Sorry, this took so long. My editor/co-writer was participating in NANO last month and recently started re-watching One Tree Hill.
Betty trailed her fingers along the spines of old yearbooks until she got to the one she wanted and pulled it out. She flipped to the seniors and found the 'N's'.
Nothing.
She frowned and then for the hell of it tried the 'J's'.
Son of a bitch.
Collum L. Jones stared back at him with a smirk that reminded her of FP and Jug.
She smiled at the quote: Activism is my rent for living on the planet. -Alice Walker
Betty went to the copy machine and made one of the pictures. There was something about this picture that felt important to solving the case of who attacked Veronica.
"There you are," Archie found her as she left the library, "I was looking for you."
"Just doing some research," Betty showed him the copy she'd made.
"The guy's a Jones," Archie nodded.
"Yeah, doesn't the sketch V produced look like this picture I found of Collum Jones," Betty continued staring at the picture.
"Like they could definitely be related," Archie nodded.
"Do you think we should ask Jug?" Betty asked.
"Maybe," Archie said, "What year did he graduate?"
"Nineteen sixty-nine," Betty said.
"So, that would've made him born in nineteen fifty-one, right?"
"Sounds right," Betty nodded, "Why?"
"I'm thinking of the Vietnam War draft," Archie frowned, "The first picture you found had him flashing a peace sign, right?"
"Yeah," Betty nodded, "And he's got long hair. Do you think maybe he was against the war?"
"And what did people who were against the war do to avoid the draft?"
"Went to Canada," Betty said, "Which would explain why we never heard of this guy."
"Did FP have a brother?" Archie tried to recall.
"Not that I know of," Betty shook her head, "I remember Jug mentioning that Jelly was named after their aunt who died while FP was in the army."
"Cousin?" Archie offered.
"Maybe," Betty frowned, "Either way, I'm not sure how this solves the mystery of who hurt Veronica. Maybe we should tell Sheriff Keller to send someone under cover to hang with the Ghoulies."
"Not sure Riverdale PD has the resources for something like that," Archie wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Not to mention, it would take awhile for someone to even get accepted into that crazy group."
"True," Betty nodded, "Maybe we ask FP if his dad ever mentioned his brother?"
"Let me ask my dad first," Archie said, "He might have heard the story of the black sheep of the Jones family."
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Betty agreed as she mentally made a note to suggest to Cheryl to set up some surveillance at some of the Ghoulies hangouts to maybe get some leads.
-d-d-d-d-
Betty typed in the name 'Collum Lewis Jones' and waited for the information to come back.
"Snooping around on your teachers again, Child?" Nana rolled up.
"Hi, Nana," Betty smiled, "No, I found a picture of a guy who looked like the sketch of the guy who tried to mug Veronica. I think he's a relative of Jughead's, so I'm trying to find out where he is."
"Sweetheart, have you tried searching the birth certificate database to see if this Collum Jones fathered a child that would be about the approximate age of this assailant," Nana suggested, "I'm assuming it's an offspring we're looking for, correct?"
"I'm hoping it's one of the things that will show up," Betty said, "No one knows where this guy went after he graduated from Riverdale High."
Rose looked at the pictures in front of Betty, "Handsome devil. What year did he graduate?"
"Nineteen sixty-nine," Betty said.
"Well, now, if I remember correctly, the first draft for the Vietnam war was held in December of that year."
"I know. I looked it up. The first one only drafted people born from nineteen forty-four to nineteen fifty," Betty said. "We figure he was born in fifty-one. That would make him draft eligible in July of nineteen-seventy."
"Such a difficult period in our country's history," Nana frowned.
"We think he might have gone to Canada," Betty said, "But didn't President Carter pardon people who evaded the draft by doing that?"
"Yes, but not everyone came back," Rose said, "You know he might have changed his name."
"Yeah, I'm afraid of that," Betty sighed heavily.
"Don't spend too much time on this, Child," Nana advised, "It's probably a dead end."
"I know. I also want to run the sketch through some databases," Betty said.
"Perhaps you need to consider a more direct approach," Nana suggested.
"I thought about maybe setting up surveillance in some of the Ghoulie hideouts," Betty replied.
"That's a good idea," Nana nodded, "There are some bugs in the closet in the corner."
"You want me to do it?" Betty asked, "I was going to have Cheryl do it."
"You get them together and give them to Cheryl," Nana agreed, "But you have to make sure they work first."
"Good idea," Betty replied, "Thanks for your suggestions."
"Of course," Nana smiled, "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."
Betty went to the closet and began pulling out the equipment Cheryl would need and began testing it when the computer search pinged with results.
Betty hit some buttons and nearly passed out.
"Oh my God," Betty breathed.
The run on the sketch had turned up the name Charles Smith.
Betty's fingers flew over the keyboard as she began searching for background information on this new suspect.
"Hey, Betty, Nana said you were getting some bugs together for me to plant at the Ghoulie hangout."
"I've got a name," Betty motioned towards the screen. She felt totally numb by the revelation.
Cheryl glanced at the name, "There must be hundreds of Charles Smiths in our database."
"Yeah, but one of them fits the age parameters of one who was born at - wait for it - Sisters of Quiet Mercy," Betty said.
"Oh, this is getting worse by the minute," Cheryl nudged Betty out of the way as she opened a new database, "Nana has a backdoor into the Sister's files."
"Score one for Nana," Betty smiled, "Okay, there. Name and age."
Cheryl clicked on the file and opened it up, his birth certificate filling the page.
"Oh my," Betty started.
"God," Cheryl finished, "Betty that's-"
"My mother," Betty said.
"Did you know anything about this?" Cheryl asked.
"No," tears welled in Betty's eyes.
"Who do you think…" Cheryl started and then stopped, "Oh, my God."
"FP Jones," Betty nodded, "Uncle Mike always said Mom had a thing for him."
"Do you think he knows about this?"
"No," Betty shook her head slightly, "He would have tried to do right for any child he had."
"I meant your uncle," Cheryl said.
"If he does, FP is going to kill him," Betty said.
"What are you going to do?" Cheryl asked.
"I don't know," Betty replied, "But we need to get this Charles Smith off the streets. He's dangerous."
"He's your half brother," Cheryl pointed out.
"He could've killed Veronica," Betty said, "I'm not going to overlook that just because he and I share some DNA."
"We'll anonymously pass along the information to the Riverdale PD, and we'll keep our eyes open," Cheryl suggested, "Are you going to confront your mom?"
"No," Betty shook her head, "But I think I should talk to Mike."
"Do you think he knows?" Cheryl asked.
"I can't know until I ask him," Betty replied.
"You want some moral support?"
"No," Betty shook her head, "Thanks."
Cheryl nodded.
"How's Nana with the news I gave you?" Betty asked.
"She's upset obviously, but she agrees with you that FP doesn't have it in him to do something to harm Jason," Cheryl replied, "She thinks we need to look at people he associates with a bit more closely, perhaps even tap into his telephone records."
"Instead of his phone, maybe we should try tapping the phone at the Wyrm," Betty said.
"The Wyrm?"
"Yeah, follow me on this," Betty said, "If you were going to talk about something you didn't want the law knowing about, why would you do it on a line they know you use?"
"You have a point," Cheryl agreed, "We'll get that search going tomorrow, but it's getting late."
"Yeah, I didn't finish checking the bugs," Betty frowned.
"Tomorrow after school," Cheryl told her, "Then maybe you go see Mike?"
"Yeah," Betty bobbed her head, "I'll need time to prepare."
"If you wanna talk, you know how to reach me," Cheryl smiled, "Nana, are you ready to go?"
"I am," Nana rolled into the conversation, "You identified him."
"I'll explain everything on the way home," Cheryl told her.
"Do you need a ride?" Nana asked Betty.
"Yeah, just drop me at the end of the block," Betty nodded.
"Will do," Cheryl replied. She could see how upset Betty was by the news. She was worried. She was half tempted to call Archie to rally her spirits, but until he learned of their after-hours activities, that was not an option.