CHAPTER 9

Jayden's mom also gave her statement.

"Mrs. Lockwood..."

Brenda chuckled. "Please you can address me by my first name. I'm not that old even though I'm seventy-one."

Detective Leroy nodded. "Sure Mrs--I'm sorry, Brenda."

"That sounds much better."

"Alright Brenda. Then let's get talking. Your son, Jayden Lockwood has murdered a woman and..."

"Jayden is not a murderer, Detective."

"Why do you say that, Brenda? Your son had a gun in his possession. He threatened his girlfriend and tried to kill her."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Detective. Jayden is my only child. He was there for me when my husband died in a car accident. He had a gun with him for his own protection."

"Meaning he'd kill anyone who tried to get in his way."

"I never said that, Detective."

"Then what, Brenda? Your son shot a woman in the head and dropped her body on the shore. His girlfriend was present at the scene, making her our only witness."

"And you choose to believe her over me? I gave birth to that man. I bathed and breastfed him. Jayden is my pride and joy. He's kind and gentle. I don't care what that whore had to say about him! She knows nothing about my son."

"I understand you, Brenda."

"I don't think you do, Detective. Jayden is not a murderer. He can't even kill a fly."

Detective Leroy slammed his hands on the table and jumped to his feet, startling her. "Ever since I started doing this job as a detective, I've always hated one thing about people who give their statement and that is 'lies'. Your son has just murdered a mother in cold blood and you sit right before me and defend him!

As a mother, do you have any idea how a child feels to lose their mother as well? Jayden is not saint so don't paint him as one. He threatened his girlfriend with a gun. A gun which you claim he's using for his own protection. Does this make any sense to you, Brenda?"

"And I still stand by my word."

"That's enough! Stop trying to defend him when you know the truth."

"This is the only truth I know, Detective. Jayden is innocent. I trust my son. I have never liked that girl for Jayden either. He shouldn't have signed those divorce papers. Elena was the best woman for him and he knew it."

"Then where is he? Where is your son, Brenda? An innocent man flees not when there's trouble, but I wouldn't say same for him. Jayden is on the run and I think you can help us find him."

"Jayden didn't kill that woman. Why don't you go after that lady? What's her name again?"

"Michelle?"

"Yes. That whore!"

"Brenda, I suggest you stop calling her that."

"But that's what she is. She came into my son's life right after he got divorced and now he's charged for murder. How is that even possible? I suggest you investigate that girl, Detective because this doesn't make any sense."

"Okay Brenda. I'll take that into consideration, but your son is still our main suspect."

"How many times do I need to make it clear to you that Jayden is innocent? He's not your murderer."

"When did you last speak with him?"

"About a month ago."

"And what did you talk about?"

"He called to check up on me. He had planned on visiting me with my grandson two weeks ago, but he never showed up. I called and sent him messages, but I didn't receive any feedback from him and that was the first.

No matter how busy he was, he responded to my calls and messages. I called Elena and asked if she had heard from him. Jayden wasn't answering any of her calls as well. In that instance, I knew something was wrong. In less than 72 hours, I get a call from Elena. I didn't want to believe what she said because I knew who my son was. I decided to call him again. It went straight to voice mail. Jayden couldn't have killed that woman. My instinct tells me so."

"Every mother will feel the same way about their child and I'm sorry this had to happen to him. As a detective, I did some investigation in relation to your family and I must admit, I was blown away. I wished you had told me the truth earlier. A mother would do anything to protect their child and you're just an example. You shouldn't have lied to me, Brenda. I could have helped you, but you gave me no choice other than to charge your son for murder."

"What truth are you talking about? I literally told you everything you need to know about my son."

Detective Leroy picked the brown envelop on the table and unsealed it. When he laid the photos and documents before her, Brenda gasped.

"I knew this would come in handy. The mere thought of someone lying to me irritates me. I wanted to believe your conviction about your son, but when I take a good look at these photos and documents, I'm moved to think otherwise. No one is a saint, Brenda. We all have a skeleton in our closet, but it depends on who finds out and what they do with it."

Brenda's hand trembled as she picked and watched them one after the other. "How did you get your hands on these? I thought he got rid...Oh my God."

"I already told you, Brenda. I did my investigation. Honestly speaking, I wasn't expecting you to lie to me, but with these photos and documents the truth will come to light.

Your husband, Jacob Lockwood didn't die in a car accident and Jayden wasn't your only child like you wanted me to believe. On the 23rd of February, 1975, you gave birth to two handsome boys: Jayden and Jaymes Lockwood in St.Mary's General Hospital in New Jersey City.

When the boys turned two, Jaymes was diagnosed of cerebral palsy. Things became difficult for you and Jacob. You lost contact with your family after they saw the state of your son, Jaymes. You two were in dire need of financial support, but you decided to quit your job as an accountant to take care of your sons at home leaving Jacob as the only person to provide for you and your sons.

Jacob was a cab driver, but he tried his best to give Jayden a better life. He enrolled Jayden into a public school when he was seven. At twelve, he got bullied by his colleagues at school.

He informed his teacher about it, but he did nothing to help him. They kept on bullying him, until one faithful day, he came home with a black eye and bursted lips. Jacob escorted him to school the next day and reported it to the principal.

The principal suspended the students for two weeks. Jacob had even planned on enrolling him into another public school, but Jayden decided against it since he had just a year to complete middle school. When he went back to school, things became much better for him than before. He started mingling with the students and that made him happy until the bullies came back from their short suspension.

They started pranking him the least chance they got without been physical. When they realized that Jayden wasn't affected by what they did, they chose to become aggressive with him by bringing up Jaymes's health and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Jayden got physical with these two boys.

If the teachers hadn't arrived on time, one of the boys could have died because of Jayden.

From that day, he became aggressive and he kept himself to himself. Your relationship with your son was never the same after that. At school, the students feared him because he had become a bully. He had no friends either. His principal suspended him on three different occasions before he expelled him.When Jayden turned sixteen, he started selling illegal drugs.

He barely came home at night and when you guys found out, he became aggressive with Jacob since he had threatened to report him to the police. Jayden kept selling these illegal drugs even in school as well. The first thing Jayden decided to buy after making money from selling these drugs was a gun and his father became his first victim. Jayden shot his father after he refused to give him back the monies and drugs he had kept in his room.

Someone called the police when they heard the gun shot. The police came to your house and arrested him. You decided to turn to your brother for help. He wasn't willing to help you at first, but for the sake of your relationship with him, he lent a helping hand. He used his connections to get Jayden out of prison and closed the case. With his assistance, you were able to admit Jaymes into a rehabilitation center when you relocated to New York. He enrolled Jayden into a private school, bought a house for you and gave you a job in his company as an accountant. At 36, Jaymes had a seizure which led to his demise.

That's it. This was the information I got after my investigation. Your dear son wasn't so innocent after all. Jacob was trying to help his son. He wanted a better future for him, but Jayden saw him as a threat to the life he had chosen for himself so he killed him. Your son was a bully and a violent child. You could have avoided this, if had spent some time in prison. He's grown to be a man who doesn't take no for an answer."

"This doesn't prove anything, Detective."

"This proves everything, Brenda! Your son hasn't changed. He's still a bully and I'll make sure his case is reopened. And when I find that murderer, he'll rot in that prison cell where he belongs."

"You wouldn't do such."

"If that's a challenge, consider it accepted, Brenda. We're done here."

Brenda watched silently as the Detective took his leave.
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