Chapter 6
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Shocked, horrified, and disbelieving eyes snapped towards Jake Wilson.
"What did he just say?"
"Jake ripped Lily's clothes?"
"He threw her in the water? My God! Is that true?"
The hushed whispers were like poison-tipped arrows, all aimed at Jake.
Jake stood rigid, his face cycling through shades of pale and blotchy red.
He stumbled back a step, his features contorting, voice shrill with panic.
"Lies!"
"He's framing me!"
His hands shook violently. "You're all listening to a moron?"
"I didn't touch Lily Johnson! I didn't kill her!"
But the looks of suspicion from the crowd only deepened.
"If you're innocent, why would Charlie point the finger at you and not someone else?"
Jake choked, then jumped forward defensively.
"Charlie's an idiot! He talks nonsense all the time, and you're taking him seriously? Have you forgotten?"
"The guy's brain's fried! IQ of a five-year-old! He's babbling!"
He jabbed a furious finger at Charlie.
"Charlie! Why you lying to get me killed?"
"You can't even count to five! You know what 'murder' means? Huh? Framing me!"
"Okay, yeah, I messed with you sometimes, picked on you a bit! But you can't pin a murder on me for that!"
"Murder's serious! You trying to get me killed?"
He raised his hand as if to strike Charlie.
Charlie flinched, covering his head and screaming,
"No lie! True!"
"You dare!" Jake snarled, lunging forward like a madman. "I'll kill you!"
Charlie shrieked and scrambling backward.
Two officers immediately stepped forward, physically blocking Jake and holding him firmly.
"That's enough! Stand down!" one ordered, his vioce firm.
Jake struggled against their grip. "Let me go! He's a lying lunatic! He's crazy!"
"I need to teach him!"
The officer said coldly, "We'll find out if it's true."
Jake deflated slightly, the fight momentarily going out of him under the officers' stern gazes.
The officer then turned to Charlie, his tone serious but calm.
"Charlie, is what you said about Jake true?"
Charlie nodded vigorously, his eyes wide and earnest. "True!"
He added stubbornly, "I know words! Maya teach me! I know poems!"
As Charlie rambled, seeming to drift into less coherent territory, faint doubts began to creep back onto someone's face. But then he suddenly refocused, his expression sharpening with urgency.
"I filmed it!" he declared, tapping his own temple.
"On phone! On my phone!"
The reminder of potential evidence jolted everyone. They attention swung back to the phone, which was now clutched in Nathan's hand.
Nathan, who had been holding the device, paled visibly and took an involuntary step backward.
Before anyone could react, there was a sudden, explosive movement.
Jake, seeing the phone, erupted. With a raw, guttural scream, he burst forward,
"Give me that phone!"
