Episode 1x06: Betty and Jughead go looking for Jason's car.
"So did Polly happen to mention where off Route 40 this getaway car is supposed to be?" Jughead asked, pulling up some maps on his phone as Betty drove them her dad's car.
The two of them had been driving down Route 40 for the past twenty minutes, eyes peeled for any sign that could be the one Polly was referring to. So far, nothing. Although the predicted rain wasn't helping them with their search. The wipers were barely able to keep the windshield clear enough to see through. Betty felt nervous as she continued driving.
"She said something about a lost highway?" Betty said, beginning to question her memory on the matter. "I have never heard of a lost highway."
"It's not exactly lost if everyone knows where it is." Jughead pointed out. "But there is an exit about 3 miles down that doesn't have any signs. That could be what Polly was referring to."
Betty quickly glanced at Jughead with a confused expression before immediately focusing on the road.
"And how would you know that, Jug? Do a lot of late night travelling down Route 40?" Betty asked, amused
"No." Jughead said matter of factly " But I've read quite a few town maps."
Betty sat there, trying to focus on driving and also trying to keep herself from smiling. She had no idea he had an interest in their town's geography.
"You've got your hobbies, I've got mine." Jughead informed her, also seeming amused himself.
"I thought writing was your hobby." Betty suggested, slowing down to let someone behind her drive past.
"Writing is by raison d'etre." Jughead informed her. "Map reading is something to pass the time."
"But you enjoy it? Learning about the town's geography?" Betty asked, genuinely surprised.
"Is that so strange?"
"Not strange. Just...unexpected. You never seem to pay attention in geography class." Betty explained
"The exit is right here." Jughead pointed to a small strip of road just a minute ahead of them.
There wasn't even a sign pointing the exit out. Betty has probably driven past it multiple times with her family and never noticed it. But she turned on her signals and got on the exit.
It was immediately ominous. The exit was completely deserted, clearly abandoned years ago and left to ruin. Several years worth of debris and leaves covered the ground. There were a few buildings on the road, barely standing with broken windows and missing walls. There weren't even lit streetlights.
"Hard to believe something like this could exist in Riverdale and almost no one know about it." Betty mused, trying hard to focus on the dark road ahead of her.
"That's the thing about towns like ours." Jughead said, his tone nonchalant "It claims to be a town of rich history but there are some things history likes to bury."
Betty nodded. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Betty knew this. Whenever there was something ugly or menacing in town, everyone just seemed to ignore it. No one wanted to deal with imperfections. Eventually the problems of the town disappeared, or at least that is how it seemed until recently.
Suddenly they ran out of street to drive down. Betty placed a foot on the break and stopped. The headlights of the car shone on a sign. The sign was faded and covered in foliage so that neither of them could read.
"Maybe that's the sign Polly was referring to?" Betty asked Jughead, as she put the car into park.
"I don't know. I figured the Maple Syrup sign would be big and have some sort of 1950s misogyny associated with it." Jughead told her.
Betty felt immediately disappointed. This was the end of the road. If the sign wasn't here, then Polly was wrong. Then she and Jughead had risked their necks in the middle of storm to go down a creepy road and find nothing.
Jughead sighed, clearly able to read her train of thought.
"We should probably check it out though." Jughead told her, unbuckling his seat belt.
As Jughead unbuckled, the rain started coming down harder. They both out the window, as if hoping their ears were deceiving them.
"Should we wait for the rain to let up?" Betty asked, unbuckling her seat belt as well.
There was a crack of thunder and a crash of lightning.
"I don't think that is happening anytime soon." Jughead told her honestly.
Betty nodded, feeling apprehensive. It was not that she minded getting wet, but it was a downpour and it might all be for nothing.
"I can go check and you could stay in the car." Jughead suggested.
Betty sneered at him.
"You want to go out in the middle of a rainstorm into a creepy unlit area just to look at a sign by yourself?" Betty asked him sarcastically, placing her hand on the car door handle. "Not likely."
Jughead smiled at her as he reached for his own door handle. The two of them got out of the car, immediately soaked because of the heaviness of the rain. They hurriedly ran over to the sign.
It took a few minutes of pulling and Jughead cutting away at vines with his pocket knife, but they were finally able to clear off the old sign well enough to read it.
"Maple Farms" The sign read, with an arrow pointing to the left through a patch of ominous trees.
Jughead pointed his flashlight towards the trees to see if they could see anything but trees in the distance. Betty glanced in that direction as well. There appeared to be a treeless area not too far beyond where they currently were standing. Betty then pointed his flashlight down to see that there were remnants of a road pointing towards those trees.
"When the Blossoms abandon something…" Jughead began "It kinda turns chaotic and creepy."
Betty nodded in agreement.
"We should go through the trees." Betty said, determinedly.
Jughead didn't look convinced, but he nodded and the two of them began to walk down the path. Betty found herself staying pretty close to Jughead, not wanting to get separated in this practical darkness. She was trying to be brave, to not appear as if their horror movie-esque surroundings were having any effect on her. But Betty was on edge. She worried that the slightest sound would force her to jump into Jughead's arms. The thought of it made her blush. Suddenly she was grateful they could barely see out in front of them.
I can't believe he is here with me. I can't believe he is going through all this trouble because he wants to help me find out if my sister is telling the truth. This can't have been what he thought he was agreeing to when he started writing for the newspaper.
"Hey, Juggie." Betty started, leaning closer to him to be heard over the rain. "Did you ever imagine it would be like this?"
"What would be like this?" Jughead asked, seeming to have no idea what she was referring to.
"When I asked you to join the Blue and Gold, did you imagine it would be like this?" she asked him, curiously
"Did I imagine we would be wandering through a creepy abandoned forest by ourselves at night in the rain, looking for a sign and a getaway car based on a tip your rumored to be but not crazy sister gave us?" Jughead asked, taking a deep breath "Oh absolutely. It's why I signed up."
Betty smiled, grateful to know that at least he wasn't resenting her for bringing them out here.
As Betty continued to move her flashlight throughout the clearing, she noticed it reflect on something. When she shined the light on it specifically, she realized it was a tractor.
"Abandoned farm equipment. Always a good sign." Betty said, sarcastically
"In a horror movie, maybe" Jughead added.
The two of them pointed their flashlights in opposite directions, but then Betty noticed something red in the corner of her eyes. Years of being classmates with Cheryl had her trained to know it was a Blossom red.
She turned and pointed her flashlight over and saw an old, faded red sign the indicated this was the Blossom Maple Farms.
"Juggie!" Betty exclaimed, flickering her flashlight from him to the sign.
"Have Some Syrup With That Ma'am." Jughead said, reading off the old faded sign's slogan. "R.I.P. the marketing genius that came up with that one."
"Oh come on." Betty said, trying to contain her excitement at finding the sign, but not having much luck. "I am sure that was totally clever in the 50s."
Jughead laughed, but then he looked forward.
About 100 ft in front of them, covered in a tarp and some broken branches was the thing they were looking for.
"Betty. The car!" Jughead told her.
Betty didn't need to be told this though. She was focused on the tarp covered vehicle.
"Come on!" Betty shouted as the two of them ran towards the car.
Jughead pulled the tarp off the front of the car almost as if to check and see if it were real. The car was older, clearly not one Jason's parents would have gotten for him.
Now that I know the car is here, I need proof that it is Jason's.
Betty started walking towards the back of the car, but noticed that Jughead was still staring at the front of it.
She looked at him, hoping he understood that she didn't want to search through it by herself. Not that she hadn't gone through someone's car before. But she didn't want to do it by herself.
Jughead clearly understood her look because he walked to the back of the car with her.
They pulled the tarp off the trunk as the rain continued to pour down on them.
Now what do we do? Betty wondered. I don't have a bobby pin on me so I can't pick the lock. Why didn't I come more prepared?
Jughead began to feel under the handle of the trunk door and he was able to lift it open.
Jason must have left the trunk unlocked for Polly. So she could put her stuff back there in case she got there first.
Jughead propped the trunk door open with an old broom handle so that the two of them could examine its contents.
In it was all the proof they needed to corroborate Polly's story. Jason's letterman with his named embroidered on it, a suitcase filled with clothing, blankets and other jackets. There even seemed to be snacks ready for the passengers who never made it there.
Betty breathed a sigh of relief. As desperately as she wanted to believe that her sister was telling the truth, she didn't dare let herself believe it until this moment. Her sister and Jason were planning to run away together. Her parents were wrong. Polly was not crazy! They had the proof right here.
Jughead continued to go through the contents of the trunk, when he came upon something he wasn't expecting to see.
"What are those?" Betty asked, looking at the bricks wrapped in cling wrap.
"Drugs." Jughead said, matter of factly. "Betty…?"
Betty heard the questioning in his voice. He hadn't expect to see something like this in the car. Neither had she. Out of all the things she thought they would find in the car, she never considered they would find anything illegal or incriminating.
Jughead picked up one of the bricks of drugs, looking at it as though he were questioning its existence.
Oh my God. Jughead just touched some drugs. His fingerprints would be all over it. Our fingerprints are all over everything in this car. Betty panicked in that moment.
"Wait! Jughead put it down. This is evidence! This is all evidence!"
Jughead dropped the brick, realization dawning on his face.
"Crap. This whole car is a crime scene!" he told her,
A crime scene that told the story of more than just Jason's murder. Now, there were drugs involved. There was more to this than a dead athlete and pregnant teenager.
Jughead pulled his phone out of his pocket and started taking pictures.
What a good idea. Betty thought. It seems like people who walk away from crime scenes never come back to the same thing twice.
Jughead took pictures of Jason's jacket, the suitcase and the drugs.
"We need to get Sheriff Keller, then we need to get Polly." Betty told him, as he continued to photograph the car.
"Ok." he told her, taking one final picture before closing the trunk and turning to run back to the car.
"Where is the Sheriff?" Betty said, trying to dial his cell phone number. "It isn't too late, but I doubt he is still at the station."
"I assume at the Variety Show." Jughead told her as they continued past the tractor.
The Variety Show. Betty thought I completely forgot that was still happening.
Betty was dialing the Sheriff's number but whether it was due to the rain or their location, she didn't have cell phone signal.
"So we should probably go to the Variety Show, show him the picture you took and then go the Sisters."
"And do what once we get there?" Jughead asked as they reached the car. "I don't think they will just let Polly go."
"We'll figure it out, Juggie." Betty reassured him, though she honestly had no clue what her plan was. As much as she wanted this car to be the thing that would bring her sister home, she hadn't figured out how it worked yet. Betty grabbed the car handle and slide into the car.
"I just know we can't leave her there. Not now that we know the truth."
She hoped Jughead would understand.
"Let's text the Sheriff that we need to talk to him. We will see where to go from there."
Betty nodded, putting the keys in the ignition. Though he might not understand it, Jughead was supporting her choices. She didn't realize how much she needed that until now. Heat filled the car, making Betty realize just how cold she was as she placed the car in drive and began the journey to the high school.