𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕣𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕕𝕒𝕝𝕖

44

The school day passed quickly with everything mostly quiet. Jughead wasn't at school, or he was and just spending the day in the Blue and Gold room, staring at the murder board him and Betty put together. Arabella and Eric went there after school to find them staring at the board.

"Hey, guys," Arabella said, instantly looking at the board upon walking in with Eric, who tried his best to not look at it.

Arabella saw that they were only down to three suspects: Hiram Lodge or Clifford and Penelope Blossom. With the information that Betty had given her earlier that day, Arabella felt she had already had her answer.

With the question of did Cheryl know about the disgusting things that her parents knowingly did, Arabella had asked her during lunch when they sat together. Cheryl had to hold back tears, so Eric sat next to her and held her.

Jughead asked Arabella if he could talk to her for a moment and pulled her to the side. Eric asked Betty about her theories for Hiram and the Blossom parents. Maybe he could remember something they said from one of the many times he was at Thornhill.

Arabella sat her backpack on an empty chair and looked at Jughead. "What's up?" She asked.

"I spoke to my dad earlier." He said, sternly as if he had something to prove. Arabella nudged her head closer to him to let him know to tell her more.

"He didn't do it." He said.

Arabella smiled. "Awesome. How do you know? Did he tell you?"

"No. Not explicitly. He told me to leave and never come back. He kept telling me things he'd never really say to me. He wasn't himself." Jughead said.

"Okay, now we have to tell my mother. She needs some good news." Arabella said, pulling out her phone to dial her mom and tell her before Alice Cooper walked in.

"There's another body." She said before realizing Arabella and Eric were in there. Alice looked at Betty who signaled to keep going.

"A Southside Serpent. He allegedly committed suicide by overdose and they found a bag full of money with Hermione Lodge's initials were on it. If you ask me, this scene was too tidy. As if someone had wrapped it with a bow." She explained.

"Yeah, there's no way the Lodges did that. Not to defend Veronica, she can choke for all I care, but that just proves that the Lodges didn't do it. It's too obvious." Arabella said.

Alice arched an eyebrow at Arabella's statement. Betty's phone began to ring and when she answered it, Kevin was on the other end.

"What?... Meet you where? Okay, we're on our way." She said, before hanging up and looking at Arabella. "Kevin's got something."

Eric stood from leaning on the wooden desk. "I'll drive." He said.

They all grabbed their coats and bags before rushing out of the school to meet Kevin outside of the woods surrounding Sweetwater River. By the time they reached, the sun had set, so Betty pulled out two flashlights. Eric had two more in the trunk.

Kevin stood on wet leaves as he waited for them to investigate with him. "Joaquin said that whatever we're looking for, he didn't know if it was going to help your dad or make things worse." He said to Jughead.

Betty sighed. "I guess we're gonna find out."

The group made their way through a group of trees, Eric helping Arabella over tree roots and branches. After a few minutes in, they thought it'd be best for him to carry her on his back until they reached a clearing.

The only thing they could see was a large Blossom Maple Farm sign leaning over a mess of fallen branches. Arabella scanned her flashlight under the sign and spotted a black bag that looked stuffed.

"Guys, over here." She shouted, pointing to the bag with her flashlight.

"Are you gonna pick it up?" Betty asked.

"Ew, no. I don't know where it's been." She said, so Eric picked it out from under the branches. Unzipping the back, he hesitated before pulling out what was inside. Jason's jersey jacket.

"Call Archie." Jughead said. Arabella did so. They drove over to his house to put their heads together to figure this out. They met up with him in his garage and Arabella laid the jacket on a stool.

"Kevin?" She said. He looked at her. "This evidence does nothing to help us."

He nodded, realizing that the second he saw it. If anything this was even more incriminating, it showed that FP might have gone out of his way to cover up what he did. But also, if he did it, wouldn't he have gotten rid of all of the evidence?

"This feels wrong. All of this feels wrong." Arabella said, staring at the jacket before turning to Eric, who was keeping his distance. She decided to sit with him, her hand slid into his. Arabella smiled, and Eric tried to smile back, but his bottom lip was between his teeth.

Veronica walked in an shut the door behind her. Arabella would describe it as barging in, mainly cause she almost hit her with the door. Oh, how she wanted to put her foot out in front of Veronica for her trip.

"Well, we have evidence that traces my father to possibly hiring your father to kill Jason." She said to Jughead. "I'm sorry."

Arabella held back a groan from hearing Veronica talk about her father yet again. Silence washed over the garage.

"No. No, it's not over." Betty said, picking up the jacket. She glanced at Eric, but decided to eye Archie. "Put this on." She said to him.

"What? Betty, I don't think that's a good idea." Archie said, but she put it on him anyways and began to feel around the jacket and dig her hands in the pockets.

"There's gotta be something else. It can't be just the jacket." She said, reaching into the left pocket. "There's a hole in this pocket."

"So?" Kevin said.

"Usually, when there's a hole in my pocket, I lose my chapstick in it." Betty said, feeling around to where the hole lead. Arabella sat up when she saw Betty freeze before pulling a silver stick out of the jacket.

"What is that?" Arabella asked.

Betty smirked. "It's a USB."

Arabella grabbed her laptop from her backpack on the floor next to her and motioned at her friend to hand it to her. Betty rushed over and Arabella plugged it in. Everyone surrounded them as if they were going to watch a movie.

Arabella hesitated before double clicking the video file. This was something that was hidden well and it took them so long to find. Whatever was on this couldn't have been good.

The video popped up and took up her entire laptop screen. And there he was. Jason sitting tied up in a chair and a Serpent taunting him before leaving the room. Arabella's eyebrows furrowed and Eric didn't want to watch but he felt like he needed to.

The next person to walk into the room was exactly who Arabella expected and Eric believed as well. Clifford Blossom held up a gun to Jason and Arabella shut the laptop right when the trigger was pulled.

She could feel her heart in her stomach. Eric stood and walked out of the garage and after realizing that she had been numb for a minute, she followed him.

The cold air pierced her skin, her eyes struggling to blink. Her nose twitched from the tears that began to prick her eyes.

Eric pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes as he attempted to catch his breath. Arabella placed a hand on his arm before he sunk his head into the crook of her neck.

Still finding her body a little unable to completely move, Arabella reached her hand to run her fingers through Eric's hair.

"It'll be okay." She said. "Everything will be okay."

The door next to them opened and Betty walked out with the USB in hand. Arabella looked at her and Eric raised his head, his eyes red and puffy.

"Where're you going?" Arabella asked between sniffles.

"We have to give this to the Sheriff." She said.

Arabella nodded, before looking at Eric. "And we have to see Cheryl."