Hate (I Really Don't Like You)

After fifteen minutes Hayley comes into his office to tell him that Mrs. Rosessen still isn’t talking, and that they’re gathering in the meeting room to go over the message.

Gerard nods and gets up quickly following the ginger through to the room, where Patrick looks exhausted in his chair. He’s the only one sitting, as Brendon is standing near the white board looking at all the things they’ve pinned up on it about their case, and Frank is leaning against the wall like the little punk he is.

“Frank, I’m going to have to ask you to remove your piercings during work hours,” Gerard says without emotion.

Frank huffs, but does nothing, so Gerard just sits down next to Patrick.

“I felt like she was the one grilling me in there,” Patrick says, “that lady is scary.”

“She’s hiding something vital to this case, but we have nothing to charge her for, and we can’t just keep her here,” Brendon says.

“So she left?” Gerard asks, and Brendon nods, “I know there’s something off about her, something that I can’t quite see yet-”

“I know what her deal is,” Frank says.

“Shut up Frank,” Gerard brushes him off and continues talking, “We need to find out what she’s hiding and then maybe, just maybe, we’ll be able to figure out who the hell has that little girl. Have you contacted the dead schoolteachers’ husband?”

Brendon nods, “Yeah, he’s been no help at all. Says he never met any of his wife’s students, and doesn’t have any ties with the Rosessen’s in any other form.”

“Well is he lying?”

“I can’t be sure, he’s in mourning okay? He just lost his wife.”

“That doesn’t give him an excuse to be uncooperative. Hayley, bring him down here, I want to speak with him again.”

Hayley nods but doesn’t move just yet to wait for Gerard to finish whatever he’s about to say, “My sneaking suspicion is that the mother is more involved with this murder than she is with the kidnapping.”

“You think that Mrs. Rosessen is connected to the murder?” Patrick asks with shock.

“Well obviously there’s a link. Not now Frank!” Gerard says as Frank tries to interrupt him, “people aren’t just kidnapped in a parking lot within the same week as another person being murdered in that very same parking lot. That’s not a plausible coincidence.”

“Well what if the mother knows who the killer is, and she’s keeping it quiet?” Brendon asks, “Or what if the mother is the killer?”

“Why would a sales clerk with a six year old daughter murder her own daughter’s teacher?” Patrick says.

Brendon sighs, “You’re right there’s no clear motive-”

“You guys are missing something obvious,” Frank interjects.

Brendon is the one to call Frank out this time, “Quiet down for a minute, we’re trying to deduce things.”

“If the mother knows the schoolteacher through some place other than from her daughters school, than we might be able to follow a lead and solve this murder, but right now solving a murder is so much less important than making sure a little girl is safe.”

“Would someone listen to me because I can-”

“Shut up Frank!” Brendon and Gerard yell simultaneously.

“Guys, let the kid speak for a minute,” Patrick says.

“Thank you,” Frank says looking irritated, but he steps forward despite Gerard’s vulture like glare, “That mother is not being entirely truthful to anyone, including but not limited to us, her husband and herself.”

“Herself?” Brendon asks.

Frank nods, “Yes. I wasn’t sure when I first met her at the parking lot, but I watched her a little closer this time, and I’m practically sure, I wouldn’t say I’m completely positive, but I don’t see any other-”

“Just say it,” Gerard says angrily.

“Fine,” Frank spits back, “She’s gay.”

They all look extremely shocked at Frank’s words and no one says a thing.

“She’s gay?” Brendon asks, “You’re saying Mrs. Rosessen, the woman with a daughter, married to a man, is a lesbian?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“What, I... what?” Gerard asks, completely confused by Frank’s statement.

“Mrs. Rosessen is a closet lesbian, and I’m pretty sure that’s what the kidnapper was referring to.”

“Okay, um, suppose Mrs. Rosessen actually is a lesbian,” Brendon says looking unconvinced, “what would that have to do with anything?”

“Well she’s married to a man so she wouldn’t want him to know, and she might be embarrassed if other people knew about her sexuality. Someone probably found out somehow, and I’m thinking that’s the story we need to dig deeper on.”

“Frank, how on earth could you come upon the idea that that woman is gay?” Gerard asks looking completely unimpressed.

“I, um,” he blushes furiously but no one understands why, “I guess we just know our own kind.”

Did that just happen? Gerard looks at Frank incredulously. That actually happened didn’t it? Wow, so punk newbie is gay. There’s something new.

“Know your own kind? Gerard didn’t figure it out,” Brendon says, and then turns chalk white at what he just said, “Shit! I didn’t say that.”

Lots of things are being brought up today. Brendon and Patrick already knew about Gerard, but that’s a first for Hayley and Frank. Gerard kind of wants to kill Brendon for that, but he looks completely horrorstruck by his own words so he figures that’s punishment enough. Cats don’t like bags so it was going to have to come out sooner or later. Or he was going to have to come out sooner or later.

“I’m going to go slam my fingers in a desk drawer,” Brendon says, looking like an idiot with his eyes wide open, “because nothing could get more uncomfortable than this.”

“Yeah, I’ll come with,” Patrick says, “I’ll hold the drawer for you.”

“Guys please,” Gerard says pretending to have recovered, “it’s not that big of a deal. It wasn’t some big secret or anything.”

“Did you figure that one out?” Hayley asks Frank while pointing at Gerard. She looks a little amused.

Frank blushes even more and shakes his head, but then ducks it to look at his feet.

“Right well um... Hayley, call in that Mr. Carmycle for questioning and get me when he’s here,” Gerard says awkwardly before exiting the room.

Notes