"So Mercy was lying here when I got here," Ryder pointed out the spot where my best friend had been shot. There was still blood on the gravel and it turned my stomach. I averted my gaze and glanced around the alley way. By the looks of it, the Sheriff hadn't come to the crime scene yet, which was good and bad. The good side was that everything had been left untouched, beside by the paramedics, but the downslide was that the Sheriff could arrive any minute and Ryder and I would get in trouble for tampering with a crime scene.
"Let's hurry," I told Ryder, walking over to the corner of a building where I suspected the shooter would have stood. Crouching down, I studied the ground closely. Something bright suddenly caught my eye. "Ryder, come look at this!"
Ryder jogged over to where I was as I picked up the necklace that had reflected the sunlight. I held up the piece of jewelry, noticing the locket hanging on a simple chain. Opening the locket, I saw a picture of a blue haired girl, standing with her arm draped around Dixie's shoulders! The girl who had been so mean to me was friends with whoever shot at my best friend!
"Come on!" I stood up. "Let's go find Dixie and ask why she attempted to kill Mercy!"
"Hey, J, we don't know she had anything to do with it," Ryder chased after me.
"Well, we don't know that she didn't," I hurried to Ryder's motorbike. "And even if she didn't, she would know where her blue-haired friend is that we know shoot the gun."
"We should at least call the Sheriff," Ryder clipped on his helmet.
"That would just get us in trouble for being here," I straddled the motorbike, motioning for Ryder to sit in front. "Come on, let's go! School is still on, so Dixie should be there."
It didn't take us long to get to the school. Ryder pulled into the parking lot and we both got off the bike, placing our helmets on top of it. We jogged to the entrance, seeing the halls empty. I glanced at my watch. "It's lunch," I told Ry before running to the cafeteria. Scanning the tables, my gaze caught on blue hair. What luck, I thought to myself, that Mercy's killer would have the guts to come to my school, come close to my friends.
I marched towards the table that the blue-haired devil was sitting at, glaring at her dyed hair all the way. Blue-hair looked up when I arrived at her table, and I noticed then that Dixie was sitting beside her. I transferred my glare to her.
"Who peed in your Wheaties this morning?" Dixie asked snidely.
"How dare you!" I exclaimed. Ryder reached my side and put his hand on my arm. Blue-hair's face turned into anger.
"Ryder, what are you doing with this chick?" Blue asked sweetly of Ryder, causing me to look at him questionably. His face was a mixture of shock and annoyance.
"Jezebel," he grounded out through gritted teeth. I guess the annoyance part was winning. Ryder turned to me and started to explain. "Jezebel and I used to date-"
"Used to date!" Blue - or Jezebel - shouted out. "We were each other's first love! You're my soulmate."
Ryder was shaking his head. "No, you're wrong Jezebel-"
"Call me Jez," she interrupted again.
"Yes, we might have been each other's first significant other, but I never loved you. Or I might have thought I did, but now I know that wasn't true love," Ryder smiled at me, and I matched his with my own. He was so sweet.
"Gag!" Dixie butted in. "You guys make me want to barf. You're so disgusting."
"It's called love, Dix," Ryder told her. "I assume you don't know what it means?"
She just glared at him. "Anyway," Ryder continued, "the last time I saw Jez was a few years ago, and she still had her natural blonde hair, that's why I didn't recognize her in from the photo."
"What photo?" Jez questioned. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the locket. Flipping it open I shoved it into Jezebel's face. She snatched it out of my hand.
"Oh, thanks, I've been looking for that," Blue nonchalantly said, shoving the necklace into her own pocket.
"Hey! I exclaimed. "That was evidence!"
"What do you mean?" Dixie questioned. "Where did you find it?"
"Where you shot Mercy Burnett!" I shouted. Looking around, I saw that the whole school - or at least everyone in the cafeteria - was staring at us.
"I didn't shot nobody," Dixie said, leaning back into her seat.
"Not you, her," I pointed to Jezebel.
"I don't know no Mercy someone," Jezebel said.
"My friend - the one you shot- said she saw blue hair right after she fell to the ground. And we found that necklace at the crime scene! It was you!"
"Well, there are lots of people in Riverdale with blue hair, and, I lost my necklace when I was walking through the streets to get to school. So, no I didn't do it."
"I didn't tell you where the crime scene was," I said confidently. Dixie and Jezebel shared a glance.
"No, I'm pretty sure you did," Dixie looked frazzled. I looked to Ryder and he shook his head.
"She didn't," he confirmed. "With what Mercy told us, and what we found, I'm 100% sure you did shoot the gun."
"So she survived?" Jez questioned. "Dang it."
"You just admitted to doing it!" I pointed at both of them. "Why? Why would you try to kill an innocent girl?"
Dixie's cool and collected facade finally broke. "Because of you!" she yelled, allowing everyone in the room to hear. "You killed my mother!"
"What?" I was so confused.
"Let me make this crystal clear for you," Dixie spat out. "My real name is Dixie Peabody. My mother was Penny Peabody - emphasis on the was, since you killed her! I am going to kill off everyone you hold dear, one by one, until you have no one left -"
"Besides Ryder, of course," Jezebel pushed in, making googly eyes at my boyfriend. "He's mine."
"Yeah, right," Dixie continued. "Anyway, your friend Tyler was next on my list, or maybe I should take your precious baby sister, Cadence?"
"You evil b*# !" I shouted at her. "If you touch even a hair on her tiny head..."
"You'll what?" Dixie snided. "What would you do to someone like me?"
"Well first, I would call up my Dad -"
"Oh, poor little daddy's girl's feelings are hurt," Jez mocked, her bottom lip sticking out in a fake pout.
"I would ask my Dad to please rally up the Southside Serpents that he is the leader of - which I'm sure you already know- and tell them to do what they please with you," I continued. "And let me tell you: what they would do, would not be pretty."
Dixie and Jez both glared at me. I kept talking. "But, I won't do that to you. No, I think a worse fete for you would be spending part of - if not all- your life in prison. You just admitted to attempted murder, and accomplice to murder," I pointed at the girls respectively.
The girls looked smug. "It's your word against ours, sucker," Dixie smiled evil. Oh, two could play that game.
"Actually, It's your word against everyone's," I motioned around the room full of students and teachers who had come watched the debacle. Dixie and Jezebel's eye widen, and if on cue, Sheriff Keller and a couple of his deputies walked into the room, someone - probably a teacher - must have called him when they heard the nature of their argument.
"Dixie Peabody and Jezebel Brown, you are under arrest for attempted murder and accomplice to attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent, if you give wish to give up that right…" Sheriff Keller's words faded into the background of my current thoughts as I watched the two girls being handcuffed. Ryder's arm wrapped around my shoulders, causing me to gaze up at him.
"We did it hon," he whispered gently into my ear. "We caught them."
"Yeah, we did." I looked back to the girls. "Hang on a sec, there's one more thing I have to do." I walked over to the girls, looking directly at Dixie. Sheriff Keller and his deputies stood back while I talked to her. "Dixie," I started, "I didn't kill your mother." That caused her to look up. "I actually tried to save her. You might not believe me and that's alright, but please know it wasn't me who shot her, not even a Serpent! It was a Ghoulie, someone that she was working with. The gun fired and I jumped in front of the bullet, but I was too late. It hit her and there was nothing anyone could do. I am so sorry. I know what it's like to lose a mother. It feels like you've lost a part of yourself."
"It does," Dixie nodded soberly. I kinda felt bad for her. I hope that her jail time wasn't too long. I gingerly waved at the two, walking back to the comfort of Ryder's embrace. We did do it.
Author's note: Hey you! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. In making up for the really short last chapter I made this one extra long. Your welcome! I loved writing this chapter, and I really hope I portrayed it in the right way.
On a really serious note - this fanfic is coming to an end in less I get some more ideas to continue! So please, please, please, comment or IM me with ANY and ALL ideas you have for the next chapters, I really, really need them!
I just realized how many times I wrote 'really'! Alot! Anyway, I'll see yah soonish,
Xx G