Jughead kept an unusually close eye on Betty after all the nightmares that plagued her. He kept a close eye on her after the kidnapping, and particularly the shooting at southside. He didn't want anything else to happen to her. He and Archie were looking into potential suspects of who could have been the Black Hood. Whoever he was, he had kept Betty for five long months. Five long, arduous months that passed as slowly as snails some days.
Hal and Alice Cooper had said that they'd pay a ransom demand if there was one, but the Black Hood never showed them that he had any desire or need for money. And that's what scared Jughead the most. If it was a kidnapping spurred on by a desperate man for money, then it would have made more sense.
But whoever had kidnapped her had taken great pleasure in torturing her. And now, Jughead thought to himself as he stared at the letter he found taped to his door, there were riddles involved. The Black Hood, whoever he was, had sent a letter to them. It hadn't been addressed to anyone in particular, so Jughead had opened it. And a good thing too. There had been pictures of Betty as a captive and Jughead didn't want his girlfriend to ever see those pictures.
He clenched his fist, crumpling the paper inside of it. The Black Hood was playing with them; still watching them as if he were close by. And Jughead believed that he was. He didn't know who he was but Archie and him were looking into it.
Just then, Betty came out of the bedroom at the back of the trailer, shirt pulled down to her knees. His dad wasn't home, and they had been staying in the trailer as often as they could get away with it. Alice wasn't the biggest fan of it, but she understood that Betty needed to feel completely safe right then and the only way to do that was by being by Jughead. He was much the same way. "Hey."
"Hi, Juggy," she murmured, pressing a kiss to his lips. He pulled back, cupping her cheek as he studied the dark circles underneath her eyes. He tsked.
"You didn't get any sleep during your nap, did you?" Jughead asked, frown etched into his features.
Betty sighed. "No but - "
She was interrupted by a knock on the door, and she turned to it curiously. Jughead dusted his hands down her shoulders. "Probably Archie."
He went to open the door, unsurprised to see his redheaded friend outside with Ronnie in two. He was surprised to see her. She didn't often find herself slumming it on the southside. "Hey, Jug."
Jughead nodded at Archie and the couple walked inside of the trailer. Betty wasn't anywhere to be seen, and for one heart-stopping moment, he thought she had been taken again. Then she came out of his bedroom, jeans and a shirt on. She kissed his cheek gently, a knowing look in her eyes, and he breathed a sigh of relief. At least she was safe. That's all that mattered to him. He turned to look at Archie as Betty tucked herself underneath his arm. "What did you find?"
"I don't know if it's much, but the person who killed Geraldine was found dead, in his home," he said.
Jughead thought about that. Geraldine Grundy had been a predator; had preyed on Archie's youth and innocence. And Jughead wasn't particularly sad that she didn't get to live to see another day; didn't get to harm another student the way she harmed Archie. But he was surprised that her killer was found dead. "So, he wasn't the Black Hood."
"He's not our guy, no," Ronnie said, sitting down primly on the couch. Betty stared off into the distance.
"Who would want him dead?" Betty asked. "He cleaned the town of a serial rapist."
Archie flinched but spoke up. "Well, I don't know if I'd call her that..."
Jughead placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, looking at him kindly. "Don't deny what she did to you. She was a predator who set her eyes on a kid. You are the student, and she was the adult. She was wrong. I don't care if you think you said yes. She manipulated you. The world isn't lacking without her in it. I don't think people should be murdered but I don't think people should be sexual predators, either."
Archie blinked, nodding his head slowly. "I'm trying to wrap my head around it all still."
Jughead knew he probably needed to be in therapy, but none of them could afford that luxury in their lives. They had too much shit to do and enough Band-Aids to cover their cuts. He turned to look at Ronnie. "Do we know who the man was?"
"A Jason Peterson," Ronnie replied, shrugging a shoulder. "I researched him, and he acted like a vigilante for unprotected youth."
"So, was he murdered by the real Black Hood?" Jughead asked.
"It would make sense," Betty said slowly. "The Black Hood loved to cleanse the town of sinners. Killing is the biggest sin there is, even if the reasons aren't awful."
Jughead sighed, rubbing a weary hand down his face. "So, we're back to square one and shit out of luck."
"I don't know about that, Juggy," Betty murmured. "I can do some research on the old house in the woods. It's been abandoned for years, but that doesn't mean someone hasn't lived there before. We can find out who."
"As long as you don't get caught in the crosshairs," Jughead replied firmly. He fully believed they were on the precipice of something here, and that things had to get rockier before they got better. Too bad that would be a whole hell of a lot more than any of them bargained for.
Author's note: You may be asking why Archie is a good guy in this – with character development – when he's awful in OOTW. What can I say? I like characters who are complex. Enjoy and thoughts lovely per usual! Xxx