"Isabelle…. I need to have a word before you leave" Pop called out just as Izzy left the house to start her shift at the diner. He was nervous and it already showed, he found himself calling her Isabelle before he could help it.

He could tell by the way Izzy slowly walked into the kitchen she thought she was in trouble.

Izzy was already in her work uniform ready to leave when she heard that dreaded word 'Isabelle'; her actual name was never used in the Tate house unless she was in trouble like when she helped Cheryl hide from Penelope for three days or when she, Val and Mel had decided to try some of Pops bottle of whiskey last year -that incident had warranted the full "Isabelle Amelia Tate"; the point was Pop never used her actual name unless she was in trouble. "Hey Pops" Izzy hesitated spoke walking slowly into the kitchen and taking a seat at the table across from him.

Ever since finding out that Hiram was back in town he had been planning on telling Izzy about the man, Pop knew that sooner or later than man would come crawling out of the woodwork -like the nasty little vermin he was- and demand to get to know Izzy, like Hiram wasn't the man who left his pregnant girlfriend of five years to go marry someone else within four months.

More important than trying to get ahead of Hiram's potential schemes, Noah needed to tell his grand-daughter the truth about who her dad was before she found out some other way; it wasn't exactly a secret -well not a very well hidden one- by any stretch of the imagination, a lot of people in town knew Sharon and Hiram had been in a serious relationship for a number of years and although no one had ever acknowledged it it didn't take a genius to figure out that Izzy was their daughter, not with her complexion and certainly not with the way Izzy looked like Hiram when she became angry.

Noah had planned on telling Izzy everything years ago especially once she got curious about who her dad could possibly be but just like before Pop found himself talking about something else that had nothing to do with the truth.

"Don't worry you aren't in any trouble I, I just need to have a word, with Fred's shooting, your old music teacher's death and now the Mason boy and Klump girl being targeted, everyone in town is scared and I wanted to make sure you are okay" Pop found himself saying, this wasn't what he wanted to talk about.

Watching as Izzy relaxed into the chair Pop hoped he was doing the right thing by putting off telling her -for now, just for now. He would tell her the truth soon, maybe after Christmas.

Yes he needed to tell her but first he needed to know that she was coping with everything, he couldn't just tell her about Hiram if she was already struggling, it was okay to put it off for now.

"Oh yeah I'm…." Izzy relaxed when she registered that she wasn't in any trouble. "Wait, old music teacher? Is Mrs. Henderson dead?" Izzy asked, Mrs. Henderson must have been at least eighty years old when she taught Izzy how to play the piano when she was just a kid so it made sense that she died but Izzy wasn't expecting it, she only saw her a month ago when she visited great-gran at the care home.

"No, Ms. Grundy, your school teacher, she died last week, someone strangled her. It was in the papers"

"Oh… I guess I must have missed it" what else could she say. There must be something in the water; Fred gets shot, then M.s Grundy dies and now moose, was there something going on in town or was this was all just a massive coincident and unlike Jughead Izzy was not one for conspiracy theories; sure Fred and Moose were likely to have been shot by the same person but that didn't mean anything… she hoped.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I see that you are getting better, eating more, sleeping for longer but if this gets too much just let me know okay cause no matter how old you get you will always be my little bee"

Izzy couldn't find it in herself to roll her eyes at her old nickname; partially because Pop's didn't say it that much, partially cause it reminded her of all the times her mum would call her "Busy Bee" but mostly because she knew how worried Pop's had been after the shooting and wanting to know everything Izzy did to requiring text messages when she left the house; and to be fair now that the gun man was targeting teenagers it wasn't too bad of an idea to keep a close eye on people just to make sure they were safe.

"I promise Pop." Izzy swore getting up and planting a big wet kiss on his cheeks. "Now I am going to be late for my shift, oh and Jug might end up sleeping over tonight" Izzy added as an after thought, it was always best to give Pop a general heads up when Jug stayed over so extra food could be made.

"Is he staying with you till the end of your shift"

"That's the plan and it will be easier for him to just sleep here than go all the way to the trailer."

"And it has nothing to do with the bags of junk food and popcorn you bought this afternoon" Pop quizzed knowing the classic signs of a movie night.

"I have no idea what you are talking about" Izzy grinned.

"Sure but before you go here have this" Pop stated putting the package he had picked up for Izzy a couple of weeks ago when he finally picked up his brand new gun.

"Is…. Is that a GUN" Izzy gaped looking at the table.

"No! No!" Pop hurried to reassured his panicking Grand-daughter "It's a taser, I got it for you so you can keep yourself safe"

"Wh… Ho… Why?… You can't just" Izzy wasn't sure what to say it might be a taser but it sure as hell looked like a gun. "We were just talking about junk food why would…. A taser?" Her voice came out several octaves higher in the end even squeaking.

"Listen to me"

"So you thought the best time to give me a taser is…. Pop…. That looks like a gun sure it has yellow stickers or markings but if I pull that out someone is going to…. I am not using it"

"Izzy"

"No, that… it looks like a gun…. I'm not… just no, Pop. I've had a gun in my face I am not going to be walking around town with a taser that looks like a gun"

"It for your safety, its top of the range, if you need to use it it triggers a GPS so I know where you are."

"No, I'm going to forget this and go to work, if you want to get me something to use I heard pepper spray is just as useful as a gun shaped taser" words Izzy thought she would never have to say in her life especially to her grandad.

Seriously.

A Taser

A GUN shaped taser with GPS, what happened to the old fashioned ones that looked like a shaver.

x.x.x.x

The post shooting slum was affecting everything and everyone; from the slow crawling of the clock as it struggle to move on from one hour to the next, to Jughead's inability to write a story for the Red and Black to the Chocklitt' Shoppe being so quiet, even the usual Southside crowd that came on Friday nights had been no where to be seen yesterday night.

The shooting was changing the town and it's residents more than Izzy would have liked, people weren't acting like themselves; it was more than just the Northside blaming the South or the Southside with their petty crimes and disdain of the North, this shooting had Pop buying her an actual taser and thinking that it was something Izzy would actually want or need…. but with three deaths in as many weeks maybe having a something in the way of self defence was the smart thing to do.

So the question was if these shooting had someone as calm and rationale like Pop going out buying taser what did it have other residents doing apart from hiding out in their home.

There had been no customers for the last three hours, no lost tourist looking for direction, no late night workers stopping in for a cup of coffee before starting their shifts, even the girls soccer team hadn't come to the diner after their weekly game like they normally did.

Business had slowed down since Moose got shot late Tuesday night, as soon as the sun went down no one else would risk venturing outside, the few people who went about their daily life as normal did all their activities in the light of day, ready to rush home before the sun had even began setting.

Izzy was bored out of her mind, she had even let Daisy and Jessica go home early seeing as there was nothing else to do here, plus this way they would both owe her a favour and she had a feeling that she would need as many people in her debt as she can get once her and Jughead stepped up their efforts in finding the shooter.

The diner's only repeat customer of the week was this black haired hispanic looking guy that came around dinner time who ordered food and stared out into space, Izzy had only seen him in passing once when she came on Thursday to get food for Pussycats' song rehearsals.

She normally won't have noticed him but he was the only customer in the dinner and his reaction itself had caused her to take a second look at him, it was as if she had just caught his slouching on the job with the way his face had ashen and how uptight he became.

There was something about the way the guy had straighten up in his seat when she walked in that made her think that he was in the military, it was one of those hands in the cookie jar moment that had her taking notice.

x.x

Izzy dropped a milkshake and a plate of fries in front of Jug as she moved to sit down herself.

"You wanna talk about it?" Jughead asked noticing the pensive mood Izzy was in.

"Not really, Cheryl came by earlier to apologise for something she said and I'm not sure if I should forgive her or not."

"Was what she did unforgivable?"

"That's… debatable, it's not… I'm not sure she just said some crappy things which has me questioning the way I've dealt with certain things."

Jughead didn't know what was going on and from the vagueness of her sentences Izzy wasn't willing to share but he did know one thing. "Whatever is going on I am sure you dealt with it in the right way. I'm sure it's okay"

Izzy managed to smile back at Jughead before deciding to put the Cheryl situation to the side, she could decide what to do another day right now she had more important things to focus on. "Any more news or clues about what happened?"

"No, as far as I can tell the shooter walked up to the car and shot Moose, even though he was aiming for both of Moose and Midge he wasn't ready to wait around to see if he got them both. Sheriff Keller isn't releasing anymore info not even to the press and Midge is kinda skittish so I didn't want to push her too much."

Izzy sighed stealing some fries and covering it with mayo she pretty much expected that news. "I can try talking to Midge and see if she will open up to me again but this is going so slowly it's been three weeks now and we are no closer to figuring out who shot Fred, the guy could literally walk back-"

Jughead watched silently as Izzy ranted while stealing more fries off the plate, he really didn't understand why Izzy liked her fries drenched in condiments. "What. What is it?" Jughead asked concerned looking around at the empty booth Izzy was now staring into.

"I… what if the shooter… okay so I just had a crazy thought. Killers normally go back and visit the scene of the crimes right"

"Yeah some do, why?" Jughead questioned gaining Izzy's attention.

"There was this guy who kept coming in all week apparently, not a regular customer and I don't know but what if…"

"What if he's the shooter?" Jughead finished knowing where Izzy was now going with this, his, his concern growing.

He should have thought of this, it was a classic cliche in horror movies and there are a number of account of serial killers doing just that; returning to the scene of their crime, especially the very first one.

"Yeah" Izzy stated dropping the French fries back onto the plate, she had just lost her appetite. "Since Tuesday the takings have gone down, people are now getting scared but yet and still this guy has been coming in all week."

"It, it doesn't mean that he is the shooter" Jughead reasoned.

"No but it is strange, while everyone else in town is staying at home, walking in groups and generally being safe this guy is by himself, no one here knows who he is and he keeps coming here, the scene of the first shooting…. And the way he looked when he saw me. I'm telling you it was strange"

"Okay, before we go down this rabbit hole…"Jughead wasn't even sure what to suggest next, it was plausible. The man who shot Fred and Moose could have been coming to the diner to relive his first attack. Jughead was sure that in that moment he looked worse than Izzy, he was physically nauseous at the thought of the shooter coming back to Pop.

"First things first you don't go anywhere alone, even if it's just going to the shops you get someone to go with you. If you have to you can wait for me to come from the South side so you don't go by yourself." Jughead insisted.

"Okay, okay" Izzy easily promised, she had no issue with that, if fact she had already been driving Mel to and from school just so her friend didn't have to do that ten minute walk with the shooter on the loose.

"I'm serious, it means no more late night running. If this guy is the shooter coming back I don't want you to go anywhere by yourself" Jughead explained his unsaid concern obviously being that the shooter might potentially have an interest in Izzy; this was the second time Izzy had stated that the shooter had reacted oddly to her presence. "Now we just have to find out where this guy lives, he's new in town but he could be staying in the motel, a hotel, visiting someone or he might have even bought a house here for all we know"

"How exactly are we going to do that, we can't exactly ask him" Izzy pointed out. Once again Izzy found herself thinking about the benefits of owning a taser- it wasn't such a bad idea- she would need something with a stronger stopping power than her screaming and running.

"The next time he comes in we follow him"

"You want to follow someone who has no problem shooting people." Izzy asked hoping she had heard wrong even with Jughead sitting just opposite her.

"Yes, what do you want us to do?" Jughead quizzed.

"Call the sheriff station." Izzy answered honestly "It's their job"

"And what exactly are we going to say we think a man who has been coming into the diner is the shooter because he acted strangely when you looked at him. Keller didn't believe us about the watch and actually implied that you were obsessed with this case, what do you think he's going to say when we call him up suspecting one of your customers of being the shooter just because he's been coming this week."

Damn it, as much as Izzy didn't want to admit it Jug had a point, a very good one at that. The Sheriff hadn't believed her when there had been actual video surveillance if she went back without any proof he would never believe her. "So what should we do?" Izzy asked, deferring to the guy who had actually manage to find a killer.

"Like I said we follow him from a distance and if we can at the very least find out who he is and why he seems to be the only person in town acting as if he's untouchable"

"Okay I know it was my idea to find this shooter and everything but I am not trying to get shot or arrested in the process because not only a we talking about stalking I am assuming there's going to be some B and E involved somewhere in our near future."

Just as he was about to say something the bell above the door went off causing both teen to look over to see Tall Boy standing just on the inside of the diner his eyes sweeping over the empty establishment until they landed on them, without a word he nodded to Jughead and left once again.

"I'll be right back, we aren't going to get shot or arrested" Jughead promised as he slid out of the booth, he really hope this mystery wasn't going to end in tragedy or with either of them behind bars.

x.x.x.x.x

Writer's note:

So who do you think the shady guy is?

What about Pop getting her a taser, over reaction or smart thinking especially with what's going on. Oh and what about Pop considering telling Izzy about Hiram, too soon , too late, should he say or was he right to make sure she is coping okay first.

Probably the longest chapter i have ever posted so enjoy and comment.