Moving On

C h a p t e r 1 2

Then, above it all, I heard a faint,
"Daddy?" It was Julie. As the sirens were blaring in front of my house, Juliet was peeking over the corner of the stairs.
"Daddy, what's going on?" 
"It's gonna be okay, baby. Come here." I stretched my arms out. I was holding her on my hip as there was a knock at the door. I opened it. I could tell, Julie was scared.
"Fbi." They showed me their badges as they walked in. Three of them sat down on the couch in front of me. They began questioning me. Then, they had some questions for Julie but, she was pretty panicked. They couldn't really get much out of her. Honestly, I didn't expect her to tell anything to the fbi. She hid her face in my neck.
"Daddy, I'm scared." She whispered.
"I know, baby. I know." I kissed her on the head. Then, I continued to talk to the main agent in charge of the whole operation.
"I don't normally tell people this but, I do recommend that you vacate this house."
"What? Why?"
"Your practically sitting ducks here. Also, not to mention, this is the black hood's house. And you have the little one."
"Oh. Thank you so much." We shook hands as he began to walk out of the door.
"We'll have those computer keys tested for dna samples."
"Great." They took my computer and put caution tape up by the doorway and window of the office. I packed a bag, Julie a bag, and hopped in the car and drove off. I drove up to Alice's apartment building, where Betty and I once lived. It was nearly 4:00, am. I knocked on the apartment door.
"Alice!"
"Alice!!" I yelled desperately. Until, after 10 minutes, after I called her landline, she answered.
"Grandma!" Julie ran up to hug her as she leaped out of my arms.
"Hey Julie!" She said trying to sound energetic at 4 in the morning. Julie hugged her tightly.
"I saw the fba." She told my mother in law.
"You mean the fbi, bug?" I laughed.
"Yeah." She laughed and ran off into the spare bedroom.
"What in God's name is she talking about?" I looked down.
"Your gonna want to sit down for this."
"Okay." I explained everything to her.
"Well, of course you and Julie can stay here, Jughead."
"Thank you. So much. I'm just waiting until I have enough strength to get up and investigate this nightmare."
"Jughead."
"Yeah."
"Just remember. Be careful. If anything were to happen to you, it would crush Julie. Your all she has, Jughead."
"I know."
"I know you do just, I'm reminding you of what's important here."
"What, so Betty's not important anymore?" 
"She is, Jughead. She's my daughter for God's sakes. I miss her so much. I know you miss her too. But, let's focus on Julie. And keeping her safe."
"I'm sorry. I just want her back so badly."
"I know. Me too." Not long after, I laid down on the couch and Alice went back to her bedroom. I laid there for about 15 minutes. Then, I got up. I went into the spare bedroom and laid on the bed next to Julie. I had to protect her.

It had been a few days since all of it had happened. The investigation had closed up. There were no fingerprints on the keys, nor the computer. There was also no dna on anything else. The window, the desk, the doorknobs. Nothing. We'd hit a dead end. It was time for me to investigate. I dropped Julie off at school. Then, I began to look into finding the one and only, Donna Sweett. I couldn't really find anything on the internet. That's when I had a brilliant idea: a pi. I knew Veronica had cut ties with her completely but, I needed to find her sister. I needed to find her sister to find Donna, to find Betty. I then called Veronica.
"Hey, Jughead."
"Hi. Do you talk to your sister?"
"Huh?"
"Do you still-"
"-I heard you Jughead. Just caught me off guard is all."
"Well, you never answered my question."
"No. But, I do have her work number. I'll send it to you. I don't even wanna know."
"Thanks, Veronica."
"Uh-huh." I hung up the phone. Soon, she sent me her number.
"Hermosa's pi service how may I help you?"
"Hey, is Hermosa in today?"
"I'll check. She will be right over, please hold while I transfer you."
"K." I said almost annoyed.
"This is Hermosa." She said full of herself.
"Hi, Hermosa. This is Jughead Jones. You remember me, right?"
"Of course I do. I heard about Betty. So sorry."
"Yeah, me too. That's kind of why I'm calling."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I need the whereabouts of Donna Sweett."
"God, this girl can't catch a break from you guys." She laughed.
"Hermosa, focus." I said sternly.
"Got it." We talked pricing. Then, we hung up the phone and Hermosa began her search for Donna. I knew she had gone into hiding at the end of our senior year. It wasn't important. We needed to find her. She knew something about Betty's disappearance I was sure of it. The rest of the day was pretty chill. Though, one thought had crossed my mind. Throughout all the mysteries Betty and I had solved, there was always one that would stand out forever. Betty's father. The black hood. Hal Cooper. But, we knew he was dead, right? I couldn't think about it. Unless he had anything to do with Betty's disappearance? I needed to stop. One conspiracy at a time. A few days had gone by since I called Hermosa. I lay in bed, just lost in thought. That's when the phone rang. What I was about to hear could change Betty's case forever.