"Ronnie, I know you are worried about me but I swear, I'll be fine. I'm going to have to face her eventually and honestly, I have to do this alone. Trust me, I know how to handle Alice and Hal," I sighed, running my hands through my hair for what seemed like the hundredth time.
I had been trying to convince Veronica for the last twenty minutes that I didn't need her to hold my hand while I went to see my parents. I lived with them for eighteen years of my life, I didn't need Veronica there as a buffer. It was my life and they couldn't control me or make me feel bad anymore. I just wanted to get this over with so that I could finally move on and not have to deal with the mess later. Better to just rip the band-aid off as quickly as possible.
"Betty, are you absolutely sure? I know just how critical Alice can be and I don't want any more stress on my B than what you already have to deal with," Veronica squeezed my hands gently and looked into my eyes to check for any hesitation.
"I know you don't, V. And I love you so much for looking out for me but I can - no, I actually need to do this alone. I have to show them that just because I am getting a divorce doesn't mean that I am broken; That I am letting this beat me," Veronica sighed but seemed to be satisfied with that answer. She hugged me tight, got into the driver's seat, and started her car before turning to me one last time.
"Okay, I trust you, B. I'm going to head to the apartment and make sure everything is getting put in the proper places. Reggie is already there supervising but I want to make sure he doesn't just let them throw boxes anywhere they like. See you soon, roomie! Muah!" With one last look, Veronica blew me a kiss and drove off into the night. I pulled my coat around me tighter and began my short journey back to my childhood home.
Even though it had been over 2 years since I'd been back here, it seemed like everything was eerily exactly the same. And even though there have been some people who have left over the years, and new people have come in, it's still the same old Riverdale. It was still the same place where I grew up, the place where I fell in love. And sadly, it was the place where my classmate - my sister's boyfriend whom it turned out later was also our third cousin - was murdered by his own father. I couldn't help but shudder at the memories of it all, even all these years later it was haunting.
Jason 'drowning' in Sweetwater river while on a boat ride with his twin sister, Cheryl, only to be found over a month later with a bullet to the skull.
Polly going missing at the same time as Jason - not even my parents telling me where she was - only for her to come home later and never speak a word of Jason's death or anything that had happened for that whole year.
I was determined to find out who the real killer was, wanting to be the one to crack the case so I could figure out why all this happened and where my sister had been this whole time.
Then finally, Polly running off to The Farm before I could find any real clues and me feeling like I would never know the truth, until one day the truth was literally dropped into my lap.
I still remember the day that the package that helped close the case arrived on my doorstep. It was just an innocent-looking cardboard box, addressed to me with no sender information. Inside was a typed noted - and not computer typed, mind you. I am talking old school. 'Vintage typewriter' kind of old school - that read:
Hey There Nancy Drew,
Not to start off with an old clique but here we go: You don't know me although I do know you. And because of that fact, I know you are the only one in this town who can truly help me.
I have been investigating the Jason Blossom murder on my own for some time now and I just found this secret buried among the maple trees of the Blossom's farm.
Currently, as I write this letter, an innocent man sits in jail awaiting his trial on a murder that he didn't commit. I fear that if this information doesn't get to Sheriff Keller soon, that an innocent man is going to go to jail for the rest of his life. That means the real killer will walk free and be able to get away with the terrible crime he committed.
Now, I know you are probably thinking - why can't he/she just go to the police themselves if they have proof? However, you have to believe me when I say that there is no way Keller (or anyone else in this town for that matter) would help me. I am just not in a position where people would listen to me or believe what I have uncovered if I turned it in.
But you, my fellow truthseeker, are in a position to do so. I have seen you around town so I know you are investigating this case as well and you are someone the town would believe. So please, I implore you, will you help me save this man's life? Can you do a favor for a helpless stranger who is desperate for the truth to be revealed? Can you be that innocent man's savior? I sincerely hope your answer is a resounding yes because I believe it is.
Finally, I want you to know that I wish to retain my anonymity in this and I don't want any of the credit. I just want the truth to come out and this man's life to be saved.
Signed,
W. Mark Felt
P.S. Please destroy this letter so that no one but you and I will share the truth about where this information came from. If asked, just say you were searching the woods where the old Blossom Farms sign is located and found it there, they will see where it was if they look. Otherwise, please keep this between us. Also, remember to check the pockets...
...and below the letter, wrapped in a garbage bag and covered in dirt and blood, was Jason Blossom's letterman jacket. The same jacket that had been missing since before his body was discovered. I could only assume at the time that the blood it was covered in belonged to Jason Blossom.
I still remember everything that came after that so clearly that it felt like it happened yesterday, not ten years ago.
I remember finding the USB with the video of Clifford Blossom shooting his son in the head before leaving him in a basement somewhere to be cleaned up by two men in Serpent jackets.
I remember having to be interrogated for hours just to prove I really did find the information. Lucky for me, I had never been known to lie before and years of putting on a mask to hide my true emotions finally paid off. They believed me. They all did. No one doubted me for a second. Not even Alice "Bloodhound" Cooper suspected that anything was amiss.
A lot of good going to the police with the information on the killer's true identity did in the end though. Clifford Blossom hung himself that night before Sheriff Keller could arrive and that poor innocent man was still sent to prison anyway for his part in covering up the crime.
Even after it was discovered that Clifford Blossom had threatened the man that if he didn't help he would kill his children and his wife. I asked myself, what man wouldn't do anything to save his family?
I was so angry at what I saw as a complete injustice that I just felt like I had to do something. Shake up this town and maybe knock some sense into them. Then I found the perfect opportunity to do that very thing. I was asked to speak at the 75th Riverdale Jubilee by Mayor McCoy herself and was to be even given a special citizens award for solving the murder. I knew that it was my chance to make a difference, even just a small one.
I made a plea to the town not to hold to the same discriminations that had plagued our town for years. To show mercy on a man who was only trying to protect those he loved. To not hold the entire Blossom clan responsible for the sins of the father. I begged them to heal, to come together, and to do better.
Everyone remained silent until a dark figure in the doorway at the back of the auditorium started to clap and everyone followed suit. I really thought I made a difference, that I got through to them.
But that never happened. It seems that even sweet, innocent Betty Cooper couldn't purify the darkness and hate in this town.
That man - who I later found out through press coverage was named Forsythe Jones Jr. - was sentenced to ten years in prison for his part in the clean-up of Clifford Blossom's mess. That is also how I learned that his family had been in Toledo, Ohio for about ten years at the time of his arrest and he had not seen them in at least 8 of those years.
It didn't make me feel any less for him though, I was still just as heartbroken for his family. I know that no matter how far away I am from my family, I would do anything to protect them. Honestly, I didn't even think less of him when I learned he was known as the Serpent King - leader of a notorious motorcycle gang known as the Southside Serpents in Riverdale.
I knew my parents had some vendetta against them but I tutored kids at Southside High three days a week from my freshman year up until my graduation and I never had issues with them at all. They were actually nice and kept me safe when I was there helping kids with their school work.
I never told anyone other than Veronica anything about actually being friendly with any of the Serpents because I knew how they'd react. Especially Archie or the Bulldogs because I knew they would freak out and that was one headache I simply didn't need.
All of them except Reggie seemed to have issues with the Serpents and I never could figure out why. Archie hated them most of all. I never really pushed the subject either so I guess that part was on me.
I just let my secret life at Southside High be one of my many secrets that I never let Archie be a part of. Somethings were just for me and I didn't want anyone else to be a part of them.
Even now, years later, I still chuckle a bit when I think back to the signature of the real person who blew the lid off that investigation. Deep throat... This person is still intriguing to me. I wish I knew who they were. I thought as I walked along the sidewalk in the brisk January afternoon.
Sadly though, I never found out who they were. But, I also didn't follow their instructions; I never got rid of the note. I told myself that it was just in case something happened when in reality I wanted to keep it in case I ever found out who this person was.
When I shook the thoughts of the past from my mind, I realized I must have been in a daze the whole way here. I looked up to see that I was standing in the driveway that separated the Cooper's residence from the Andrews'.
I started to feel anxious as I stared up at my old home, a chill running down my spine. However, I didn't want to stand here too long for fear that Fred might see me and try to make awkward chit-chat so I sped up and jogged the rest of the way up to my parent's front door.
Taking a deep breath to prepare for the seventh circle of hell that was my childhood, I steadied my resolve and knocked firmly three times. Here goes nothing... I could hear muffled voices and footsteps making their way to the door before it was suddenly flung open by the evil one herself.
"Mom," I said curtly, head held high and never breaking her gaze.
"Elizabeth? What in heaven's name are you doing beating on the door at nine o'clock at night for? You nearly gave your poor father a heart attack," she huffed, her face remaining stern. I could hear my muffled father's voice calling from the kitchen from behind her.
"Don't believe a word of it, Betty! I was perfectly fine, it's your mother here that almost hit the ceiling when you knocked," he laughed, receiving a dirty look from my mother.
"You should have seen her, Betty. She looked like one of those cats in those old cartoons- you know, the ones you scare and they jump so high that they are left clinging to the roof! I think if your mother had bigger claws she'd probably be clinging to the ceiling too," my dad had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard at my mother's expense.
"If I had claws any bigger, Hal, I would have already clawed your eyes out," my mother glared at him again, causing my dad to flinch slightly.
Alice Cooper never did like being teased. She had always been hard as nails, never taking crap from anyone, not even when she was running all those stories about the Southside and received death threats because of them. I think that maybe one of the reasons why she was so hard on me and Polly. She wanted us to be like her: cold and ruthless, taking no crap from anyone.
Polly was like that before her disappearance -or at least she pretended to be. Polly, unlike myself, wanted nothing more than to be just like our mother. I never could, it just wasn't in me, wasn't my disposition. You know... because I actually have a heart but that is neither here nor there.
"I'm sorry if I scared anyone, I didn't mean to. And I know I probably should have called first. It's just that Veronica and I got back into town today and after we spent a few hours at Pop's, I thought maybe I would stop by and let you guys know I was here. Maybe catch up a bit before I go back to The Pembrooke to start unpacking the apartment?" I said, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing. I closed my fist, anticipating whatever was to come when Alice finally spoke.
"Oh, Betty dear. I really hope you didn't eat too many of those useless calories at that grease pit," she shook her head at me, giving me a disappointed look.
"I know you love that place, honey but you need to watch what you eat if you want to keep that figure of yours. You aren't getting any younger and if you want to find a man to take care of you, you need to maintain a suitable figure to catch the right eye," I could feel my anger starting to rise already and I haven't even been in this house for more than five minutes.
"Seriously Alice, I don't need your input on either of the subjects you just mentioned. My doctor says I am at a perfectly healthy weight," No thanks to you, I thought to myself, "And I'm 25, not an old maid. Yes, I'm getting divorced. And yes, Archie left me for a younger woman. But Archie would have left me for any woman with a warm body and a pulse, regardless of age. You know it as well as I do," I am so angry with her at this point that I am wondering why the hell I didn't just let Veronica come with me after all.
"Sorry dear, I was only trying to be helpful. So, what will you be doing for work now that you are not going to be taking that amazing job that was practically handed to you? Oh- and Elizabeth, before you ask, we don't have the funds for a new staff member at The Register," she stated matter-of-factly.
"Well, if you must know, I do still have my job writing for Click-feed. And Pop Tate has already offered me my old job back any time I want it. Plus, with Veronica opening her boutique and Hermione letting us have the apartment rent-free, I think I will survive- somehow," I said sarcastically, internally rolling my eyes at my mother. No matter how long I had been away from home, she still treated me like a child.
"Well, if you think that is for the best dear. I just hate to see you waste that expensive education on a waitressing job and online dribble," she quipped. I take that as my cue to leave, having had about all the Alice Cooper I could take for one evening.
"Well mother, this was a delightful visit - really it was - but I really need to go help Veronica unpack the apartment. I will call you once I get settled in. Bye dad, mom," I said through clenched teeth, wearing that 'Cooper smile' I had perfected in high school. As I stand to leave I hug my parents and exchange goodbyes, stepping outside as fast as I can to start walking towards The Pembrooke.
I haven't even been here 24 hours and I already want to scream. Who the hell does she think she is anyway?! I huffed under my breath before hearing a cough to my left that makes me freeze. I already knew who it was and I had been dreading this meeting since I decided to move back to Riverdale. I steadied myself, taking a deep breath before I turn to greet him.
"Hello, Fred. I wasn't expecting to see you- um, so soon. I hope you are well. And Mary too," I said as politely as possible, not knowing how much he knew or how he felt about it.
"Betty, honey, you don't have to be that way with me. Nothing about our relationship has changed in my opinion," he started to walk down the front steps towards me, reaching out to embrace me.
"I watched you grow up, watched you fall in love with and marry my only child. For that reason alone, I will always see you as the daughter I never had. I can see the hurt that Arch has caused you and I wish I could have stopped him from making the biggest mistake of his life," he hugged me close and rubbed my back loving. I couldn't do anything more than break down and cry, letting the remaining tears I had for Archie fall.
"Shh, it'll be okay, Betty-Boop. You are still part of my family, you always will be. Nothing could make me love you any less, not even my idiot son. Now, let's get in the truck and I will take you home. Hermione's place, right?" I nodded and couldn't help but chuckle to myself, not only at the fact he called Archie an idiot but also at the nickname.
Fred gave me that nickname as a little girl, back when I used to run around in pigtails chasing a little freckled redhead around the back yard. I hopped up into Fred's truck, feeling relieved that at least there was no awkwardness between us and that I still have some of my family intact.