Chapter 30 - Hang Caution Tape
In the devastating seconds as the pair cried together. Alice's screams started to able to be heard throughout the house. Betty heard ear piercing screams coming from Koel's room. She threw her blanket off of her and sprang out of her bed. Her heart was pounding like no tomorrow. What the hell was going on? She raced into the room as fast as her legs could carry her. She can just tell by the screams that it was far far from normal. She knows that's her mother.
"What's wrong?" She asks as she flicked the light switch on. She sees Fp's arms wrapped around her shaken mother.
Tears rolled down her mother's cheeks as she shook in Fp's arms. Jughead and Cheryl busted into the room and saw Alice's and his father's distraught feature. Something wasn't right.
A faint murmur escaped his father's mouth. "Jug, call Sheriff Keller. Koel has been taken."
Jughead felt the air being sucked out of his lungs. His windpipe crushed by the impact. He quickly snapped out his thoughts. His phone was on dial and he held his phone to his ear. Ringing tingled his eardrums as he waited for a beep.
"Hello, this is sheriff Keller."
"Sheriff Keller, Ko-el has been taken." His voice started to lower and his panic set in.
"I will be right there." And then the line went dead.
When he turned around, Alice was still rocking herself and his dad was calming her down. It seemed like the unimaginable came to the town of PEP. Betty tried to stop the tears and she couldn't. It was all too much. This wasn't fair.
Yellow "Do Not Cross" tape centered the area as the Jones's family stood in front their home. Sheriff Keller walked up to them and tipped his deputy hat to the side. Silence filled the once happy neighborhood. Jellybean stood next to her brother holding onto Koel's favorite stuffed animal, Shadow in her arms. She had her arms around the stuffed dog almost choking the anatinet object with her strength. Cheryl's eyes glossed as she looked at the house. The last fragment in her mind of her little brother was still fresh. He was so happy. His laugh brought smiles to her bitch-face. And it still didn't make any logical sense that someone would take Koel. He's only three-months-old. He still had a lot of life to live.
Questioning felt like hours for the Joneses family. A part of their family was missing. A huge piece of their heart was cracked in the middle. Police red and blue hazes blinded their eyes. Cars swarmed the area and helicopters hovered high up above. News reporters started demanding their questions. Alice wanted nothing but peace. She didn't know who took her son or where he was taken. Fp has some many questions. It wasn't an odd experience. This had been a deliberate act. And he was going to get to bottom of it.
November 5th, 2018- Day One- 2:30 A.M
Staring at broken shards lying on the carpet. Forensic Detectives scanned and analyzed every single spec on that carpet. Sheriff Keller took detailed reports as he walked through the piled breaking glass. He noticed that it was smashed with a rare type of tool. He looked down at the object in his gloved hand and turned it around. With a slight motion the iron's rust coated his white gloves.
Tom didn't know what happened. But what was known, it was a crime of passion. By the reports that damage was planned. Their plan or whom's plan was someone who knew the inside and out of this place. He took out the evidence bag and gather all the evidence and sealed it up tight. He took his gloves off and threw them into the waste bin. With one last look before getting into his squad, he knew that he had to find the kidnapper. He wasn't going to let another Jason Blossom or Black Hood slip through his fingers again. He wanted to prove that he could do what it takes to protect his town. The Riverdale as he once knew was long gone. It was time to restore his beloved town to its beauty.
He arrived at the station where he found Fp clinging to a baby blanket. His eyes swollen and he looked like he was just crying. Tom felt his heart tug by the look on his face. Fp didn't deserve this. He had been through so much.
He lightly tapped his shoulder,"Fp, I assure you that I'm doing my absolute best to find your son."
Fp heard Tom's words and he released the breath he had been holding. He regretfully looked at him and he sees the remorse in Tom's eyes. He doesn't want the pity or the guilt. All he wanted was for them to do their job and find damn son. Koel was his youngest. He just got to know him more. He's only three-months-old. He's only a baby. He still has time to grow. And now he isn't in his sight. He can't hold his son to stop him from crying. He fears that his son died. He shakes the cold thought out of his head and fought his tears. He hasn't been able to break. He's been taking care of Alice. He knows that his pain was just as important. He also knows that he's falling apart. Slowly he was crashing. Things were going so well. Cheryl was adopted and Koel was learning how to crawl. And now he's gone.
Furious tears threaten his eyes as he narrows his eyes to the ground, avoiding Tom's kind eyes. His son has the same eyes. He noticed that after Betty had a breakdown. He feels a hand on his shoulder. A gentle squeeze sends some relief.
"From the report it was someone who knew the ins and outs of your house. I'm so sorry. I'm trying so hard, Fp. We have no fingerprints or hard evidence. I did find a crowbar. The abrasion was very strong and it was rust from the rain. It started raining at 1:20 A.M, which means that the kidnapping happened five Minutes after the first thunder rolled in." Fp listened closely to the report and his heart keeps dropping further down in his stomach.
An hour later, Tom drives him home. Not home but to Fred's. When he walked into the living with Fred's assistance, Alice was asleep on the couch. She looked like she had a rough night and she really did. He curls up next to her and silently cries.
Day Two- Nov. 6th. 2018- 7:30 A.M
Day Two wasn't any better. Alice wouldn't leave the couch. Jughead caught Archie staring out the windows with a baseball bat in hand. He was going into the kitchen to get a glass of water. He looked to his left and found Archie staring out the kitchen window like a hawk with his eyes on his prey. He knew that Archie still had PTSD from the shooting at Pop's. He wouldn't blame the guy. He watched his father get shot. That's not something that happens on a regular basis and it was scary to think about.
Fp woke to the sound of chirping birds. He lumbered over to the kitchen with one eye open. Blinding sunlight burned his retinas. He grabbed the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of coffee. He needed caffeine. He didn't sleep a wink last night. Every single time he closed his eyes. He saw a army flashback and his eyes would fly open. His flashbacks were becoming more frequent since his fight with Alice or night about his father.
His stomach churned violently as he sits down at the Andrews's kitchen table. Just the thought about his father was hard to stomach. He haven't seen his father in years and thank god for that. He never wanted to see his father again. He set his coffee cup down and looked at his plate. His stomach growled and he gets out of the chair.
As he walks away his heart plummets to his stomach. He can't sit here and wait for someone to find him. He needs his son. He had one person that would want to him on his mind. He felt a harsh stopped to look what happened. He found Fred looking at him the way he was when his sister died.
He doesn't even get to open his mouth. Fred tugs at his arm and pulls him to a private room. He soon feels himself crumbling in his best friend's arms. He could hear him saying things like."We'll find him." Or "I know… I know… don't hold it in." But he can't break. He needs to keep Alice from falling apart.
He feels weak to his core as tears threatened his eyes. He can hear his heart shattering from the inside. This was far from understandable. He couldn't wrap his head around the loss. Who would do this? He just didn't know what to do next.
"H-e's— g-one." He sobbed as his friend's arms wrapped around him. He felt a squeeze and more tears cascaded down his cheeks. "S-omeone t-took my son, Fr—-" His sobs caught his throat and his lungs closed.
All he heard was Fred's calming voice as he fell onto his knees. His lungs screamed for his son. Nothing could break him from the tears. Not his friend or anything said could bring out of his fog.
In the kitchen, Jughead and Archie were sitting down at the table in silence. Jughead could hear his father's sobs from the other side of the wall. His heart breaks for his father. He also misses his brother. Out of nowhere, Archie guides him into his room and closes the door behind them. He sits on Archie's bed and his eyes weaken.
"Jug." Archie can tell that Jughead was slowly falling apart. "We'll find him, Jug." He says as he sits down next to his best friend.
"I kn-ow." His voice sounded quite and Archie hated seeing his friend like this.
He knew that Truth and Dare game went wrong. He also knew that his dad was in the other room with Mr Jones. He's known the Joneses for a long time. He also knows that Fp has a major drinking problem. And he's afraid that this will make that very difficult to keep him from drinking.
A knock at the door breaks Alice's eyes away from the wine bottles. She wants to pop open that cork and drink it all. She groans as she places the wine bottle back in the wine cellar. She opened the door and almost starts crying.
"Moni… please come in." Her voice softens as she attempts to wipe her eyes.
Al, I'm so sorry about Koel." Moni says as she wrapped her arms around her.
She sees Alice's facade starting to fall from her face. She knows that Alice needs a break and she wanted to take her out of the house. "Please… can we just talk about something else?" She frowns at her and nods her head.
"Yeah…" She states as she takes Alice outside. Not before leaving Fp a note.
As Alice sits in Moni's car. She feels like she wants to curl up in bed. She doesn't blame Fp for the kidnapping. She knows that he's in pain too. She just wishes that someone would find him. She can't stand waiting and waiting. A baby just doesn't walk away. Someone took her baby and she will fight tooth and nail for her baby to be found.