chapter 27.
a death without a tombstone /
silhouette without a shadow.

୨୧

Josephine spent her entire life blaming others.
any inconvenience, mishap or trauma had been at the fault of anyone but herself. luke, chandler, foster family's, even her own brother.

except now, as she sits beside the older boy as he tightens a wrap-bandage around his midriff, jo can't help but blame herself; for assaulting that police officer at the real estate office, for pissing off groff on the boat, for coming back. call it the butterfly effect or dominos or whatever to make it sound nicer, but that doesn't change who's at fault. you can wash your hands all you want but your hands will never be clean of sin.

"know what's the funniest part?" josie breaks the comforting silence. jj hums in response, wrapping the bandage around himself one final time. "i actually thought he was coming back for us." she hugs her knees to her chest, rest her head atop. "nah, he just wanted to get rid of us, of me, just like everyone else." she blows out air, sticking a fallen tree branch into the hand-made firepit they sit around; the teens had escaped to their camp on marsh point, figuring this was their safest bet. (you know, considering two of them are on the run from the law.)

"and now popes a fugitive—welcome to the club, bro." jj adds on, shooting his best friend an apologetic glance. "and we have nothing now. we lost everything, and it's all my fault."

"it's not your fault." jo promises. she couldn't believe he blamed himself when everything started going to shit the moment she returned to the island.

"yeah, it is." jj argues with a huff, walking off from the gathering. kiara trails after him, repeating jo's promise of his innocence.

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If there's one thing josephine had learned from growing up with luke maybank, it was that hell is other people.

as a child, jo never understood this when luke would spit it while intoxicated. she asked him, one time. what do you mean, hell is other people? and he looked at her with angry eyes, eyes she thought she inherited from him, and answered, just keep on living, and you'll find out.

luke's been wrong about a lot of things, but he's got this one right on the nose; a year and a half later, jo found out the hard way in her first of six hell-worthy foster homes.

but the past twenty four hours definitely take the cake. not only did she find out her father was a fake, but her real father tried to kill her and her brother and left them behind as chum for the sharks.

jo is sprawled out on the grass early the next morning. she'd been woken up by the sound of jj crushing beer cans beside her. she wishes he'd let her have a beer or two, but john b'd convinced him to make her wait till fourteen. wait till she's old enough to get a job until you let her become an alchohlic, jj. josephine found this logic total bullshit, but whatever.

"so this berber guy that drew the map, he's moroccan, right?" pope asks from the hammock, holding a map drawn on greasy cardboard ripped from an empty pizza box. "the last time jo and jj saw groff, he was probably headed to essaouria, on the moroccan coast."

josephine yawns, stretching wide. "seems to me that's where we need to go, then." she was determined to get revenge; and that blue fucking crown that grants wishes. pope suddenly sits up straight, noticing an approaching boat. "who's coming out here this early?"

"shit." jj darts over from his spot with kie. "guys!" jo rises to her feet, brushing grass from her bare legs. "what?"

"it's the cops!" jj realizes, urgency in his tone. he dumps the remaining beer in his can over the fire and it hisses as it sizzles out. "how did they find us?" josephine's eyes dart between the older teens. "so, what's the plan?"

"follow me." john b whispers. "let's go." the teens rush into the marsh, ducking under the wooden dock just as three armed deputy's climb into the teens boat, docking their own.

"jj maybank!" the deputy in front shouts. his boots pound loudly on the dock above. "we don't want to hurt you, come on out!"

"i have an arrest warrant for jj in connection to the murder of hollis robinson!"

wading through the water, the teens freeze. jo whips her head to the older boy, eyes wide. "murder?" she mouths silently. jj looks just as bewildered.

"we'll take the pontoon." john b whispers, leading his friends to the sheriffs boat. "it's ready to go." they climb aboard, pope giving josie a lift up. "go, go!" she hisses. john b abides, starting the engine...and attracting the cops surveying the small island.

"hey!" an officer shouts. "hey, stop! john b, turn it around! stop!"

as they speed off, jj can't help but chuckle. "so i guess i'm the new murderer in town, then." joey had seen peterkins trial on the news back in charleston, biting her nails till they bled in worry for john b. even across the water with zero contact, she had always known his innocence. "check that off the bucket list."

"yeah, it doesn't help that they have you on video saying, 'i will kill then all.'" pope tsks.

"no one asked, pope!"

cleo shoots the blonde boy a look. "forget all that. we gotta get off this island."

"i can't go back." pope agrees. he shakes his head. "i mean, might as well go after that scroll, right?"

josephine shrugs, leaning against the side of the boat. she crosses her arms behind her head. "i mean, i could be down for a little moroccan vacay."

"hell, you know i'm in." jj agrees with the younger girl. he turns to address the other teens. "what do you say we get out of dodge for a few weeks? maybe we can catch up with my dad."

"well, we're gonna need a bigger boat." cleo reminds. "hell, a ship maybe. you know how far morocco is? way, way, way out there."

john b steers into guffys marina and jj points to the large supply of kook boats lining the docks. "all right, guys, we gotta boost a boat that can make it to morocco. take your pick; we got a lot to choose from."

"what about that one?" josephine points to the first one she spots.

"it's a flat hull." john b shakes his head. "they break down all the time—it's won't make it across the ocean."

"hey, that's rafes new boat." kiara notices. "it's nice." john b follows her gaze. "i'd be with you on that one, but the reality is it's not going to make it across the ocean either. it's not big enough; groff would nab the crown before we were halfway to morocco."

"what about this baby right here?" jj suggests as the stolen sheriffs pontoon approaches a large yacht.

pope follows his gaze. "you know that's, like, a two million dollar boat."

"it's pretty." josephine shrugs, looking to john b. he nods, eyes trained on the vessel. "big engine."

"i think that's the one." kiara agrees.

"you know, we could all go to jail for taking a boat like that." pope, ever their voice of reason. cleo cracks a smile. "pope, you're gonna go to jail for things you already did."

"nothing to worry about." jj assures. john b pulls the pontoon directly beside the yacht and the blonde hops from boat to boat. "we're just gonna borrow it." pope joins the boy and they reel in the police boat, tying it off and allowing the rest of the teens to climb aboard.

john b's the last to follow, helping a struggling josephine make the leap. "you really need longer legs, jo." the blonde girl rolls her eyes. "tell me about it."

josephine stays on deck with cleo while john b joins the other boys in the cabin, attempting to break into the boats highly effective computer security system. "uh...cleo?" jo taps the older girl, pointing down the dock; shoupe leads a trio of officers, rushing right towards the teens. "we got company.

"shit." cleo curses, calling over her shoulder to warn the others. "coppers, coppers!"

"jj maybank!" an approaching officer shouts. jo doesn't miss the hand on his weapon. "we have a warrant for your arrest!"

"go, go, go!" pope rushes down the steps from the cabin so fast josephine's impressed he didn't trip. "we still gotta find a boat to get to morocco." john b and the others are hot on his tail; they file back into the sheriffs pontoon at once, the smaller boat rocking by the sudden weight. jo glances at the approaching and angry officers. "yeah, but first we gotta ditch these pigs!"

"i got it, we gotta go fast!" cleo takes over for john b at the wheel. "everyone, hold on!" josephine gladly takes this advice, grabbing onto the side of the boat just as it lurches forward.

"hey, stop!" josie recognizes the trigger-happy officer from dale zeasys office; he and two other police cruisers had just arrived on scene. "oh shit." she curses, alerting the others. "that guy? seriously?" jj reaches into the hold, retrieving a familiar object. he aims it at the dock and jo freezes. "what are you doing?"

"he's got a gun!" a lady in the marinas gathering crowd shouts. she points to the teen and he responds by promptly aiming the flare gun towards the dock where they all stand, gasping.

the trigger-happy officer josephine had thrown herself at just under seventy two hours prior stands at the edge of the dock. josie shrieks as he yanks his weapon from his belt, finger pressing on the trigger.

jj pulls the flares safety tab and fires just as the rookie officer presses his guns trigger. jo flinches, ducking onto the floor of the stolen boat. she's sure they're all toast.

waiting for a sharp pain that never comes, jo slowly rises. she follows kiara's stunned gaze to the dock; mike carrera had shoved the rookie officer into the water just in time, fucking up his aim. instead of hitting the teenagers, his bullet had shot straight into their pontoon boat.

the crowd gasps as air hisses, the sherrifs boat slowly deflating as they speed away. jo shoots to her feet, staring daggers into her brother as she shouts. "are you fucking insane?"

"you're welcome!" jj responds, sinking to the floor of the boat. he doesn't seem to understand why firing a flare gun at multiple officers would result in negative consequences.

"we're leaking!" pope notices the hole hissing air from the boat.

"ah, shit man!" cleo curses. john b groans. "they shot the boat!" better then shooting them.

pope quickly gets to his feet, firmly pressing his palms over the expanding hole. "check for a patch!" he shouts to jj, who rushes back to the hold. "i need something to cover it up! we're losing air; we gotta get somewhere fast."

"head into the moor, okay?" jj rushes out, unsuccessful in finding a patch. josephine lets out a huff, crossing her arms. "you almost got us killed, j!"

"yeah, but i didn't, okay?" jj runs an exasperated hand down his face. "chill out."

josephine grits her teeth, inhaling deeply to keep from retaliating. "look, we've gotta beach her, guys." cleo points out as john b approaches a small island. "this thing is sinking!"

"cops will be here any minute, we gotta fix this thing fast!" john b shouts urgently, pulling the deflating boat onto the small island. it drags across the sand as they approach shore and jo raises an eyebrow. "fix it with what?"

"really, rude boy?" cleo looks to jj as they hop out, dragging the boat the rest of the way. "look what you did!"

"they would've hit us with a couple more if i didn't fire!" jj retorts. josephine rolls her eyes. "but you shot at them first!"

"she's done." cleo throws up her arms, stepping back. "not coming back."

"great."

"how are we gonna get out of here now?" pope stresses, pacing the islands short beach. john b glares at jj. "shootin' at a cop, huh?"

"i fired a flare over their head to slow 'em down, okay?" the blonde exhales. he steps closer, toe to toe with his best friend. he's unaware the other boy barely recognizes him, now. "which is exactly what it did."

"you realize we're in danger now, right?" john b narrows his eyes and jo gulps at the tension. "all of us. all of us are screwed—including your little sister."

"can this wait?" kiara senses josie's uneasiness. "we're trying to figure out how to get out of here." she stands at the end of the sand, pacing the waterfront.

jj turns to his girlfriend, an angry expression on his usually care-free face. "i didn't ask any of you guys to come help me, all right?" he inhales deeply and spins to face his little sister. "i didn't want any of you to come follow me! especially you, josephine." the younger girls heart sinks and her eyes go solemn. she looks to her too-small sneakers; she hopes she can get new ones, soon.

john b roughly grabs the older maybanks shoulders, spinning him back around. there's anger in his eyes, too, but mostly anger for joey. "follow you?"

"yeah!" jj shouts, repeating. "follow me."

"you think we had any other choice, jj? you think she had any other choice?" he gestures to a visibly uncomfortable josephine and closes his fists around his friends collar. "what about your sister, huh? she jumped in front of a gun to save your ass, jj! and pope. he threw away his whole life to save her, to save you."

jj spins back around, gesturing angrily towards the two. "pope, i don't know why you did what you did, man, okay? and jo..." he trails off, running a shaky hand through wild blonde hair. "that was just plain stupid. okay? that was stupid. you could've gotten shot, and now popes a fugitive. that's not on me—that's on her." he points an accusatory finger towards his sister who flinches like she's been struck; jo backs away, straight into sarah. the older girl places protective hands on the child's shoulders.

"don't blame her for this, jj!" john b bats jj's hand down. "it's not josie's fault, don't put your shit on her. this is all on you." he jabs a finger into the blonde boys chest.

"oh, it's always my fault, huh? always."

"yeah, it is you're fault." john b agrees, raising his voice uncharacteristically. "just like the enduro was your fault, j—"

"then go!" jj barks aggressively. jo flinches at his harsh tone and sarah reaches up, wiping the girls tears. "i'll gladly take the hit, all right? 'cause my life is already over in the first place." josephine could've sworn she felt a physical pain her heart just then. he had just gotten her back, was that not enough?

a siren whoops and john b groans, recognizing the fast approaching sherrifs boat. "and there's shoupe."

"what did i say?" kiara asks sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"you guys finally did it—beached yourselves." shoupe remarks, hopping from his boat onto the sand. "jj, i got you." he points to the eldest maybank sibling. "you've been wracking up the charges, and guess what? i've got a warrant this time." he turns to pope with a scoff. "and you, ditching your tracking device? i thought you were the smart one."

"you've dug this hole about as deep as it can get so just put down the shovels and come with me." shoupe tells the boys, gesturing to his idling boat.

"no!" josephine interjects, ignoring the way her voice cracks. she steps away from sarah. "you want him for murder; he didn't murder anyone!"

"look, i got a good idea of what he did and didn't do, okay?" shoupe assures the stressed girl. "we just gotta let the courts sort it out. all i know is that i got warrant for both of 'em, and i'm tired of this goose chase, so it ends here. y'all come with me, now."

"hey!" a familiar voice shouts from the other end of the beach; josephine turns, groaning internally as she recognizes the approaching figure.

shoupe is just as confused. "what the hell?"

"i'm just here to save everyone's asses, okay?" rafe cameron greets. josephine hasn't seen him since the day she left kildare four years ago; she had a gut feeling he was the reason for her departure, but no evidence. "shoupe, i gotta talk to you." the eldest cameron turns to the officer. "listen, you're missing a part of this picture."

"hey, stay back!" the sherrif quickly moves a hand to rest atop his weapon. "stay back!"

"jesus chrisr!" rafe abides, holding both palms out as he takes a step backwards. "what are you gonna do, shoot me?" he rolls his eyes. "you're looking for chandler groff, yeah?"

shoupe flexes his shoulders. "maybe."

"groff was scamming with hollis this entire time, all right? if you ask me, it was probably groff that killed her, not...him." rafe points to jj, unable to push his name past his lips as though afraid it'd him a fucking pogue; as though this was a fate far greater than death. "yeah, groff probably killed genrette too. and that body in the dunes? you got that on groff?"

josephine leans in close, whispering to sarah and pope who stand close by. "can shoupe give him a junior detective badge, too?"

"listen." rafe continues. "you can bring these lowlifes in for some disturbing the peace bullshit, or you can get the big fish. these guys know where groff is."

"yeah?" shoupe turns to the pogues, hands on his hips like a disappointed father. "where is he?"

"out of your jurisdiction, shoupe."

"way out." kiara agrees with john b. pope doesn't take his eyes off the sand, chiming in, "try out the country."

"we were on our way to get him and then you showed up." john b blames the sheriff, who gestures to their busters and stolen pontoon boat. "in that?"

"no." rafe interjects. he turns, pointing just off the island to an idling steamship. "in that." jo shades her eyes, squinting in the setting sun at the large vessel. rafe spins back around, continuing to convince shoupe. "they know where he is, and i can get them there, all right? but they can't do shit if they're all locked up."

"and just let 'em go?" the sheriff shakes his head in disbelief at the cameron boys proposal. "no thanks." he turns back to the teens. "i'll tell you what, here's what we're gonna do; you come with me, tell us where groff is, and i guarantee it, we'll go easy on you. he'll, you're charges may disappear; quid pro pro, you ever heard of that?"

john b narrows his eyes. "just like you did when i was framed for a murder i didn't commit?"

"ooh, burn!" josephine hisses. shoupe shoots her a look and she shuts up, looking around innocently.

"think about it." rafe continues. "hollis, dead. genrette, dead. downtowns trashed. you're on the chopping block, okay? i hear what people are saying about you, all right? you're gonna lose your job. it's game over, man." josephine would like to pretend she's impressed with rafe cameron's gaslighting skills, but she's not in the slightest bit surprised. "unless you bring the killer to justice all by your lonesome. so, what's it gonna be? some bullshit charges on these low-rent pogues who didn't do shit?"

"he's got a point." josephine tsks, crossing her arms.

"or, you solve the crime of the century," rafe carries on, "and you save your job."

"you know, you're sounding a lot like your old man, and that's not a compliment." shoupe spits, gritting his teeth. "now i'm getting cornered by another friggin' cameron here?"

rafes still not backing down. there must be something in it for him. "okay, them. added bonus; when we get back and you got groff locked up, i'll tell you what happened last summer on the runway, when you found me out there on the tarmac? i know you wanna know."

"you wanna know what i wanna know?" shoupes tone drops dangerously and he closes the gap between himself and the cameron son. "i wanna know about another little runway incident from a while back. how bout that?"

rafe hesitates briefly as he takes a step back and for a moment jo worries he's given up.

until he licks his lips and steps forward, looking the sheriff right in the eye. "all i'm saying is that all this would look really good for an elected official in the hot seat, you know?"

"how 'bout this?" john b offers, joining the two. "we find groff, we call you. he's all yours."

shoupe exhales, looking conflicted. he zeros in on josephine; a scared little girl who has just gotten her big brother back after nearly half a decade. he sighs, throwing out his arms. "i ain't shit either way. all right, yeah, you're welcome." he waves the teens forward. "go on, before the cavalry gets here."

josephine nearly squeals. she rushes forward. "you won't regret this, shoupe!" the blonde girl salutes the officer, who rolls his eyes.

"yeah, yeah, get outta here." he turns, watching the rest of the teens file past. "i'll be glad to have you outta my hair anyway. you better find his ass, or i will hunt you down!"