La Bonne Nuit was nearly deserted, which wasn't surprising given how early it still was. What was surprising though, was Josie McCoy singing on stage. What did Veronica have to do to lure her back?
I took a seat at the end of the bar away from everyone else so Reggie and I could talk without being overheard. "So why did you call me down here?" I asked him.
"Two reasons," he said, resting his arms on the bar. I followed his gaze as he glanced down at the other end where Archie was busy eating peanuts, a half-empty glass in front of him. "Ronnie's pissed about the Serpents defecting and going to work for Andrews Construction again. She thinks you told them to do it."
"The Serpents aren't pets to be kept in a box with nothing to do but lay around waiting for lunch to be dropped in, they're predators who need to be on the move. When's the last time the Gargoyles really tried to stop you on one of your drives?" I didn't give him a chance to answer. "Weeks. The Serpents did their job, but now they've moved on."
"I get that, but what about the contract?" Reggie asked. "Didn't they have a certain amount of time they had to be here working at the speakeasy?"
I shook my head. "No, and that's part of the reason I went through it before Jughead signed our lives away. If Veronica really needs people, I'm sure she can flash her smile or some cash and she'll have boys falling over themselves to do what she asks."
"Come on, Abigail, Ronnie's not like that," Reggie protested weakly. "She's trying to run a legit business."
"That's how she keeps you around though, isn't it? Charming smiles at just the right time and assurances that she can't run the place without you?"
Reggie sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I can't help it. There's just something about her that keeps me coming back."
"So, move on. Find someone else," I said.
"Reggie," Archie slurred, holding up his tumbler.
"That's the other reason I called," Reggie said before walking towards Archie. "I think you've had enough, bud. Lemme call you a cab."
"I'm a paying customer, Reggie," Archie snapped. "I'll leave when I'm ready to leave."
I slowly made my way towards the two as Reggie spoke calmly to Archie. "Dude, Veronica's dealing with enough crap. She doesn't need you making a scene."
"Can I get another bartender in here, please?" Archie called out loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "Another bartender!"
"Shut it, Andrews," I snapped. "You've been cut off. Now go home and sober up unless you want to disappoint your dad more than you already have today."
He turned to me, smiling drunkenly. "Admit it, Abigail, you're just jealous 'cause you can't drink anymore. You're on too much medication to make you seem like a normal–don't touch me!" he shouted as Toby, one of the remaining Serpents working here took hold of his arm. I took a step back, crossing my arms in front of me as Archie struggled unsuccessfully to free himself from Toby's grip.
"Toby, Toby!" Josie called, running over as best she could in her dress and heels. "It's okay, I know him. He's our friend," she added, looking at Reggie and I for support.
"It's okay, I'll go," Archie said, going limp. "I'll go," he repeated. Toby looked to me before releasing his hold but didn't leave.
Josie pulled Archie's arm around her shoulders, struggling to lead him out, Toby following close behind. "I got him. I got him, it's fine," I heard Josie say.
Archie's words echoed in my mind. Part of me knew he was drunk and angry but another part of me, the part of me I'd worked so hard to shut out, whispered that it was true. Without the meds, I'd be in pain more than half the day. And it had taken more to shut up that part of me that was taunting me, repeating Archie's unfinished accusation. I jumped, feeling someone's hand on my arm.
"Hey, you okay?" Reggie asked, suddenly standing in front of me.
Nope, not at all. "Yeah, I'm fine," I lied instead. "I've gotta go." Without giving Reggie a chance to say anything else I pushed past him and made my way out of the speakeasy and Pop's. Being alone right now was probably not the best thing for me, but I made my way through the trees, just far enough that no one would bother me.
I sat out there for who knows how long, watching cars come and go in the parking lot and squirrels chasing each other through the trees. I didn't want to do anything. I didn't want to think. Unfortunately, I had no choice when my phone rang in my pocket. "What do you want now?" I asked, answering the call.
"Abigail, I need you to meet Betty and me at the Five Seasons," Jughead said.
"And why would I do that?"
"Veronica has me trying to find out who tried to kill her father," he began to explain, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. "I talked to Mayor Lodge this morning and she told me Hiram was having an affair with someone who's been staying there. We're going to try and find out who she is."
"So you think Hiram's mistress wanted revenge and shot Hiram. Again, why would I be even remotely interested in going with you?"
"Look, I asked Betty to come with me and she suggested you join us too," Jughead sighed. "You pick up on things neither of us do. Please, Abigail? Just meet us there in half an hour?"
I groaned inwardly, not really wanting to go but what else did I have going on? "Okay, I'll be there."
When I got to the Five Season Hotel, Betty and Jughead were already waiting. Following Jughead, we made our way to the elevator and down a dark hall lit by the occasional lamp designed to look like candlelight.
"The concierge tipped me off about this floor but I wish they'd given me a room number," Jughead said.
"Well, maybe there was no room number to give," Betty said, stopping at a door. She and I stood back, letting Jughead knock.
"So, uh, how's your mystery going?" he asked Betty.
"My investigation's on hold until I hear back from Dr Curdle Jr," Betty sighed. "Turns out there was no autopsy done on Claudius."
"Penelope had him cremated before he could perform one?" I guessed.
Betty nodded. "But I'm hoping that there's something in Clifford Blossom's autopsy report. No one's home. Let's move on."
"Would Bogart move on?" Jughead asked. "Let's just give it a try." To their surprise, the door opened when he turned the knob.
"What kind of hotel room is unlocked?" Betty wondered aloud as she followed Jughead in with me behind her. "And now apparently, there's a not-so-secret sex club in Riverdale."
Before I could stop him, Jughead led the way to a side room, Betty clinging to his arm. "Excuse me," he called out. "What is this place?"
The man in the room scrambled to his feet, running out another door in fear. To her credit, the woman's displeasure at being interrupted was quickly replaced by a straight face. "It's the Maple Club," she answered. "A safe place, as long as you know the safe word."
"Have you seen this woman?" Jughead asked, holding up a photo. "She ever come in here?"
I couldn't resist the urge to smack him on the back of the head, earning a glare from Betty. "You idiot, do you still not understand where we are? Discretion is key to this place staying in business."
"She's right. And you just scared off one of my clients," the woman said, slowly turning her attention back to Jughead. He reached into his pocket, handing over several folded bills. "She doesn't work here, but I see her around. Try room 311," she suggested, making the money disappear.
"Laura, why did Mr Arklight leave in such a rush?" an all too familiar voice asked behind us. Penelope Blossom stopped the moment she entered the room, taking in the sight of us. "What are you three doing here? You know this is a private club. Get out."
"You mean a brothel?" Betty asked in disgust. At least one of the two understood what sort of business this was.
"By the way, does the new Sheriff know that there's a red light district in Riverdale?" Jughead asked, taking a step forward.
Penelope fumed, biting her tongue as Laura pretended to be busy with something else. "Come with me," she finally demanded, turning to stalk out of the room.
I let Jughead and Betty go ahead, waiting until they were down the hall to turn back around. "Did he give you enough to cover your losses?" I asked quietly.
Laura straightened, letting out a laugh. "What he gave me would get him a halfway decent hooker off the street corner. But it was enough to buy the answer to his question and the Madam is already aware of what happened. How did you know what this place is when the other two didn't?"
"It's not the first time I've been in a brothel," I answered with a shrug, reaching into my pocket to count out several bills for her. "Though I do have to admit, so far this is quite a bit nicer than the others I've been to."
The brunette studied me for a moment before handing me a card. "In case you ever want to come back," she said. "We cater to men here, but I'm willing to make an exception. Or if you have a boyfriend to bring along, I'm sure I could teach you a few new tricks."
"I'll have to keep that in mind," I replied, slipping the card into my back pocket. "But for now, I need to join the others before they get themselves into any more trouble." I was directed down the hall, to Penelope's office where I let myself in without a word.
"We specialize in domination," Penelope was saying as I entered. "These ladies are making enough to start new lives."
"Oh, please, you are only helping yourself," Betty said.
"And why shouldn't I? No one else ever has," Penelope snapped. "When I was eight years old, I was plucked from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy by the Blossom family."
"Is that why you poisoned the Sisters?" Jughead asked. "Because they sold you to the Blossoms?"
"I didn't kill those nuns, and anyway, it was the so-called Monsignor who sold me, not the Sisters," Penelope protested, turning her gaze on me. "You understand that more than anyone, don't you, Abigail?"
I didn't say anything, but she was right. Tall Boy, Penny Peabody, and the Ghoulies all had a hand in what had happened to me, but I laid the blame solely on Penny. Tall Boy had given me to her and she'd given me to the Ghoulies who took me in as a new potential recruit, following her orders.
"Fine, you didn't kill the fake nuns," Betty said, breaking the silence that had descended on the room. "Did you kill Claudius?"
"He committed suicide, so I was told," Penelope said, pulling her gaze away from me.
"It's pretty convenient, don't you think?" Jughead asked.
Penelope shrugged. "Either way, I was right here when the poor man died. Ask any of my girls."
"Okay, I think you two have done enough damage here for today," I said, cutting Jughead off before he could say anything else. "Let's go."
The pair remained silent until we were back in the hall outside the Maple Club, the little red shades over the lights the only indication of what lay on the other side of the door.
"Fun fact of the day," Jughead mused, "Penelope's the Madam of a King Club."
"Yeah, her sob story doesn't change the fact that she's a stone-cold murderer," Betty said.
"Do you wanna check out room 311?" Jughead asked. "I could use one of your bobby pins and your attention to detail," he added, looking between Betty and I.
"No thanks, I need to go see someone," I said, continuing my way to the elevators. Behind me, Betty's phone began ringing.
"It's Curdle. Maybe he tracked down Clifford's autopsy report?" Betty said. The bell for the elevator dinged and the doors opening made it impossible to hear anything else.
One of the good things about Riverdale was that it was such a small town that I just had to go two blocks down the road to reach my destination. Then it was just a matter of finding the door I wanted.
"Come in," came the distracted reply when I knocked.
"You have a few minutes?" I asked, closing the door behind me.
FP looked up, a grin spreading across his face. "You're the last person I'd expect to walk into the Sheriff's office willingly. What's going on, Babygirl?"
I shrugged, dropping into the chair across from him. "Do you have time to talk?"
"This about what happened in Centerville?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.
"Hawkeye called?" I guessed.
FP nodded, watching me. "He wouldn't tell me what Dr Jackson said, pulled that doctor-patient confidentiality schtick on me. But he did say they need you to make a decision." I ran a hand through my hair, looking out the window, not that there was much to see from where I was sitting, but it was a way to avoid eye contact. "What do you have to decide?" he asked softly.
"Surgery," I said, tearing my eyes away from the window. "Dr Jackson did some more images while we were there and the damage is worse than he thought. The pain's only going to get worse unless I agree to undergo surgery."
"And you have to decide when to do it?" FP asked.
"Pretty much," I replied. "I can do it now, or I can wait until I'm taking painkillers like candy. Either way, I'll be stuck flat on my back for weeks, if not months, again, not able to do anything."
I blinked back the tears I could feel fighting to fall as FP ran a hand down his face. "That's what's holding you back from making a decision," he said. "You don't want to go back to last summer."
I nodded. "I can't do that again."
"It won't be the same, Babygirl," FP said gently, leaning forward. "Whatever the doctors do to you won't even be close to what you were healing from back then. And you'll have your friends by your side the whole time. Sweet Pea does know, right?"
"He knows about the surgery and recovery time. He wants me to go through with it sometime soon," I said, looking down at my hands. "I haven't told him about that day though. It's the only thing he doesn't know."
"Tell him," FP urged. "If that's what's holding you back, tell him. He'll get you through it. And you know that boy's gonna spoil you the entire time you're down."
I gave a small laugh, wiping away a few tears. FP was right, Sweet Pea would be there doing anything and everything he possibly could to make me happy. "I don't like it, but I guess now it's a matter of figuring out when," I said.
We stayed in the office for a while catching up on things, both good and bad. Since Archie had returned, FP hadn't been by the house much and then he'd become Sheriff which took away more opportunities to see him. The sun was setting by the time I stood to leave, FP pulling me into one of his fatherly hugs. "Let me know what you decide, okay?" I promised to keep him in the loop before leaving, answering a call from Jughead for the second time today.
"Where are you?" he demanded.
"Just leaving the Sheriff's Station," I replied. "Why?"
"Don't move, I'm coming to get you," Jughead said, talking quickly. "I've had Sweet Pea following Hermione Lodge and he found something he said we both need to see."
I sighed, taking a seat on the steps to wait. Within minutes I was on the back of Jughead's bike, heading to the edge of town where Sweet Pea was waiting for us.
"Come on, this way," he said, leading us toward a cabin deeper in the woods. "Stay down and keep quiet," he said as we crept closer.
Jughead and I looked in the window, not believing what we were seeing. "Is that..." I began.
"That can't be...Sheriff Minetta's alive?" Jughead asked. "I thought he was decapitated."
"No, and from the sounds of it, he and Hermione Lodge have been having an affair for months," Sweet Pea said.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Have you been sitting out here watching them like some live-action porno?"
"What? No!" Sweet Pea protested, eyes going wide. "And weren't you at a brothel earlier today?"
I rolled my eyes at him. "Yes, with my cousin and his girlfriend." I groaned, leaning my head against his chest. "That just makes it sound worse." Sweet Pea chuckled, wrapping his arms around me.
"Could you two have this conversation somewhere else?" Jughead hissed. "Wait, listen!"
The three of us crowded around the window, looking in. Hermione was standing between Minetta's legs, hands on his shoulders. "There's too many people asking questions, which means our little outstanding problem, you need to take care of tonight. I've cleared the decks," Hermione was saying. "And use your old Sheriff's gun. Then all signs will point to FP."
"They're talking about framing my dad," Jughead said in shock.
"For what?" Sweet Pea asked.
"I'll have to figure it out and warn him," Jughead said, running back towards the bikes.
Sweet Pea and I stayed outside the cabin, taking turns watching through the window in case anything else was said or done. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you looked at it, Hermione and Minetta did nothing but prepare to leave.
Following Sweet Pea's directions, I'd easily found their cars parked a short distance away and we alerted a few Serpents to be on the watch for them driving into town soon. We knew there was no way we could follow them both from the cabin unnoticed, and if Jughead disapproved of us calling in help, he'd just have to deal with it.
At last we stood in the shadows watching the couple drive off into the night. I leaned against Sweet Pea, enjoying the sense of calm I always felt just being with him. "Come on, let's get you home," Sweet Pea said. "From the looks of it, you've had a long day."
I nodded, letting him lead me back to his motorcycle. "Can we stay at the Serpent camp tonight? I don't want to see Andrews right now."
Sweet Pea's hand tightened on mine. "What happened? Did he do something?"
"No, he was drunk and...Can we talk about this tomorrow? It really has been a long day and I just want to go to sleep."
"Of course," he replied with a smile. Anything for you."
Author's Note: Three chapters in three days. Thank you, those of you who have commented/voted. Keep them coming and I'll keep the chapters coming as fast as I can.