𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄 ➝ 𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧 [𝟐]

𝟗. 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 the police is that they never actually do their job. You could be bleeding out by a cop car and they would just walk past without a second glance. You could be robbing a bank and they'll rush in, shoot at you –maybe– two times, most likely miss, then leave for lunch. 

And that's the same with Shoupe. 

No matter how much evidence we would find, how many security cameras or fingerprints we may have, it would never be good enough for him. We could have Ward Cameron, himself, confess and Shoupe will still turn a blind eye. 

But we hoped that wouldn't be the case tonight. Still covered in muck and sewer water from earlier today, we marched into the police station, stood in front of Shoupe's stupid little desk, and dropped the bandana-wrapped gun onto his tall stack of messy papers. 

"What the hell is this?" He asked with his eyebrow cocked and a cup of coffee steaming on his desk. I could smell the burnt coffee beans when we walked in, along with the sweet smell of bakery goods sitting on the counter. 

"This," I declared, "Is the gun that was used to murder Peterkin," I sat back in the chair, not caring if I ruined it or damaged his property. 

Shoupe laughed. He laughed right in our faces as we all deadpanned on him. Reaching out, he took a swig of his coffee before looking back up at us. "So y'all are telling me this is the firearm  Rafe Cameron killed Peterkin with?" 

"That is exactly what we're telling you," JJ replied calmly, but I could feel the tension through his gritted teeth. 

"And the exact same firearm that Ward just used to kill Gavin," Pope added as he pointed toward the gun. 

"It's father-son bonding at its finest," I muttered under my breath. 

"I--," Shoupe stammered before sighing, "And where's that corpse again?"

Kie's lips parted slightly, "Didn't you look?"

"I checked the hospital. I went by his house. He was out." Shoupe replied as I uncrossed my legs and leaned my forearms on my thighs. 

"He was out?" Kie fumed. 

"No shit," I exclaimed, "Cause he's dead somewhere, probably in a bush because you don't know how to do your job properly. 

"Listen to yourself. It makes perfect sense." Kie continued as JJ and Pope began rambling in the back. 

"Just because he's not in his damn home, does not mean he was a victim of a homicide," Shoupe said to us which only made me angrier. 

"What are you talking about?" I yelled at him. "Are you at least gonna send it in for ballistics and shit, or are you just gonna sit on your ass?" 

JJ ripped his hat off his head as he ran his hands through his hair frustrated. "He'll sit there and wax that mustache. Is that even real?"