my homework since this happened with Natalie. I’ll call you tonight, Vanessa.”

  “Okay, honey,” I said with a smile.

  About twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang again. Brad and I looked at each other.

  “Are you expecting anyone?” he asked.

  “Not at all,” I said. I got up and walked to the door with him behind me. I looked out the peephole. “I can’t see who it is,” I whispered to him. I opened the door — it was Zac.

  “Hey, guys,” Zac said with a slight smile.

  “What’s up, man,” Brad said, and slapped hands with him.

  “Hey. Come on in,” I said.

  “Thanks,” Zac replied.

  We all walked over to the couch in the family room and sat down.

  “Sorry for interrupting anything if I did,” Zac said with a grin.

  “You didn’t interrupt anything,” I assured him with a smile.

  “Okay, good,” Zac replied. He let out a sigh and lowered his head.

  Brad and I looked at each other.

  “What is it, man? Why did you come over here?” Brad asked.

  “Look, you guys. I came over here because right now, I only want the two of you to know this,” Zac informed us.

  Brad and I looked at each other again, and then looked at Zac.

  “Want us to know what, man?” Brad asked.

  “About what I found out today from my uncle,” Zac informed us.

  “Oh, my God!” I said, as I already started to hyperventilate. “What did your uncle tell you? Was it something about Natalie’s case?”

  “Yes,” Zac said, as he looked at the floor.

  “Well, what about it, man?! Just say what you have to say!” Brad said, and I could tell that he was getting just as impatient with him as I was.

  Zac looked at us. “I wa
s talking to my uncle about Natalie’s case and asked him could he scan the DNA database of the students at our school to make sure that all the males had been eliminated from Natalie’s murder. He noticed that the number of students that went to our school didn’t match the number of DNA samples that were submitted on DNA Day, so he concluded that there were obviously students at our school who didn’t submit their DNA samples on DNA Day.”

  Brad and I gasped as we looked at each other since we never thought about this!

  “Oh, shit!” Brad said.

  “Oh, shit is right, man . . . especially when I tell you what he told me,” Zac said.

  Brad let out a deep sigh. “I’m listening!”

  “I asked him were all of my friends in the database and gave him their names. Shit, you guys. Not all of my friends — or yours — are in it,” Zac informed us.

  “I think I’m gonna be sick,” I said, and I wasn’t kidding. I instantly felt nauseous.

  “Who’s not in it?!” Brad asked.

  Zac looked at Brad, and then looked at me as we stared back at him in great suspense; I could imagine how we were looking at him. He let out a deep sigh. “The only one that my uncle couldn’t find in the database was John,” he finally told us.

  Brad and I shrieked! We couldn’t help it!

  I was visibly shaking! “John? You are talking about John Catchton, right?” I asked as my voice shook just as much as my body.

  “That’s right, Vanessa,” Zac informed me as his head hung low.

  “SHIT!!” Brad shouted as he jumped up from the couch. He put his hands on his forehead as he paced back and forth in front of me and Zac. “He was not there on DNA Day! He was out sick that day! I remember calling him to check on him during lunch and I told him to give his samples to the nurse when he got back to school and he said that he would, but he obviously never did! FUCK!!”

  I shrieked!

  “Obviously he didn’t because we would’ve known that it was him and never accused Marc. His DNA couldn’t be found in the database because he never submitted his samples, and the cops never asked him for any samples when they interviewed him about Natalie’s murder because he obviously lied to them and said that he already had his DNA on file from that day at school — they didn’t know that he was out sick that day. Well, what are we gonna do now, man?” Zac asked him.

  Brad shook his head. “I really don’t know — fuck! We have to try and find some way to get his DNA because now he’s really not gonna give it to anyone. I mean, I know that there are others at school that weren’t there that day and I’m gonna see who they are and if they gave samples or not. Dammit! I knew I should’ve followed up with seeing if everyone submitted their samples!”

  “Don’t blame yourself, man. No one had any idea that this was gonna happen to Natalie, and not only that, it is a friend of ours who quite possibly killed her,” Zac said. He looked at his watch. “I gotta get going. I just wanted to tell the both of you this in person, and you’re the only ones that know. My uncle even told me not to say anything until it was confirmed that not everyone submitted their samples so they can eventually submit them and have them be tested in Natalie’s case. We don’t wanna go accusing someone of something they didn’t do because look what happened when we did that to Marc?”

  “Exactly, man. I’m gonna see what I can find out. But for now, this all stays between the three of us,” Brad said.

  Zac and I nodded in agreement.

  Minutes after Zac left, I ran into the bathroom and vomited all in the toilet.

  Brad bent down by my side and put his arm around my back. “It’s gonna be okay, Vanessa. We don’t know for sure if it’s John or not. I’m gonna have to confirm this by the student database to see who was absent that day. Where’s your computer? I can access the database from it; all I need is my password.”

  “Up in my bedroom on my desk,” I told him while I sat with my head hanging over the toilet.

  “Okay, I’ll go get it. Oh, and you better call Ava and let her know.”

  “I will,” I said.

  He helped me up off the floor of the bathroom, and we walked back over to the couch. I sat down, and he went upstairs to my bedroom.

  I sighed as I picked up my phone. My hands shook as I pressed Ava’s number.

  “Hey, V. What’s up?” Ava said.

  “Oh, my God, Ava!” I said with a clear sound of panic.

  “What’s wrong? You sound scared!” she asked, as she now sounded the same way.

  “Shit! Zac was just over here and he told us that his uncle said that he couldn’t find John’s DNA in the database when he told him to look for all of his friends to make sure that they all submitted their samples! He told him their names and the only one he told Zac that he couldn’t find was John! Oh, Lord! John never submitted his DNA so he hasn’t been eliminated!”

  She shrieked! “Vanessa, if this is your idea of a joke . . .”

  “I swear I’m not joking, Ava! Oh, my God! Brad told me and Zac that John was not there on DNA Day! He was out sick and he never submitted his DNA samples when he got back to school like how he was supposed to so he was never in the DNA database! The cops never collected any samples from him that day that they talked to him and all of us about Natalie’s murder, either, because he obviously lied to them and told them that he did submit his samples!”

  “MY GOODNESS! Now it all makes sense to me!”

  “What does?”

  “I remember now that he was coughing and sneezing at Sparkle that second night when we were all there and I told him not to breathe on me because I didn’t wanna catch what he had — but I didn’t notice that he was not there on that following Monday, which was DNA Day,” Ava said.

  I gasped! “You’re right! I remember a lot about that night, of course, and I definitely remember that he did tell everyone at the table that he had a cold. But I have to admit, too, that I didn’t notice that he wasn’t at school that day since the talk all day was about Lisa getting pushed off the stage as well as it being DNA Day!”

  “Exactly! But how could they have missed the fact that he didn’t submit one?” she asked.

  Brad came back down with my computer and sat next to me. I asked him what Ava wanted to know. He got on the phone. “Hey, Ava. I believe that the DNA lab techs didn’t have a previous list of all the students at school, so they just went by who gave their samples that day and then entered them into the database. It was my responsibility, as well as my staff, to check to see if the student body database had been updated with everyone’s DNA in it and it’s obvious that it wasn’t. I never even asked John myself did he ever submit his, and now it’s obvious that he didn’t. And the lab just went on who was in the database and tested their DNA against the DNA that was found on Natalie’s body and at the rest of the crime scene. Like Zac told me, it was a male’s DNA so that eliminated all the girls. With over two-thousand students, I knew that some were gonna be overlooked.”

  “Well, don’t blame yourself, Brad. It was John’s responsibility to submit his and he obviously forgot about it, and now it’s obvious that he took full advantage of him forgetting,” she said.

  “Yeah, unfortunately, he did. Well, I’m gonna get on the computer and check to see if there’s anyone else that hasn’t submitted theirs. Do you wanna talk to Vanessa?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  He handed the phone back to me. “I’m gonna check out the school database to see if there’s anyone else besides John who didn’t submit their DNA for that day.”

  “Okay, honey,” I said, and then continued to talk to Ava. I went upstairs to my bedroom because I didn’t wanna distract him. After I was done talking to her, I came back downstairs where he was still sitting on the couch in the family room. “So, what did you find?”

  He looked at me. “Oh, my God, Vanessa, you better have a seat.”

  I looked at him with my eyes bucked out wide as I slowly sat down by his side.

  The computer screen had up
a list of the entire student body at Rosemont in alphabetical order. Each student’s name had their picture next to it, as well as what grade they were in. They also had a check mark next to their name under DNA SAMPLE SUBMITTED . . . there was no check mark by John’s name.

  “You know, I also looked back at the attendance for that day and there were forty people absent that day, including John. Thirty-nine out of forty gave their samples eventually, but theirs were sent to another DNA lab for some reason that Rosemont also deals with — not the lab that Zac’s uncle was looking at — that’s why he couldn’t find any of them in the database that he was looking at. It says that the thirty-nine samples were all tested as well and none were a match to the DNA found on Natalie’s body and at the crime scene. So, Vanessa, John is the sole person who has not submitted his samples.”

  I gave Brad a very stunned look. “Brad, I’m really freaked out right now. Please don’t tell John that we know all of this — I don’t want him to hurt us.”

  “Vanessa, he’s not gonna hurt us,” he tried to assure me.

  “How do you know that, Brad?! He’s already killed one person and thinks he’s gotten away with it! What makes you think he won’t kill someone else?!”

  “I know, it’s possible, Vanessa. We’ll just have to be careful about what we say and do around him from now on. It’s obvious that John’s the one that did it, but there’s no proof because they don’t have his DNA on record. We need to find out how to get his DNA so we can turn it in to the cops. I want him to pay for what he did because Natalie didn’t deserve for this to happen to her.”

  “She didn’t — no one does. You know, Brad? I was just thinking about how people were talking bad about me and saying how immoral it was when I was seeing you in secret and acting as if I should’ve been killed because of it. I mean, killed literally because I was in a secret relationship with you while you were with Lisa.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, you’re right, Vanessa. But we’re together now so it wasn’t just a fling and I never considered it immoral from the start.”

  “Neither did I. What John did to Natalie is immoral. I mean, he committed the most immoral act that a human being can commit — he fuckin’ murdered someone! It didn’t matter what it was about because the fact is that he killed her, Brad! And he could’ve killed me that day when I broke off the secret relationship that I had with him, and especially when he confronted me that Monday after we became an official couple! He looked evil, Brad! It was a look he had in his eyes that I’d never seen before and it scared the shit out of me! It could’ve been me! It could’ve been me! And it still could be me! Especially since I know now that he killed Natalie! I’m scared, Brad, I really am!”