That afternoon, during lunch break, Nancy approached me. For the first time, in a long time, she didn’t look hostile. Without looking the slightest bit awkward she took a seat beside Jenny and me. Both of us, in the middle of opening our lunchboxes, looked at her disbelievingly.752Please respect copyright.PENANABr5To6YXYm
752Please respect copyright.PENANAu4S7e5QONX
“I have something to say to you.” She said, more to me than Jenny. “I think you know what the Inspector has in mind…”752Please respect copyright.PENANAZW5qUCb0C5
752Please respect copyright.PENANA9wzcqSfeKt
“He intends to tie us three to Jolly’s murder.” I said, matter-of-factly. “He said as much to my face.”752Please respect copyright.PENANAxZG54jYe5p
752Please respect copyright.PENANAxOjXBLjya8
I wondered about that too. Although, my interactions with the Inspector were far from friendly, something told me that he wouldn’t carry out the threat. Maybe it was foolish of me to believe that.752Please respect copyright.PENANAfN8dj0lugU
752Please respect copyright.PENANAp09rYJXE0v
“You, Jenny and me.” Nancy said slowly. “He…He thinks we were working together to get rid of Jolly. We all know how much he hates your father… At the moment he’s chasing after the incident in the physics lab but…What if that leads nowhere and he turns his attention back towards us.”752Please respect copyright.PENANA0sPGM1JBpW
752Please respect copyright.PENANA1Agt69C78K
“I don’t think he’ll go that far…”752Please respect copyright.PENANAxMg8imxGMn
752Please respect copyright.PENANAemd37pF4Sv
“But what if he does?” Jenny chimed in. “What if we go down for a crime someone else committed?”752Please respect copyright.PENANAB5NWnjtHBu
752Please respect copyright.PENANAIE4sZUpxA7
“Look…I’m not saying we should be paranoid but…” Nancy said. “We have to protect ourselves.”752Please respect copyright.PENANAoiD5FJQhm5
752Please respect copyright.PENANAcblgq93EZz
“What?”752Please respect copyright.PENANAZq2x7pSRCf
752Please respect copyright.PENANAVMhfcsYC9h
“Keep our eyes and ears open for…for anything that could point at the true murderer.”752Please respect copyright.PENANA0mtVFe2Wm5
752Please respect copyright.PENANAej79bNpxaj
“Have you gone crazy, Nancy?" I asked incredulously. “Do you think we’re in a movie or something?”752Please respect copyright.PENANAl0RcePKHAu
752Please respect copyright.PENANAJMrUAHIKZx
“Don’t be ridiculous, Amy. I am not suggesting we play detective. Just….Watch people. Listen to the things they say. Start a harmless conversation about Jolly’s and Pinky’s deaths.”752Please respect copyright.PENANAmK48wGEa4E
752Please respect copyright.PENANAoroIci0Cke
Pinky’s death…That reminded me…752Please respect copyright.PENANAhXhVJmr0Q7
752Please respect copyright.PENANAiXfxp6Fbf2
“Did he say anything to you about Pinky’s death? He never mentioned her to me.”752Please respect copyright.PENANAOv922AmdTh
752Please respect copyright.PENANAxhBZAWgSax
“Of course he did.” Nancy said, frantically. “He knows she liked us and us her. He thinks we convinced her to poison Jolly’s drink. And…”752Please respect copyright.PENANAgzHY9iYva7
752Please respect copyright.PENANAMnvO07SE4y
I felt as if I was drenched in ice cold water. Jenny glanced at me, panic written in every inch of her face.752Please respect copyright.PENANA6TmVRP58gg
752Please respect copyright.PENANA9Rum7rMhO3
“He…He doesn’t think we killed her, does he?”752Please respect copyright.PENANAS806XMnFYX
752Please respect copyright.PENANA2gGwRdyWm5
“Of course, he does.” Nancy said, impatiently. “He thinks the same person or people killed both of them.”752Please respect copyright.PENANAKMSjHskno8
752Please respect copyright.PENANAPRLJzjUVqs
Before I could respond to that, Nayana, one of our classmates came rushing in.752Please respect copyright.PENANAT5A8FFkayC
752Please respect copyright.PENANAqpLkdRZLQ8
“Guys…” She yelled. “Jo’s just been arrested. The police searched his home. They found a rope and a little bottle of poison hidden away in his house…”752Please respect copyright.PENANATg9Yw6Cvm0
752Please respect copyright.PENANA0Y4HOxHgJV
We abandoned our lunchboxes and listened in horrified silence. Nayana told us that Joseph had been arrested and convicted for murder once before.752Please respect copyright.PENANAyySuqA10O3
752Please respect copyright.PENANA3PM97Rh5eA
“His ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend. He shot and killed them in the middle of the street. Just stood there laughing and let himself be arrested…”752Please respect copyright.PENANAJaOmvV05UO
752Please respect copyright.PENANA2osnBMG48n
“He must have killed Jolly then.” Jenny whispered, relieved.752Please respect copyright.PENANAizJDz0B2eA
752Please respect copyright.PENANAOqhoGKARWc
“Of course not!” Nancy scoffed. “Use your brain, Jenny. If you were a murderer would you hide incriminating evidence in your own home? Besides…Take his previous crime…He committed murder in front of a whole lot of people…He didn’t have an intricate plan to get away.”752Please respect copyright.PENANAieIFEZsPWo
752Please respect copyright.PENANAkHHNopylKT
“Do you think the police didn’t think of this?” Jenny asked her.752Please respect copyright.PENANAJpaXUg2W3Z
752Please respect copyright.PENANA2aCJMaBE4P
Nancy just shook her head. “The murderer is framing someone else…If Jo is irrefutably proved innocent...How long do you think we have before he or she thinks to provide the inspector some evidence to arrest us?”752Please respect copyright.PENANArXzyguFOrE
752Please respect copyright.PENANA7GfilK4vK3
To be continued...752Please respect copyright.PENANAln2NOgr9kI