Anarchist | Riverdale

The Red Dahlia

Riverdale, once a safe, decent, innocent place, had become Nior Town. Like the setting of a Raymond Chandler story, filled with dames to kill for, postmen who like to ring twice, and more mobsters than a Scorsese retrospective at the Bijou. We were a town of lost souls. Each of us wrestling with demons. Each of us with secrets we were trying to keep. Mine was on the small and large sides, five-foot-four and six-foot-five to be exact.

"Explain it to me one more time." FP says to the teenagers.
"We drove him to the bus station at gunpoint and got him on a bus out of town." Jughead tells his dad, getting their story about Tall Boy on point. There was no way in hell the siblings would tell their father, the sheriff, what really happened.
"He murdered Joaquin. And you thought putting him on a bus was enough punishment? I don't buy it." FP leans forward.
"Look, I made the decision." Ellie backs her brother. "I'm sorry that you don't agree with that, but he's gone."
"I'm gonna pretend like I believe you idiots for now." FP sighs, standing. "I got my hands full finding Hiram's would-be assassin. Next time you see me, have a better story."

We were covering up the death of a wicked man. But Tall Boy Petite wasn't the only fresh corpse in Noir Town. Claudius Blossom had taken the big sleep, and my girlfriend, Betty Cooper had murder on the brain. And murderers, in Betty's world, needed to be brought to justice.
Meanwhile, Archie Andrews no longer felt hunted by Hiram Lodge, but he was still haunted. Trapped in that in-between place, avoiding his face-to-face with the Man in Black, Archie struggled, searching for a sense of purpose.
With Hiram laid up in the hospital clinging to life, there was blood in the water, and sharks were closing in on the mobster's daughter, Veronica Lodge.
Yes, we all had our problems. The town was drowning in them. And a hell of a good-looking one was about to walk through my door.

"Nice hat, Bacall." Jughead says to Veronica as she walks through the Blue and Gold office door while Jughead is working on his novel and Ellie is working on some drawings. She has always been quite artistic but she only gets the urge to do it when she needs a big distraction and knows she has free time, and right now, she definitely needed the distraction.
"I've got a job for you, Jones, Peabody." Veronica addressees them. "I want you, to find out who shot my father." She says, placing a wad of money on the desk. "You'll get the other half when you give me their name."
Jughead whistles as he counts the money. "That is a big job. I think half the people in this town wanna see your old man kick the maple barrel. No offence."
"None taken. I'll give you your first suspect." Veronica tells them and Jughead gets out his notepad. "My mother. A few weeks ago, I overheard my parents arguing. It was right before the quarantine, after I had my seizure. My mother was berating my father. Something about breaking a promise."
"What if you don't like what we find?" Ellie asks, perching herself on Jughead's desk.
"I'm a big girl. I can take it."
"Well then." Jug stands. "Consider me your Phillip Marlowe." The two shook hands

I didn't mind playing detective, especially for this price. But if I'd known then and there were this investigation would lead me and my sister, I never would've taken the money.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Hermione asks Jughead and Ellie when they visit her the next day.
"I'll just get right to it, Madam Mayor. You shoot your husband?" Jughead asks bluntly and Ellie cringes next to him.
"Excuse me?" Hermione scoffs. "I love my husband."
"Uh-uh. But did you shoot him? From what I hear, not all is well at The Pembrooke." Jug asks.
"As records and witnesses with attest, I was on the phone with Hiram when he was shot, picking up lunch at Pop's." The mayor replies.
"What were you and Hiram arguing about when Veronica had her seizure?" Ellie asks, she figured that if her brother is digging the hole, she may as well join him.
"Well, Miss Peabody, if you must know, we were fighting because I caught Hiram having an affair. I had been suspicious for a while, so, I had Sheriff Minetta follow him. This is before he was butchered, of course. And he, gave me these." Hermione explains, handing a file over to the siblings, which contains pictures of Hiram with another woman. "Now, I don't know who she is, but he was meeting her regularly at the Five Seasons."
"But Hiram having another woman is pretty good motive to shoot him." Jug says.
"No, it isn't." Hermione chuckles. "I simply asked him to end it, and he did. I'm telling you this because I have nothing to hide. Keep those. I mean, who knows? Maybe Hiram's mistress was angry when he called it quits. You do know how volatile blondes can be." She says looking straight to Ellie who is then suddenly conscious about her blonde roots showing through her red hair. Jughead scoffs, placing the file in his bag.