Why Would She be Jealous?
Previously: The team speak with Tally Briggs who gives her account of Friday afternoon and evening.
10:24 AM - Sunday, November 2, 2014
Flood Mansion, Pacific Heights, San Francisco
“That girl scares me.” Paco said once Tally had made her exit with the Dean.
“Same. I knew those kind of girls in college. I mean, no one ever had a chance.” Mark sighed. “Wow…. She’s ice cold.”
“But teary. It’s an act.” Jeannie added jadedly. “I’ve known those kind of girls my entire life and they all act that way: icy surface, with just enough emotional throb underneath. It’s bred in the bone. Put that mask on and most people won’t go deeper. Trust me, she’s used to people taking everything she says without question.” Jeannie gave a side eye to Mark and noticed a slow smile spreading.
“But we, we ask questions.” Mark said slowly.
“That’s why we’re here.” She smirked. “Don’t be afraid of her Paco, she has sharp claws but she’s more scared than you are, I guarantee you.”
“Okay,” Paco said, starting to smile, kicking his legs out under the side table. “Who are we scaring next?”
“Jennifer Tyson, please come in.” Jeannie said from the doorway of the parlor. Jen Tyson’s multi-colored mane spun as she connected with the command. It was the fastest she had moved all morning. The girl’s big blue eyes were glassy and pale in a pale face. Jeannie noticed Steph making her way over to her from the other side of the room.
“Hey.” she whispered close to Jeannie’s ear.
“What’s up?”
“We have a request.” Steph said so no one else would hear. Jeannie raised an eyebrow. “MJ Wong - she asked if she could play the piano?” Steph tilted her head toward the grand piano in the panorama window. “She said she thought it might be calming for everyone. Herself included.” Steph looked like she didn’t know what to make of it.
“Okay, thanks. I got this.” Jeannie whispered to her. “Jen, please go inside. I’ll be right with you.” She said in full voice, with Jen rising like a zombie. Jeannie made her way over to where MJ was sitting, staring out the window at the Bay. They all were — all of the ones still waiting. Sitting there, quiet with their thoughts, a few tears, just staring. She took the empty seat next to MJ. “Mary Jane?” The girl’s face was slightly frightened when she turned to Jeannie, who tried to be soothing. “Hi. I heard you wanted to play the piano?” She whispered. MJ took a stilted breath.
“Yeah…I, I just…I feel like it could help? Music helps sometimes, you know?”she said softly, her eyes red with tear marks down her perfect cheek. Jeannie considered her. “I do some volunteer work with kids getting over trauma, and we do a lot with music, so…I just thought.” A tear bubbled up fresh. Jeannie gave her a half-smile.
“Okay, you can play. But I don’t want anything mournful or funereal, got it? If I hear a note of Moonlight Sonata, you’re done, okay? Keep it to Chopin - the lighter ones, and maybe some Schubert and Mozart. Got it?” MJ nodded and practically dashed to the piano as Jeannie made her way back to the parlor, with a quick wink at Steph. At least with these kids they usually asked permission. The notes of Bach’s Aria from the Goldberg Variations began just as she shut the door to join the group in the parlor. Jeannie smiled a little as she heard it; it was the perfect choice. MJ had taste, even if her tempo was a little quick.
Jennifer Tyson sat, legs tightly crossed, overly-large sleeves pulled all the way down so that they covered half of her hands. Despite this, she still looked frail and cold. Jeannie moved around the table to take her seat next to Mark. She felt Jen’s watery blue eyes following her, somehow asking her for understanding before she’d even said anything.
“Okay, now that we’re all assembled,” Mark began, his tone light, “and you’ve given us consent to download your phone, I want to let you know that while this is just a helpful interview, we will be recording it. So, can you please state your name and spell it for us?” Mark sounded friendly, but Jen looked a little terrified.
“Um…Jennifer Olivia Tyson. J-E-N-N-I-F-E-R T-Y-S-O-N.” Her voice was barely audible.
“Can you please give us your date of birth?”
“March 3, 1997. I’m a Pisces.” Eye eyes darted between Mark and Jeannie, unsure of where to look.
“Thank you Jennifer.” Jeannie began.
“It’s Jen - Jen’s fine.”
“Okay Jen, thank you for talking with us this morning.”
“It’s fine. But um, I should tell you that like, my parents are both lawyers, so…” Jeannie paused and barely glanced at Mark who was biting his bottom lip. She too tried to hide her sideways smirk.
“So…?”
“So, like, my Mom will sue.”
“Because we asked you for help?” Jeannie asked. “What are we getting sued for?”
“Well, I just…” Jen faltered, casting an eye to the ceiling, “I just want to say that up front, so you know it. My Mom will sue.” Jeannie didn’t know what to make of this.
“Okay. Well, my father’s a lawyer too, so I understand what you’re saying. You’re protected and you definitely know your rights. I appreciate that. That’s really good.” She spoke slowly. “But, can I offer a bit of unsolicited advice?” Jen nodded slowly, an uncertain scowl on her face. “Maybe telling people outright that your Mom will sue them isn’t the best way to make friends.” Jeannie said it gently, but the girl’s face crumbled. “We wanted to talk to you about Friday night and hopefully get any details you remember so we can sort out what happened to Alexa Thomas, okay?” Jeannie continued with a very slow, gentle voice. Jen’s face collapsed into full tears as she said it. The girl nodded slowly. “Okay, are you ready for us to ask you a few things? It would really help us, Jen.” Jen caught her breath and wiped her eyes with her extra-long sleeves. Sniffed and nodded. “Great. Thank you. First, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Where do you go to school?”
“Academy Prep.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“And you’re a senior?” Jen nodded. “Okay, I need to say yes or no for the recording.”
“Yes, yes I’m a senior.”
“And where are you going next year?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Where do you want to go?” Jen sniffed and cleared her throat.
“Um, I want to go to UC Santa Barbara, or maybe UC San Diego.”
“Nice. Someplace sunny.” Jeannie affirmed. “Are you a surfer? Both are good for the surf.”
“Sometimes, I’m trying to learn. Ocean Beach is…isn’t great for beginners.”
“Yeah, I was going to say that - pretty scary, actually. Have you surfed there?”
“I tried once, but I like Southern California for that: Malibu, or Mexico is fun. And warmer.”
“Well, I’ve never surfed, but I’d have to agree. I’ve seen the swells at Ocean Beach and they can be terrifying.”
“And how is school going this year so far?”
“Okay I guess.” Jen was staring at the tabletop, looking everywhere but at Jeannie and Mark.
“What are your classes?”
“Um, I take English, History, Biology, Spanish, Government, and a film/culture elective.”
“Cool. And any activities?”
“Um, not really.” Jeannie felt her eyebrows raise.
“No projects, passions…where do you hang out after school, Jen?”
“Um, I like to do yoga or meditate.”
“Okay, great. I would love to have more of that in my life.” Jeannie tried to keep it light. “So, can you tell us what you did on Friday afternoon?”
“Um…”
“Maybe…start with lunch? What did you eat for lunch on Friday?”
“Um…I think I had an apple, and a chia pudding? And a bowl of berries.”
“Did you bring that from home or did you get it from school?”
“At school.”
“And after lunch, what classes did you have?”
“I had history and English.”
“What time did school end?” Jeannie was trying to give Jen momentum by following-up immediately.
“Um, at like, 2:45?”
“And what did you do at 2:45? Did you go home?” Jen looked to the left and paused.
“No… no, I walked to Fillmore and got a coffee at The Coffee Bean. And then I walked home.”
“Where do you live, Jen?”
“I live on Pacific between Baker and Broderick. We have a condo.”
“You live with your Mom?”
“Yes, but my Mom’s away on a work trip.”
“And where does your Dad live?”
“In LA.”
“Okay, so you walked home, what time did you arrive home?”
“Um, maybe like, 4?”
“And when did you arrive at Tripp Hartman’s house on Presidio Terrace that night?”
“Maybe like a little before 8?”
“Okay, so what happened between 4 and 8, can you tell us?”
“I, um, I read for a while for English class -”
“What are you reading for English?”
“It’s Dickens - Great Expectations? It’s hard.”
“Mmm. It’s a good book though. And then what?”
“Um, I got ready for the party.”
“What was your costume?”
“I was a mermaid.” Jen’s face fell. “Al - Alexa helped me with the costume.”
“Can you describe it?”
“Yeah, I wore a blue sequined crop tank, a blue-green slip skirt, and then Alexa made this kind of net skirt full of sea shells and stuff, so it looked like I had been dragged up in a fisherman’s net. And she made me a crown of seashells too.”
“Wow. That sounds awesome. So you were close with Alexa?”
“Um, no not really, but we’ve had some chats.”
“Some chats? Can you tell us about those?”
“Well. It was because of Seb.” The girl sighed. “I’ve always liked Seb,” she confessed. “I’ve always, always wanted to date him.” She looked down. “And last year we were hooking up and hanging out a little, but then Alexa came to Academy last year, and Seb met her at a basketball game and just stopped talking to me. All of a sudden, they were like together, and that was it.” Her voice broke.
“When did you first talk with Alexa then?”
“Um…I guess it was maybe a month after she and Seb were together. I had seen her at parties and stuff, but she didn’t go to many. So I approached her at school this one time? I said hello and introduced myself. She seemed really nice. She wasn’t jealous or anything.”
“Why would she be jealous?”
“Well, because Seb and I were still hooking up and stuff, so I realized she didn’t know, but it didn’t really matter. I wasn’t exclusive with him, we just messed around.”
“So it didn’t bother you that Seb was dating a different girl but still hooking up with you?”
“Not really. I just liked Seb.” The girl gave a half shrug, her colorfully-dipped hair bobbing over her shoulder. “It wasn’t like Alexa was hooking up with him.”
“But Seb wanted to hook up with her, right? I mean, why would a guy date a girl he didn’t want to hook up with?” Jeannie knew this question could explode the whole conversation. Why would a guy hook up with a girl he didn’t want to date? was the real question hanging in the air, but Jeannie thought it would be cruel to say it.
“Well, I guess so, that seemed to frustrate him. She was kind of holding out, like, really holding out, and I don’t think Seb knew what to do about that. No one says no to Seb.” She gave a guttural chuckle that sounded like a smoker’s gravel. “I mean, everyone wants Seb, so like, why would they say no? So many girls would want to be Alexa.” She ended, looking down again.
“So many girls…but you especially?”
TO BE CONTINUED…