TITLE: Ricochet
CHAPTER 3: Circumstantial

Emma hated jumping to conclusions. Sometimes it was necessary, but in this case, she needed time to deliberate. Halfway to her car from the sheriff's station she realized she could be making a huge mistake jumping to such a conclusion, and climbed in the car to do some thinking.

The quest for uninterrupted deliberation brought her to Granny's diner around lunchtime, and soon landed her with a giant hamburger and mountain of fries. She wasted no time scarfing both items down, garnering a raised brow from the matron of the diner.

"You hungry, kid?" Granny asked.

Emma mumbled around the food in her mouth, hoping she wasn't making too big a mess. Granny held up a hand to stop her, clearly having seen enough.

"That's... fine. We'll catch up later." And she bustled off, leaving Emma to her greasy mess.

It wasn't long, however, before Ruby sauntered up to the table, sliding in on the other side of the booth and folding her arms on the Formica tabletop. "Rough night?" she asked, quirking a brow.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Rough couple of them, yeah." Then a thought struck her. "Hey, you got a sec?"

Ruby shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

"If you saw someone do something... or thought you saw them do something... if there was a possibility that it wasn't them, would you believe them?"

She watched, then, as Ruby's brows wrinkled together before making a slow crawl up her forehead, mouth slowly going slack before she finally replied... "Huh?"

She huffed. "Alright, look. I know that this whole Archie business should add up. You saw Regina arguing with him the day he died. You saw her go up to his office late at night... and then the next day he winds up dead. A plus B should equal C, but in this case... that's all circumstantial. In this case, it's more complicated than that."

Ruby pressed her lips together in a sympathetic frown, reaching out with one hand to cover Emma's. "Emma, listen..." When her gaze was met, she smiled encouragingly. "I know you and Regina have always had a..." she shrugged, settling on, "complicated kind of relationship. You share a son, and because of that it might be easy to let feelings cloud your judgment, but-"

"Whoa whoa whoa." Sitting back against the booth, Emma wiped her grease-stained hands on the paper napkin beside her plate, signaling to Ruby like a baseball umpire indicating 'safe.' "Hang on. I don't have any sort of feelings about Regina that would complicate my judgment."

"Sure you do. I mean," Ruby shrugged again. "Henry loves her, so... I'm sure a part of you feels like you kinda have to do the same. Even if you don't want to."

Emma shook her head, making a face. "Nah, I don't think that's it."

"Well then what's complicated about this whole thing?"

Emma glimpsed around the diner for prying eyes and ears before leaning across the table partway, dropping her voice to a whisper. "What if the person you saw wasn't Regina?"

Ruby mirrored her position, face contorted in confusion. "What?" she whispered. "How could it not have been her? It looked just like her. Unless she's got an identical twin out there-"

"What if I knew of someone that can impersonate other people?"

"You mean like their voice?"

"No." Emma shook her head. "I mean, like... everything about them."

"I dunno," Ruby sighed, sitting back against the booth. "I mean, you know how that old saying goes. 'If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then-'"

"Then it might be a raccoon pretending to be a duck," Emma finished with a smirk.

Ruby's lips set in a thin line in response, the corners just barely quirking upward in an indulgent smirk. "Emma, I know what I saw. And I saw Regina. It's as simple as that."

Emma drew in a breath, huffing it out through her nose as she looked down at the mangled remains of her burger and fries and grabbed her wallet.

She knew her instincts were right on track with this whole thing, but she needed a second opinion. And she knew precisely where to get it.

She flashed a quick, closed-lipped smile at the brunette on the other side of the booth. "Thanks, Ruby."

With that, she tossed enough money on the table to cover her tab and a generous tip, before she took off for the elementary school.

Judging by the state of the playground and surrounding areas when she arrived, recess had just begun. On a regular day, she might have stopped by to chat with Henry for a few minutes, but today she was on a mission.

Laughter and joyous shrieks filled the air as she headed up the stairs to the main doors of Storybrooke Elementary. At the far end of the hall was her mother's class room, and she strolled in to find her eating a sandwich at her desk, poring over quizzes with a red marking pen.

She didn't even wait for her to notice her presence as she told her, "Regina didn't do it."

The sound of her voice, probably loud in the silence of the class room, startled Mary Margaret, and she looked up with wide eyes, a bite of sandwich in her cheek making her slightly resemble a hamster. "What?" she asked around the bite, then manners seemed to catch up with her and she daintily covered her mouth, finishing her food. "Sorry."

Emma stepped further into the class room, weaving her way through the rows of small desks. "Regina didn't kill Archie."

And much like Ruby had done just moments before in the diner, Mary Margaret tilted her head with a frown. "Emma..."

She held up her hands, not willing to sit through another "complicated relationship" rebuttal. "I know what you're going to say, but just hear me out. When I got to the station this morning, Regina was still there."

"She was?" The sandwich was set down on a small paper plate, forgotten. "That's... odd."

"Exactly what I thought."

Mary Margaret sighed. "But... you know as well as I do that that's not a clear sign of innocence. Especially where Regina's concerned."

"Maybe not, but... I still think my instincts were right. I don't think she did it."

She shook her head. "Emma, I'm sorry, but... your instincts were proven wrong. We saw her strangle Archie."

Emma took another definitive step forward, countering, "But what if it wasn't her?"

"Emma, you're being ridiculous!" Mary Margaret chuckled, rising from her chair and maneuvering around the desk to stand in front of her daughter, gripping her shoulders. "I realize you're running on very little sleep today, but honey... we saw Regina kill Archie."

"Think about it," Emma implored her.

"Well if it wasn't her," she chuckled, "then someone was doing a pretty good job of-"

Emma just raised her brows as her mother stopped mid-sentence, apparently heeding the warning to think it over. She watched Mary Margaret's eyes bounce back and forth, assessing the air in front of her. Then her voice emerged, barely louder than a whisper. "No..."

"Yes."

With a sigh, the idea was shrugged off, though concern still hugged the teacher's face. "Emma, that's impossible. We used the only portal to get back! And we both know that you and I were the only ones to climb out of that well."

Emma took a step forward. "What if that wasn't the only portal? What if they had another way?" Shaking her head, she implored her mother, "It's Cora and Hook - two psychos who'll stop at nothing to get to Storybrooke! I mean, Hook was hellbent on getting to Gold and Cora wanted to see her daughter. Is it really so impossible to think that they found a way here?"

She watched as her mother began to pace, that same worried expression never wavering. She stopped after a moment, looking thoughtful. "If you're right... if it was Cora... then why would she kill Archie? What does she have against him?"

Emma shrugged, hands on her hips. "I think that's a question for her daughter."

TBC