{ LIVING THE POGUE LIFE }

{25}

Brie was gone for maybe forty minutes, returning with bloodshot eyes and an exhausted look covering her face. He remembered that she didn't sleep last night, and so it was probably catching up with her now.

The Sheriff eyed him, motioning with her head for him to follow her. JJ glanced over at Brie, who shook her head in defeat. That definitely wasn't a good sign.

JJ reluctantly followed the Sheriff to her office and took a seat in front of her desk. Peterkin picked up a file from the table and flicked through it as she watched him carefully. JJ made sure to keep up his confident facade, not letting his expression reveal anything.

"You've been in trouble before, JJ," she reminded him, "How are you gonna feel when you end up in juvenile prison, huh? Not such a tough guy then."

She placed two pieces of paper on the table; mugshots of two men. The squaregroupers. Fuck.

"You know these two?" She pressed, before letting out a deep sigh. "There's also no point in denying that you don't. Brie already told me, but I need to hear it from you as well."

He internally groaned. He didn't know what Brie had actually told her. This could all be a trick. But he didn't see any other option right now apart from answering her questions as best as he could.

"They," he sighed, keeping his comment as limited as possible, "They broke into John B's house...and they chased us through the Marsh. Other than that, no idea."

"Here's a more recent photo," the Sheriff said, putting down two more sheets of paper.

JJ's stomach flipped. Their bodies lay on slabs in the morgue, decaying and shredded.  They were discoloured and bloated, as if their bodies had been in the water for days on end. JJ put a hand to his mouth, almost gagging.

"You handled that better than your girlfriend," Peterkin mused. "She threw up in my trash can."

JJ gave her a questioning look, but she ignored him. No wonder Brie looked like shit when she came back.

"Somebody gaffed them," she continued, "Then used them for chum. Whoever killed these two men is still out there, and I've got reason to belive that their next target might be you or your little friends."

JJ's heart skipped over a beat. On top of everything that was already happening, they now had to worry about a potential serial killer coming after them. Any feeling of safety or security that remained in JJ's mind quickly vanished, leaving him once again feeling weak and vulnerable.

"What?" The Sheriff asked, examining his horrified expression, "You think you guys are the only ones after the Royal Merchant? Yeah, I know about that, too."

JJ rubbed his hands over his face and grunted. Did Brie tell her about the Merchant? Why would she do that? Had she told the Sheriff everything?

He couldn't help the fear that crept in at the mention of a possible murderer coming after them. Someone was willing to kill for just a hint at where the gold might be hidden. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they would kill again if it meant they could find the Merchant.

"Now that you guys know what I know about your little treasure hunt," Peterkin said, "Maybe you'll think about putting an end to it. For your own good."

JJ didnt respond. He just stared at her, his leg bouncing nervously. He knew that none of them would want to drop this after everything that they had been through, but what choice would they have now?

It had been dangerous before, and even that was enough for them to almost call it off, but now...this was a whole new level of fucked.

"Now...about the felony charges against you and Miss Landon," Peterkin sighed, "She's offered to take full responsibility. From the camera footage, we cant actually make out who it was, so I'm letting you two decide who's got the most to lose here."